Herbage production ofLotus pedunculatuscv. #x2018;Grasslands Maku#x201D; was measured for 6 cutting regimes and regrowth was characterised in terms of dry matter accumulation patterns, shoot densities, and leaf area indices. Regrowth was consistently slow for the first 2#x2013;3 weeks after cutting. Production increases were therefore recorded where regrowth intervals were extended and higher growth rates were allowed to be expressed. Higher cutting improved shoot regrowth, but greater dry matter losses from the death of stubble and the disappearance of dead material resulted in little, if any, improvement in net productivity. With lower and/or less frequent cutting, canopy growth was dominated by rhizome shoots and the amount of stubble shoot, stubble and dead material within the canopy declined. Rhizome shoots were the major source of potential shoot production; however, the full realisation of this potential through the manipulation of defoliation strategies was difficult. The implications of these regrowth patterns are discussed in terms of more suitable regrowth characteristics that may be necessary for any future improvement in the production performance ofL. pedunculatuswithin mixed swards.
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