UNIRRIGATED AND IRRIGATED
 ALFALFA-OAT-CLOVER PASTURE
 FOR DAIRY CATTLE

 SIDNEY P. MARSHALL AND J. MOSTELLA MYERS 1

 INTRODUCTION
 Quality pastures are a desirable source of feed for dairy cat-
 tle. They are palatable, help maintain proper functioning of the
 ruminant digestive processes, stimulate high production, and
 enhance the Vitamin-A potency of milk.
 Legumes generally are best quality forages for livestock. The
 quality of succulent temporary grasses is good but is below that
 of legumes. Permanent pasture grasses generally have a lower
 nutritive value in cattle feeding programs.
 The acreage of legume pastures grown in Florida is relatively
 small as compared with about 2.5 million acres of improved
 permanent pasture grasses. Summer temporary grass pastures
 total about 50,000 acres, and oats and rye grown for winter
 pasture or cover crops were reported to be 140,000 acres (6).2
 Clovers have been seeded on over 250,000 acres of the improved
 permanent pasture land. Although clovers produce excellent
 quality forage, their soil moisture and climatic requirements
 impose limitations on the areas where and seasons when they
 will produce grazing. A legume or legume-grass mixed pasture
 that is adaptable for growth on a wide range of soil types and
 that will provide high-quality forage over a long period would
 be beneficial. Since alfalfa possesses these qualities and has been
 grown with success in Florida as an annual, it was selected as
 the principal plant to be grown in a pasture mixture along with
 oats and clovers for evaluation in a dairy feeding program. Sup-
 plemental irrigation water was applied to comparable plots of
 the pasture mixture during two growing seasons.

 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 An early report from the Everglades Station (3) showed that
an Indian strain of alfalfa produced 18 tons of green forage per

 SDairy Husbandman and Agricultural Engineer, Florida Agricultural
Experiment Stations.
 2 Figures in parentheses refer to Literature Cited.