Issue 45 / Spring / November 2013

Hi #subname#

Welcome to the November edition of Specialty Seed's SeedData Newsletter.

It certainly has been a very busy past couple of months and with the maize and brassica season in full swing looks set to continue for a while yet.

In this issue we will look at the accidental spillage of "Black Grass", we will have a look at a very interesting new diploid perennial ryegrass being released from NZ Agriseeds this coming autumn Rohan SPR perennial ryegrass.

We will also provide you with a brief summary of most of the perennial ryegrasses available for use in this coming Autumn season and continue with our safely theme and with the festive season approaching take a look at host responsibility.

Calendar Giveaway - Lincoln Young Farmers club fundraiser
Black grass spillage information
Rohan SPG ryegrass preview
Perennial ryegrass information

Calendar Giveaway - Lincoln Young Farmers club fundraiser

Specialty Seeds was once again happy to support the Lincoln young farmers with producing their 2014 Calendar.

This years calendars are once again all of rural nature and natural theme.

We have a limited amount of these to give away again on a first in, first served basis.

Please contact us for your free copy and ensure you supply your postal address.

Black Grass spillage information

Back in July you may have heard or read about the possibility of an accidental spill of a relatively small amount of a very invasive weed called "Black Grass" (Alopecurus myosuroides).

A spill occured whilst some seed was in transportation between Ashburton and a seed dressing plant in Methven (click on the image to see a map).

Since then there has been a quick response from both members of the New Zealand grain and seed industry and the Ministry of Primary Industry.

If you have seen black-grass or suspect you have seen it, please contact:

Ministry for Primary Industries – Exotic Pest & Disease Hotline 0800 80 99 66; or
Environment Canterbury Regional Council Customer Services Line 0800 324 636 (0800 EC INFO); or
Foundation for Arable Research 03 345 5783

Click on the image to the right to download a copy of the "Black Grass Ute guide". This informative leaflet will be useful for people in the affected area and may of interest to others.

Download Link: Download the Help stop Black Grass guide
Download Link: Download the Press Article - Feared black grass weed seeds spilled
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds if you have any questions or information.

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Rohan SPG ryegrass preview

Next autumn will see the release of a new and unique perennial ryegrass called Rohan SPG bred by NZ Agriseeds.

What makes it unique?

Rohan SPG has the ability to spread horizontally through the pastures, filling in bare areas and competing more aggressively against weeds.

These runners root down similar to clover and can become new plants.

Rohan SPG benefits:

Purpose bred to give sheep and beef farmers a persistent, palatable, easy care pasture with strong recovery from adverse climatic events
Very fine leaves and very high tiller density and once established it creates a dense pasture which can better tolerate the harder grazing typically associated with many sheep and beef systems
Comes with NEA2 entophyte which protects the plant from insect pest attack while providing safe, staggers free grazing for sheep and beef
Late flowering type (+18) days with reduced aftermath heading Rohan SPG stays short, leafy, well grazed and green when compared to other sheep and beef pastures

Contact: Contact Specialty Seeds for more information

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Perennial ryegrass information

Perennial ryegrass is the most widely sown grass in New Zealand pastures.

Cultivar	Product information	Endophyte Status	Heading date	Ploidy	Availability
Aberdart	AberDart HSG is a highly nutritious permanent ryegrass because it's been bred to offer higher levels of WSC (sugars). AberDart has a late flowering date (15 days later than Nui) offering high year-round yield with very strong spring, summer and autumn production. For more information please check out the Aberdart ryegrass website page	LE	+15	Diploid	Good
Abermagic	Late flowering date (approx 19 days later than Nui). AberMagic offers exceptional year-round dry matter production. A New Zealand trial conducted by Ag Research has shown an 8% increase in winter production and 11% increase overall compared to the mean of Bronsyn and Impact in the trial over three years. For more information please check out the Abermagic ryegrass website page	AR1 / LE	+19	Diploid	Good
Alto	High performance, persistent, late heading ryegrass suitable for all farming systems. Alto is a fine leaved, robust cultivar with excellent persistence, along with high year-round yield and very good feed value, good resistance to rust and plant pulling. For more information please check out the Agriseeds Alto ryegrass flyer (Page 5)	AR37 / AR1 / LE	+14	Diploid	Good
Ansa	Ansa can be used on a wide range of farm types and locations. Ansa is a high-performance perennial ryegrass with good annual production. Its real strength is in winter, when it yielded better than 10 of the 11 cultivars it was tested against. For more information please check out the Ansa ryegrass flyer	AR1	+14	Diploid	Good
Arrow	Delivers high winter/early spring growth, while performing well in all seasons. Arrow combines early growth with a medium-late heading date. It has a medium erect growth habit allowing good clover compatibility, and has very good persistence. For more information please check out the Agriseeds Arrow ryegrass flyer (Page 8)	AR1 / LE	+7	Diploid	Good
Banquet II	BANQUET® II is a tetraploid long rotation ryegrass, suitable for permanent pasture. BANQUET® II originates from a technically advanced breeding program, and has a range of features far ahead of other ryegrasses. Tetraploid and late flowering, BANQUET® II has also been selected for increased sugar content and digestibility, which improves rumen efficiency, animal performance, and protein utilization. For more information please check out the Banquet II ryegrass flyer	LE / Endo 5	+18	Tetraploid	Good
Barrier Combo	Superior above and below ground protection against insect pests, including grass grub larvae, black beetle adults and larvae, Argentine stem weevil, porina caterpillar, red headed pasture cockchafer, and more. For more information please check out the Barrier Combo ryegrass website	Grubout	+20	Diploid	Good
Base	Base AR37 was selected from high yielding, densely tillered plants that survived 2 years of severe drought and hard sheep grazing. Improved persistence is also offered from AR37 endophyte with protection from five of New Zealand's major pasture pests. Base pastures have low aftermath heading, maximizing summer pasture quality and animal production. For more information please check out the Base AR37 ryegrass website	AR37 / AR1	+22	Tetraploid	Good
Bealey	Bealey perennial ryegrass boosts animal production by combining several key elements: high winter and summer growth; high ME; the palatability of a tetraploid; very late heading; good persistence and clover compatibility. Has excellent resistance to rust and plant pulling. For more information please check out the Agriseeds Bealey ryegrass flyer (Page 9)	NEA2 / LE	+25	Tetraploid	Good
Bronte	Bronte has been bred from persistent plants and has a relatively high tiller density and fine leaf for a highly productive ryegrass. This gives Bronte very good tolerance to grazing, an important characteristic for persistence, and makes it suited to a wide range of grazing styles and animal types. Bronte has a late heading date, but also strong growth in winter and early spring. For more information please check out the Bronte ryegrass website	AR1	+20	Diploid	Good
Expo	EXPO™ is a densely tillered, late flowering diploid perennial ryegrass bred to deliver high quality feed throughout the year. Available with AR1 endophyte, EXPO™ is suitable for all classes of livestock and can be utilized in both rotational and set stocking grazing systems with soils that have medium to high soil fertility. For more information please check out the Expo ryegrass flyer	AR1 / LE	+21	Diploid	Good
Extreme	EXTREME™ is a medium-broad leaved, persistent and densely tillered perennial ryegrass bred for high dry matter production, cool season activity and very low aftermath heading. For more information please check out the Extreme ryegrass flyer	AR37 / AR1 / LE	0	Diploid	Good
Halo	Halo should be used where farmers require maximum performance from a perennial tetraploid pasture. It can be used in all regions, but longevity and production will be optimized on soils with good fertility and drainage, and that don't suffer from severe droughts. For more information please check out the Halo ryegrass flyer	AR37 / AR1	+21	Tetraploid	Good
Kamo	Grasslands Kamo is a diploid perennial ryegrass containing AR37 novel endophyte suitable for permanent pasture. Grasslands Kamo will perform well under a variety of grazing management systems, especially when damaging insects are likely to be present. For more information please check out the Kamo ryegrass flyer	AR37	+2	Diploid	Good
Kingston	KINGSTON is suited to all forms of grazing management, with maximum dry matter production achieved under rotational grazing. KINGSTON's production and persistence under a wide range of conditions make it an ideal long-term perennial pasture option. For more information please check out the Kingston ryegrass flyer	LE	0	Diploid	Good
Matrix	Matrix is a thoroughly proven, high performing and uniquely different Enhanced ® perennial ryegrass variety of meadow fescue and perennial ryegrass parentage, having high ME and digestibility and with very high year-round yields, strong winter / early spring activity, and very late heading (+23 days) for improved quality in late spring. For more information please check out the Matrix ryegrass flyer	LE / SE	+23	Diploid	Good
Grasslands Nui	Older cultivar however has passed the test of time used as a general purpose ryegrass. For more information on Nui Ryegrass please contact Specialty Seeds.	LE	0	Diploid	Good
ONE50	ONE50 is a cross of elite genetics of New Zealand and north-west Spanish origin. It was bred using individual plants that were screened in the pest and rust-prone north of New Zealand. ONE50 is a late-heading diploid perennial ryegrass of medium leaf and tiller size with exceptional production. For more information please check out the ONE50 ryegrass website	AR37 / AR1 / LE	+20	Diploid	Good
Pacific	Grasslands Pacific perennial ryegrass is a diploid that is well proven for New Zealand pastoral farming. Grasslands Pacific perennial ryegrass performs well under a range of grazing management systems. For more information please check out the Pacific ryegrass flyer	LE / HE	+1	Diploid	Good
Prospect	Grasslands Prospect is a new-generation perennial ryegrass that has been bred from a combination of genetics from late-heading north-west Spain perennial ryegrass and traditional mid-heading perennial ryegrass, including material selected for aluminum (Al) tolerance. Due to Prospect's flowering date of +12 days, its peak growth is situated between a late and mid-heading perennial ryegrass. For more information please check out the Pacific ryegrass flyer	AR37 / AR1	+12	Diploid	Good
Request	Request is a mid-flowering perennial ryegrass that bridges the cap with the late heading ryegrasses. For more information please check out the Request ryegrass flyer (Page 4)	AR37 / AR1	+12	Diploid	Autumn 2014
Rohan	Rohan spreading perennial ryegrass is a robust new diploid cultivar bred to give sheep and beef farmers a persistent, palatable, easy care pasture. For more information on Rohan Ryegrass please contact Specialty Seeds.	NEA2 / LE	+18	Diploid	Autumn 2014
Samson	SAMSON is an ideal general-purpose perennial ryegrass due to its low stem production in late-spring and summer, and strong summer and autumn dry matter production. It excels under sheep and beef grazing. It is one of the most widely-tested AR1 varieties available. SAMSON is also available with the new endophyte AR37, which offers improved resistance to insects (e.g. Black Beetle, Root Aphid, Pasture Mealy Bug). For more information please check out the Samson ryegrass flyer	AR37 / AR1 / LE / HE	+3	Diploid	Good
SF Stellar	SF Stellar offers the latest in breeding technology, combining high tiller density which aids persistence, with its exceptional quality which helps drive animal production. SF Stellar's extremely low after math heading contributes to its summer performance. Its superb quality ensures its suitability for all high production farming systems, while its density helps it persist in tough environments. For more information please check out the SF Stellar ryegrass flyer	AR1 / LE	+8	Diploid	Good
Tanker	Tanker is a tetraploid perennial with a late heading date, and is ideal for farmers wanting to achieve high animal performance and stocking rates. Tanker has a relatively fine leaf and high tiller density for a tetraploid, giving it good tolerance to the close grazing and pugging. Tanker has very good total growth compared with standards, is at least as productive in all seasons, with particularly strong growth over summer. For more information please check out the Tanker ryegrass flyer	LE	+16	Tetraploid	Good
Trojan	Trojan is a re-selection from Tolosa - which also delivered excellent persistence - and it first entered our trial system in 2005. Since then it has been sown in 74 separate replicated trials from Northland to Southland across many soil types and farm systems. The bottom line? Trojan has shown excellent persistence. For more information please check out the Trojan ryegrass flyer (page 6)	NEA2	+16	Diploid	Good
Ultra	Ultra Enhanced ® perennial ryegrass is a fine leaved, very densely tillered, late heading diploid Enhanced ® ryegrass which combines the best traits of its parents - the high levels of pasture production available from perennial ryegrass, coupled with the feed quality attributes of meadow fescue. Ultra has strong year-round production, but with exceptional late winter, early spring growth; providing feed when it is needed most for increased livestock needs around calving and lambing. For more information please check out the Ultra ryegrass website	AR1 / LE	+23	Diploid	Good

Download: Click here to download the Pasture establishment guide
Download: Click here to download the Diploid vs Tetraploid plants guide
Downloads: Click here to go to the Specialty Seeds Download's page for downloadable information guides.
Contact Link: Contact Specialty Seeds for help selecting the right ryegrass for your farm.

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

Stephen Finch & David Percival
Specialty Seeds - New Zealand



This was another informative "SeedData Newsletter" - brought to you by Specialty Seeds NZ
Website: www.specseed.co.nz \| Email: mail@specseed.co.nz \| Phone: 0800 727 8873 \| Fax: 0800 365 6663

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