The very busy autumn season is upon us once again. Recent good rains over most parts of the country have made the seed selling season come around quicker than normal, some may say too early.

As I write this I see that the seed harvest in Canterbury has been a stop start affair and the yields have been in a wide band ranging from very disappointing to very encouraging. Seed supply of the lines that ran out last autumn are improving and this is a testimony to how good modern harvesting equipment, seed processing store's and the accompanying seed testing facilities are today.

By the time you receive this e-mail most seeds will be available to you. At this stage seed supply looks like it will be good this season, however some of the newer cultivars normally run short towards the end of the season. Follow this link to keep an eye out on the seed supply situation.

In this edition we will preview:

• Pasture persistence
• Choosing the right cultivar and endophyte option.
• Establishment & Early Management of your new pasture.
• Black Beetle Persistent Ryegrass Options.

Pasture persistence.

I have started to talk to many of my client farmers about their autumn requirements recently and without question the number one requirement from you is pasture persistence. If I think back only 5 years ago it was all about cultivar production, now cultivar persistence is the number one issue. The reason people are looking for a more persistent cultivars is twofold I believe.

The first reason has arisen because most of you have had an experience of drilling a new recommended perennial ryegrass cultivar only to find 3-4 years (or less in some cases) down the track it's disappeared from the paddock.

The second reason is the cost of re-drilling a paddock. Clients I talk to want a pasture that they can sow down and rely on them being still there, producing well in at least 7-10 years time to make the re - drill cost justifiable. It's my hope that the following information will help you this autumn when planning your sow down.

There are many reasons for poor pasture persistence but in summary I believe it comes down to, choosing the right cultivar and endophyte option, getting them established correctly into the right paddock environment and finally the correct management of them once established. Allowing plenty of time to plan your new sow down is a must. Below in the next article are some of the things you should be thinking about during this planning.


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Choosing the right cultivar and endophyte option.

Selecting the right cultivar for your farm is very difficult as there is a huge range to select from. All of them according to the respective companies are the best on the market today.

You really need to think hard about what you want to get out of the new pasture? What season do you need to feed the most? What stock type you are feeding ? And what are the potential pasture pests that are common to your area? Also what endophyte will give you the best long term protection from them? An example of this has been the wide spread use of AR1 endophyte in areas where black beetle are an issue. AR1 offers you no protection from Black Beetle. Also you must also think about what type of grass you want?

Normally hybrid grasses, containing a blend of annual and perennial grasses in their breeding, produce more dry matter short term but persist less than perennials which may be slower to get going but will give you the best chance of long term persistence.


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Establishment & Early Management of your new pasture.

Mistakes made at establishment will have a huge impact on the persistence of your new pasture, particularly if you are using a novel endophyte. Seed bed preparation and drilling at the correct speed, using accurate machinery operated by experienced operators is at the core of this vital stage of establishment. For establishing a novel endophyte inoculated ryegrasses I strongly recommend that you should establish them after a cropping program or using the double spray method of establishment.

Ryegrasses containing novel endophytes are a large step forward to help improving pasture persistence, however unless established correctly the results have in many cases to date been disappointing.

Direct drilling grass into grass using one or in some cases no spraying is a big cause of poor pasture persistence, even if the ryegrass you are using contains a novel endophyte.

New pastures, as they should, will out produce the one you have replaced. It is tempting to get a return on your investment as quickly as possible, we after all only human. However careful early management of your new pasture is easy but important.

We have written a useful guide for you, our clients. Follow this link to download it: http://www.specseed.co.nz/downloads/postdrillpastureguide-SpecialtySeedsNZ.pdf

For an interesting case study on how one farmer is achieving pasture persistence in what can be a very summer dry and high black beetle pressure area click here


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Black Beetle Persistent Ryegrass Options.

With persistence being the theme of this newsletter we thought no better time to introduce two new persistent high end ryegrasses, Trojan NEA2 Perennial ryegrass & Base AR37 Tetraploid Perennial ryegrass, and one oldie but a goody, Matrix Standard Endophyte Perennial ryegrass.

Both Trojan NEA2 Perennial ryegrass and Base AR37 Tetraploid perennial ryegrass have just arrived onto the market this season after extensive testing and trialling throughout the country and are looking extremely promising.

• Trojan NEA2 is a medium-fine leaved and densely tillered diploid perennial ryegrass. Trojan is late heading (+16 days) with a low level of aftermath heading, giving it better feed quality in late spring and summer. (Endophyte Options: NEA2)
  
  
• Base AR37 ryegrass is a very late heading (+22 days) ryegrass that was selected from high yielding, densley tillered plants that survived 2 years of severe drought and hard sheep grazing. Base pastures have low aftermath heading, maximising summer pasture quality and animal production. (Endophyte Options: AR37)

Matrix ryegrass has been available to farmers throughout New Zealand for a number of years and has always been a very popular ryegrass but in recent years the interest in Matrix has re-emerged due to its ability persist in summer drought and high black beetle infestation area.

One dairy farmer, Adam Dene from Elslow near Te Aroha, who has had to battle with "3 of the harshest summers on record" and has "huge black beetle pressure" has been really impressed with Matrix and has tried, ".. other varieties of perennial ryegrass, annual ryegrass, and even tall fescue but they have not been able to stand up to the conditions here; and have not lasted more than 2-3 years". Adam is ".. quite convinced that there is no better grass than Matrix. Its an awesome grass".

• Matrix is a diploid perennial ryegrass cross (Matrix has some 'Meadow Fescue' parentage) with very high dry matter yields, strong winter activity, very late heading, and low aftermath heading for improved late spring quality. (Endophyte Options: SE or LE)

If you require any further information on any of these grasses mentioned above please dont hesitate to contact us.


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We hope this issue has been of some value to you. If you have a comment on this newsletter or the rest of the content in this newsletter please feel free to call us on our Freephone: 0800 727 8873 or send us an email at: mail@specseed.co.nz


Kind Regards


Stephen Finch & David Percival
Specialty Seeds