Later Maturing Ryegrasses Provide Greater Production, Quality and Flexibility

Late maturing ryegrasses are often advertised in seed brochures and mentioned by seed merchants/agronomists, however you may not know what benefits they offer.
Late maturity refers to the time following winter that ryegrasses cultivars will become reproductive, wanting to produce seed. During the reproductive stage ryegrass quality declines, plant leaf production decreases and a large amount of stem is produced. The time taken to reach the reproductive stage depends on the individual cultivars vernalisation requirement. Vernalisation refers to the cold time (time below a specific temperature) required for a cultivar to initiate the reproductive stage of it's growth period.

The picture above highlights annual cv Atomic on LHS showing signs of seed head emergence while annual cv Zoom on RHS is still leafy, productive and retaining quality.

The picture above highlights annual cv Atomic on LHS showing little regrowth following mowing while annual cv Zoom on RHS has recovered well. Atomic being earlier maturing has finished its seasonal growth.

Early maturing cultivars have a lower cold requirement, meaning less cold time is required before flowering is initiated. Later maturing cultivars offer greater quality, production and flexibility because they continue to grow and produce quality feed while earlier maturing cultivars are slowing in growth and producing poor quality feed high in stem and low in leaf. In most farming situations feed quality will mean more meat & milk production and better quality silage & hay.

It is important to understand that a large proportion of growth occurs from initiation of reproduction to seed head emergence. This means earlier maturing cultivars will often produce more early spring growth. While later maturing cultivars will hold their quality, an earlier maturing cultivar will produce more feed in an area that finishes early and is unlikely to receive good spring rainfall (< 500 mm/yr). Nevertheless high rainfall environments ( > 600 mm/yr) will likely benefit from most later maturing cultivars, with the latest maturing cultivars being sown in the latest seasonal areas.

Below is a cost comparison for a farm comparing annual cv. Tetila (early maturing), annual cv. Zoom (late heading) and Italian cv. Crusader (very late heading). The cost analysis doesn't take into account quality, which would be considerably better for the later maturing cv.

Click on photo to enlarge

                                                

Autumn Sown Brassica

Looking for quick feed?

Autumn sown brassica and ryegrass provides a quick option for increasing early DM production, whilst reducing feed costs ($/tonne).

Sown at 2 kg/ha with normal rates of ryegrass in late Februaury to mid April, commonly Crusader Italian ryegrass, the hybrid brassica and ryegrass blend can produce considerable extra DM production for an increased sowing cost of approx $20/ha. The extra growth at first grazing provided by the brassica and ryegrass blend when compared with straight ryegrass can be anywhere between 1,500 - 3,000 kg DM/ha, which depends on soil temperature and moisture.

Autumn sown Hunter forage brassica sown at 2 kg/ha with 20 kg/ha Crusader Italian ryegrass. The paddock is ready for grazing 6-8 weeks from sowing.

Aim to sow no more than 6-7 ha/100 cows to Hunter forage brassica and Crusader Italian ryegrass otherwise shading of the ryegrass will occur effecting ryegrass establishment and subsequent grazings. Grazing should commence 5-6 weeks from emergence. Hunter forage brassica's large leaves and prostrate growth can cause shading. If looking for more area sown to brassica and ryegrass sow Winfred forage brassica and Crusader Italian ryegrass for later maturity or stagger sowing date, aiming to sow Hunter 3 to 4 weeks from first sowing. The later sowing will most always result in reduced brassica growth due to lower soil tempertures. Once you reach late April - early May there is little to no gain from sowing brassica with ryegrass.

Winfred forage brassica and Crusader Italian ryegrass autumn sown in March at Cobram in the Goulburn Valley. Photos show pre-grazing mass. The Winfred and Crusader was able to produce an extra 2,110 kg DM/ha when compared with straight Italian ryegrass sown the same day.

This year we will have trials in Gippsland and Goulburn Valley looking at the extra DM produced from Autumn sown Hunter and ryegrass when compared with ryegrass. Stay in touch for the results!

Keep An Eye Out For African Black Beetle

With the autumn approaching it is now time to monitor African Black Beetle (ABB) numbers.

African Black Beetle is a pasture pest found mainly in warmer, high rainfall environments of Australia. Traditionally African Black Beetle has been found around south-western Western Australia and from the coastal south-eastern mainland of NSW around Bega up to South East Queensland (DPI). Their incidence through the North East ranges of Victoria has been a relatively new occurrence, particularly in 2011 where they caused widespread damage to emerging pastures in autumn. Black beetle has however been an issue for East Gippsland for a number of years.

Lifecycle of African Black above highlights the adult and larval stages of the insect pest. Source Dairy NZ.

The damage caused by African Black Beetle depends on whether it is the larval stage (similar appearence to Cockchafer grubs) or adult beetle stage. Generally the larval stage causes issues during summer (December – February) where they chew on the roots of grasses (e.g. perennial ryegrass) restricting root growth and causing plants to be pulled. Damage caused by the adult stage is generally present from late summer and autumn (February – April) where they cause considerable damage to emerging seedlings chewing the tillers around the base of the emerging plant, just above the ground, killing them. While the beetle stage is present though winter and spring they don’t cause considerable damage to pasture during this time.

Adult and Larval stages of African Black Beetle above. Source Dairy NZ.

Damage caused from adult stage of African Black Beetle in the autumn to emerging ryegrass plants. Source Dairy NZ.

Control of African Black Beetle can be acheived by;

• cultivating the larval stage during summer
• using insecticides to control adult beetles in autumn
• using endophytes such as AR37 which have protection against ABB once established.
• using Gaucho treated seed for control of ABB at seedling stage
• using a break crop using a species that larval stage doesn't feed on such as brassica.

Gaucho treating seed can help to reduce the effect adult beetles have on seedlings. Above shows Gaucho treated seed (RHS) vs untreated seed (LHS). Source Dairy NZ.

For more information contact Smyth Seeds on (03) 5762 5288.

Choice Chicory - Proving The Goods

Choice chicory has been proving to be an excellent summer forage option spring sown on its own or with a reduced rate of hybrid forage brassica. The excellent regrowth potential of chicory has allowed numerous grazings  over summer on approx 20-35 day rotation depending on soil moisture and temperature. While chicory's use on farm isn't new, the concept of using it as an 18-24 month crop to supplement summer feed with a higher sowing rates have lead to excellent growth rates from a spring planting to May the following year. It has better water use efficiency (WUE) then many other summer crops (e.g. turnips) and much better quality and production through summer than temperate grass species.

Choice Chicory and Brassica six weeks following sowing. The paddock is ready to graze. Aim to sow 5-6 ha/100 dairy cows for a daily 2-3 hour allocation to supplement intake

Chicory will provide supplementary grazing into the second season, however will require topping a couple of times in the second season to reduce seed set and retain leaf and quality. Grazing should commence once 3-4 leaves have emerged and is approx 20 cm in height. Utilisation of pasture in a rotational grazing situation is excellent and will be approx 90%. Application of urea following grazing will increase production.

For more information on Choice chicory as a supplementary summer crop contact Smyth Seeds at: smythseeds@smythseeds.com.au or call (03) 5762 5288 to recieve a detailed technote.

Bolton Ryegrass Advert.

Check out the new Vic Seeds Bolton Perennial Ryegrass Advert.

Bolton Perennial Ryegrass is a mid heading perennial ryegrass suited to beef and sheep enterprises in areas that recieve greater than 550 mm/yr. It has excellent persistence, rust tolerance and will provide strong growth from autumn through to spring. It can be purchased alone, mixed in a custom blend or found in our TARGET Valley's 650 plus mix.

NEW Smyth Seeds Blog

Smyth Seeds are proud to launch our new blog. Our blog will feature news and information as the year progresses, giving updates on current activities, sowing options and how the season is progessing.

Feel free to visit our blog on a regular basis to see what products have been working well in your area and what insect pests and weeds to be monitoring. Smyth Seeds will also be posting results and information from our local pasture seed demonstrations and trials. So stay in touch to keep up to date with what's happening in the pasture seed industry!