In rotationally grazed pastures, the canopy light environment can be modulated through both
grazing frequency and severity, and the magnitude of sward responses may differ according
to forage species and its ability to use available resources. We hypothesised that the tall,
tufted, fast-growing, tussock-forming species Mombaça guineagrass (Megathyrsus maximus
(Jacq.) BK Simon & SWL Jacobs cv. Mombaça) can modulate its tillering dynamics and
change its persistence pathway according to grazing strategy and the availability of growth …

For tropical forage grasses, leaves are the main morphological component accumulated at
the beginning of regrowth, and as leaf area index increases, plants change their growth
pattern, allocating more resources to stem elongation as a means of optimising light capture.
We hypothesised that, for Mombaça guineagrass, stem elongation and leaf senescence rate
play a major role in determining net herbage accumulation rate (NHAR) and that
senescence would be the key factor driving the reduction in NHAR when regrowth is …