Including plantain in perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture appears to be a low-cost option to reduce N leaching and nitrous oxide emission, without any substantive negative effects on pasture production, animal production, milk quality and animal health. On the contrary, under certain situations various positive effects of plantain on all these factors have been observed.
Some gaps in current knowledge have been identified that require further investigation to optimise the implementation of plantain on farm and to achieve maximum environmental benefits. Notable areas for deeper study include management of mixed-species swards to maintain the proportion of plantain in the sward and understanding the mechanisms in which plant secondary compounds and their derivatives impact rumen and soil processes and their relative importance for reducing N loss to the environment.
Ina (J.B.) Pinxterhuis, DairyNZ, New Zealand; and Mike (M.B.) Dodd, AgResearch, New Zealand