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Issue 71 / Summer / February 2016
Hi [firstname]
Welcome to the February 2016 SeedData newsletter.
As I write this I would have to say that to date El Nino has treated most New Zealand pastoral farmers quite well, with many farmers trying to figure out what to do with the surplus grass they have!
The flip side is that while the recent rains have done a good job in helping many of the arable crops “finish off”, it has also made some of the harvest difficult, in particular the ryegrass harvest.
This will cause some delay for cultivars that are currently sold out to come back on the market but all and all so far the season has been a good one.
In this months edition we will look at the new Bealey replacement a new Italian and a couple of new clovers on the market.
Please browse these topics below:
Viscount tetraploid perennial ryegrass to replace Bealey
Many of our clients that like the palatability and ease of pasture management that tetraploid perennial ryegrasses offer will have no doubt over time used Bealey from NZ Agriseeds with great success.
As the plant breeders at New Zealand Agriseeds are always seeking to improve the performance of their cultivar range it has comes as no surprise to see the replacement for Bealey, Viscount finally come onto the market.
Viscount has been a standout tetraploid perennial ryegrass performer in Agriseeds plant breeding program and will be available in limited amounts this coming autumn.
From what I have seen, Viscount has both higher all round yield and better rust resistance when compared to Bealey. Viscount is slightly earlier than Bealey (6 days) with an upright growth habit, making it easier to graze and more clover friendly.
Viscount is only available with NEA endophyte at this stage which offers it excellent insect protection and improved black beetle resistance.
We will have a limited amount of Viscount available for this coming autumn so should you wish to try some or if you would like more information on it please contact us.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions.
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Three more releases from PGG Wrightsons Seeds
In last months Seedata newsletter we had a look at Legacy, a new large leaf type white clover release from PGG Wrightsons Seeds.
It appears the plant breeders have been working overtime on the research farm as we can now show you yet another three releases from them.
- Supercruise Italian ryegrass (new)
Supercruise Italian ryegrass will be available post-harvest 2016 (Towards the end of February) and is the first new Italian release from the company for many years.
Supercruise is a diploid type and was selected to have attributes that include very fast establishment, high yields of dry matter with excellent spring / early summer production.
One trend we see coming from plant breeders nowadays is the push to breed robust and persistent cultivars and this trait has been targeted for in Supercruise.
- Hilltop small leaf white clover (new)
The name says it all with their new release of a New Zealand bred clover aimed at replacing the very successful Tahora and of late Tahora 2 white clovers.
As the traditional sheep and beef farms are increasingly being pushed up into the foot hill regions of New Zealand developing cultivars to do well in this environment just makes sense.
Hilltop has a very high stolon density, small leaf size with excellent performance in medium to below medium soil fertility situations.
The high stolon density and smaller leaf size makes Hilltop a good choice under set stocking systems and to compete against invasive grasses such as Browntop.
Hilltop has also shown to have a broad adaptability in both moist and dryland situations that are commonly found in the hill country / high country pastoral environment.
- Quartz medium leaf white clover (new)
The new Quartz white clover will complete the white clover update for PGG Wrightsons Seeds as they now have a new large leaf type (Legacy) a new small leaf type (Hilltop) and with Quartz a new medium leaf type.
Quartz will eventually replace Bounty and like Bounty will have excellent persistence for its type. Quartz is medium leaf in size with a semi prostrate growth habit and improved stolon density.
Early indications from trial results show Quartz has the ability to cope well within a wide range of farming systems and conditions.
I personally think it will work particularly well when mixed in with Legacy to give our clients that large leaf/medium leaf combination that works so well.
As mentioned we are looking forward to seeing these new cultivars out on our clients farms working and helping to improve their respective farms performance.
Supercruise should be available within the next two weeks and the two new clovers a bit later into March.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions or would like to order any of these new products.
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Fodder beet tip of the month
If you are thinking about keeping a paddock currently in fodder beet for a 2nd year crop, it is very important to remove any bolters, now.
There are two types of fodder beet bolters that you can get in your crop.
These are either environmental or annual bolters.
For more information on bolters please download the Fodder beet bolters leaflet or contact us using the link below.
Downloads Link: Download the Fodder beet bolters leaflet.
Website Link: Click here for more details on Fodder beet.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions.
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As always, we hope this issue has been of some value to you. If you have a comment on this newsletter or anything on our website, please give us a call on our Freephone: 0800 727 8873, send us an email at: mail@specseed.co.nz.
Kind Regards
Stephen Finch & David Percival
Specialty Seeds - New Zealand
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