N RANCHING


atural Resources


Grazing Affects Plant Root Growth By Jim Johnson


O


VER THE YEARS I HAVE SEEN MANY GRAZING OPERATIONS in many parts of the country. I have seen places that never seem to grow


as much grass as they should, and I have seen places that always seem to have lots of grass. Likewise, I have seen places that have been hurt by the extreme weather of the past several years, and I have seen places that have tolerated the extreme weather quite well. The places that have lots of grass and are doing


well don’t necessarily have better soil or get more precipitation, and they may not be stocked lighter or rested more days per year. So what is the differ- ence? Roots — and the effects that management has on the roots. I’ve always known to some extent that grazing man-


72 The Cattleman February 2015


agement affects roots, but it was made crystal clear to me this past summer when I was introduced to some work published by F.J. Crider in 1955. Through several experiments using various perennial grasses, he showed the effects that forage removal has on root growth. In one experiment, Crider showed that when more


than half of the forage is removed from a plant, root growth stops within the fi rst day or 2 afterward and stays stopped from 6 to 18 days, with an average of 11 days. In the real world, this means that if cattle have the


opportunity to graze more than half of the top growth of a grass, at an interval less than 11 days, the roots never get to recover. If the roots don’t recover, then eventually the top won’t either.


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