Ryegrasses
What sort of ryegrass are you after?
We stock:
- Annual Ryegrass: (9 – 12 months) – Super fast growing grasses lasting 9 month to 12 months, Good winter, early spring growth and feed value
- Short Term / Italian Ryegrass: (1 – 2 years or more) – Fast growing grasses with good early spring growth lasting 1 or 2 years or longer depending on summer conditions
- Hybrid Ryegrass: (1-5 years) – Fast growing varieties last 1 to 5 years depending on summer conditions and endophyte status
- Perennial & Long Rotation Ryegrass(Diploid / Tetraploid) (3 – 5 years) – An excellent base for a permanent pasture mix, Good palatability and establishment
- Other Grasses: A range of different grasses with different characteristics (i.e. Tall Fescue, Brome, Cocksfoot, Meadow Fescue, Phalaris, Timothy, Yorkshire Fog) Click here to see the other grasses that are available at Specialty Seeds
Annual Ryegrass
(Sowing Rates: Diploid: Alone: 20-25 kgs per ha, Mixed: 15-18 kgs per ha. Tetraploid: Alone: 25-30 kgs per ha, Mixed: 20-25 kgs per ha)
Devour: – Tetraploid westerwolds type, selected for increased dry matter yields. Very high dry matter production. Click here for more information.
Hogan: – Tetraploid annual ryegrass, Very fast establishment, High Dry matter yield from start to finish and has high value feed.
Sultan: – Fast establishing diploid westerwold ryegrass with strong Autumn/ Winter/ Spring activity.
Tama: – Tetraploid westerwolds type, very old cultivar still used for short term production becoming out classed.
Rampage:- Rampage is Cropmark’s newest tetraploid annual ryegrass. It is the highest yielding annual ryegrass in the National Forage Variety Trials® 2022 summary (all New Zealand) with exceptional yield across all seasons.
Winter Star II: – A tetraploid westerwolds, annual ryegrass, suitable for quick winter feed with improved late season quality making it ideal for silage and hay production.
Zoom: – An exceptional new densely tillered and highly palatable tetraploid Westerwolds annual ryegrass specialising winter feed having outstanding cool season performance.
Italian Ryegrass
(Sowing Rates: Diploid: Alone: 20-25 kgs per ha, Mixed: 15-18 kgs per ha. Tetraploid: Alone: 25-30 kgs per ha, Mixed: 18-22 kgs per ha)
Appeal: Appeal produces high quality forage, of high nutritive value, high digestibility and high palatability. In addition, it has strong disease resistance including against rust, resulting in improved animal acceptance. And unlike some Italian ryegrasses, Appeal will not cause grass staggers.
Asset AR37: – The first Italian ryegrass available with AR37 novel endophyte. Asset was bred from surviving winter-active, second year plants. Asset AR37 can cause ryegrass staggers and should only be used as an undersowing option. Also available in Low endophyte.
Feast II: – Tetraploid Italian type selected for rotational grazing and rapid establishment.
Indulgence: – An Italian ryegrass combining the quality of a tetraploid in a diploid. Dense and finely tillered, leafy and highly palatable. Dip Q Technology
Lush AR 37: – Is a tetraploid Italian ryegrass provides exceptional summer yield and quality (reduced aftermath heading). Lush has strong second year production, better than traditional Italians, growing luscious feed for longer. Lush has exceptional rust tolerance for better consumption by stock.
Manta:- Manta is a new generation of Italian ryegrass that has undergone significant selection in the upper North Island and includes genetics from short term ryegrass ecotypes (some possibly hybrids) from Northland. Alongside this Northern New Zealand ecotype material, Manta has parents from a core pool of successful New Zealand Italian cultivars as well as genetics from Spain.
Moata: – Tetraploid type very old cultivar becoming outclassed but still widely used.
Perun: First festulolium of its type on the market Perun has 80% Italian ryegrass and 20% meadow fescue in its breeding.This has shown to lead to incresed persistence and winter / spring growth. Perun has a high ME content and increased digestibilty.
Supercruise: – is a new diploid Italian ryegrass for the New Zealand market. Displaying all the required attributes of a high quality diploid Italian ryegrass Supercruise has the endurance to go the distance. If you are looking for a cost effective short-term pasture or a reliable option for under sowing into worn out perennial pastures Supercruise is the grass for you.
Tabu+: – Was bred to supersede the bestselling Tabu, with significantly higher total DM yield. Tabu+ is nutritious, with explosive establishment speed and superior cool season growth.
Tabu+ is suitable as an 8-12- month high performance crop; can last 2-3 years in areas with mild summers or can be used for under sowing into run out pasture to boost winter-spring growth.
Vibe: – Vibe is a very persistent and very high yielding diploid Italian ryegrass, having been developed as part of a 15-year plant breeding program focused on developing more persistent Italian ryegrasses. Vibe has shown superior persistence in all trials conducted by Cropmark on farms throughout New Zealand over the last 5 years – under varying environmental conditions and management system; and without sacrificing yield.
Hybrid Ryegrass
(Sowing Rates: Diploid: Alone: 20-25 kgs per ha, Mixed: 15-18 kgs per ha. Tetraploid: Alone: 25-30 kgs per ha, Mixed: 18-22 kgs per ha)
Delish: – Delish is a high yielding, fine yielding and densely tillered tetraploid short rotation (hybrid) ryegrass. Delish has excellent late spring late spring/summer pasture quality.
Forge NEA: – Forge NEA is a game-changer for 3-5 year pastures, the new champion medium-term ryegrass. Year-round yield is exceptional; tetraploid ME and palatability deliver superb animal performance. Plus environmental benefits too. Forge is +11 days heading date.
Frenzy: – Frenzy is a new very high yielding tetraploid hybrid (short rotation) ryegrass containing the NEA endophyte.
Frenzy is extremely fast establishing with strong cool season growth and year-round yields.
Its very fast establishment makes it ideally suited for stitching into old or run-out pastures as well as short term (2-3 years) specialist pastures.
Jeta: – Jeta was locally bred and is quick to establish (80/20), with a very high yield potential, particularly performing well into the Summer with excellent disease resistance. Jeta is a tetraploid ryegrass with a +7 day flowering date.
Maverick GII: – Maverick GII is the next generation diploid short-rotation ryegrass. Maverick GII builds on the success of Maverick Gold with improved Winter / Spring dry matter yields and furthur improvements in summer pasture quality.
Mohaka AR 37: Mohaka was bred for improved early growth and cool season activity over the long rotation tetraploid Ohau. Mohaka is a broader leaved, well tillered hybrid suited to 2-4 year pastures.
Ohau: – Has strong early spring activity which allows it to contribute valuable growth in the critical early lambing and calving period. Ohau is an extremely palatable grass, with a high feed value. Ohau’s palatability results in pastures with a high green leaf content over summer. Ohau is the ideal option for high quality, 2-4- year pasture in conditions suited to tetraploid ryegrass.
Shogun: – (+13 days) Tetraploid hybrid ryegrass fast to establish with proven DM yields in all regions of New Zealand. Available in NEA12 or low endophyte options
Perennial Ryegrass
Diploid Perennial Ryegrass
(Sowing Rates: Diploid: Alone: 20-25 kgs per ha, Mixed: 15-18 kgs per ha)
We have grouped together our perennial ryegrasses into maturing dates which describes when a grass variety starts showing flower or seed heads in spring. Early Maturing” generally means better spring growth as “Late Maturing” means better late spring pasture quality.
Early Season Maturing: (-20 to -1 days)
Early maturing varieties best suited to dryland areas of 550-700mm of rainfall per year only. Also suited to dry paddocks on a farm or low maintenance out paddocks.
Tyson: (-10 days) Tyson is NZ’s earliest heading (-7 days) perennial ryegrass, with tremendous early spring growth and excellent overall yield. This makes it an ideal fit for sheep and beef systems, where additional feed in early spring is critical through lambing and calving. Tyson has excellent total DM yield, but it’s in early spring that it really shines with 18% more yield than other perennial ryegrasses.
Available in AR1 and LE
Mid-Season Maturing: (0 to +10 days)
Well suited to all conditions.
Excess: (+7) Excess is a perennial ryegrass is a medium leaved diploid perennial ryegrass bred for very high dry matter production and cool season growth. Excess is ideally suited for
maximising dairy production with high dry matter during summer and autumn while equally providing a quality option for intensive sheep and beef properties.
Available in AR37, AR1 and LE
Governor: (+8 days) Governor combines genetics from two of Barenberg most popular previous cultivars to set a new standard for AR37 perennial ryegrass persistence. Governor has shown outstanding survival through drought and high insect pressure under grazing on farm trials across the country. Fine, densely tillered and diploid, it will become the premium AR37 cultivar of choice for persistence.
Available in AR37, AR1 and LE
Hustle: (+8) Hustle is a mid-maturity (+ 8 days) diploid perennial ryegrass. It is a new release from RAGT extensive perennial ryegrass breeding and development programme
and was bred with New Zealand’s high-performance farms in mind. Combining excellent production with a mid-heading date helps ensure its suitability to many systems nationwide.
Available in AR1 and LE
Maxsyn: (+8 days) Maxsyn is the next generation with the highest yield of any perennial ryegrass Barenberg have released. Maxsyn’s strength is its warm season growth. It is easier to graze in spring (encouraging new daughter tillers) and has strong summer tillering, helping it persist.
Summer is a time most farm systems are short of feed, so extra pasture is highly valued. Visually you can see the difference, with Maxsyn holding its green colour longer into hot summer conditions.
Available in NEA4
Moxie (0) is one of the latest releases from RAGT perennial ryegrass development programme. Bred specifically for New Zealand conditions, its features will be sure to impress on farm. SF Moxie™ is a very productive diploid perennial with high yields, including exceptional winter growth.
Available in AR1 and LE
Nui: (0)- Older cultivar however has passed the test of time used as a general-purpose ryegrass.
Available in HE or LE.
Reason; – (+3) Reason is a new, mid heading (+3), high performance diploid perennial ryegrass, bred from plants screened in Northland, Waikato, Manawatu and Canterbury. Reason is ideal for sheep, beef and dairy systems looking for extra spring growth, while maintaining summer and autumn quality and production.
Request: – (0) Mid heading with low aftermath seeding returning to leaf production during the summer.
Available in AR37 or AR1
Rely: (0) Dense tillers and fine leaves make Rely perennial ryegrass a robust addition to your pasture portfolio. Perfect for dairy pastures in more challenging environments or for sheep and beef systems. Rely will go the distance yielding and persisting, year after year.
Available in AR37, AR1 and LE
Samson: (+3)- Medium tillered general purpose ryegrass with high summer yields.
Available in HE, LE or AR1, AR37
Late Season Maturing: (+11 to 25+ days)
Better suited to paddocks with good fertility in reliable rainfall areas or under irrigation. Better late season quality than early maturing cultivars.
AberGreen: (+17)- AberGreen is a deep rooting ryegrass with very fine and dense tillers, making it a robust plant under all farm types. AberGreen is the first perennial ryegrass to offer the closest to optimum energy: protein ratio.
AberMagic; – (+19) AberMagic is a deep rooting ryegrass with very dense tillers, making it a robust plant under all farm types. Its increased ground cover makes it hardy under pugging and the greater root mass seen on farm allows AberMagic to tolerate reduced soil moisture. AberMagic is 5.0% higher in digestibility when compared to a standard ryegrass.
Array:- (+23 days) Array is the perennial ryegrass hard-working ruminants have been hoping for. Upright, leafy and densely tillered, it’s customised for easy eating and high intake.
Chomping through thousands of bites every day demands a lot of physical energy! Array takes some of the effort out of this process, because it stands tall and literally puts itself closer to those hungry mouths.
Your animals will naturally eat more as a result, and have more time to relax, ruminate and produce meat or milk. That’s better for them, and for you too.
Barrier; – (+16) Barrier is a specialist insect tolerant, and highly palatable, animal-safe perennial grass variety for use where insect pests are a serious threat to the productivity and persistence of your pastures. Containing the GrubOUT® U2 endophyte, Barrier has strong insect pest tolerance of a wide range of insect pest including grass grub larvae, black beetle adults and larvae, red headed cockchafer, porina caterpillar, black field cricket, root aphid, pasture mealybug and Argentine stem weevil.
Expo: (+21)- New release from PGG Wrightson seeds. High dry matter production, Late flowering (+21days) strong cool season growth. Expo has a high tiller density with improved carbohydrate levels. New Zealand bred.
Available in AR37, AR1 and LE
Legion: (+12) Legion AR37 can be used in general sheep and beef pastures having excellent density for periods of set stocking and winter grazing. It is also a high-performance grass that is well suited to dairy pastures and runoffs. Legion has a good spring growth habit with low aftermath seeding in summertime helping with pasture quality into autumn.
Available in AR37 and AR1
Matrix: (+23)- Diploid type with some meadow fescue parentage, proven high ME and dry matter yields.
Available in HE and LE
One 50: (+20)- New release from Agricom with outstanding summer, autumn and winter production. Late heading, good spring quality and summer leafiness. New Zealand bred.
Available in AR37, AR1, HE and LE
Platform: (+12) Platform is a multi-faceted diploid perennial ryegrass, with high all-year round dry matter production, expected versatility in a number of farming systems including dairy, sheep and beef, and the combination of in-built resilience through plant genetics and the insect tolerance afforded by AR37 endophyte.
Available in AR37 and AR1
Prospect: (+12)- Grasslands Prospect has excellent all-year- round growth and tiller density for persistence.
Available in AR37 and AR1
Rohan: (+ 16 days) Rohan is a spreading perennial ryegrass (SPR) was specifically bred to give sheep and beef farmers persistent, easy-care pasture. It is a diploid with a unique spreading
ability, very fine leaves and a dense habit. It has good palatability, is late flowering and comes with NEA2 endophyte for good animal performance.
Available in NEA2
Three60:- (+20) A 5 star product in the Dairy NZ FVI in the upper North Island and a 4 star in the lower North Island, upper South Island, and southern South Island. In all regions, Three60 is a 5-star product for summer, autumn, and winter. When compared to ONE50, Three60 has an improved spring growth habit. Three60 has demonstrated excellent persistence in the Waikato in very difficult conditions and also has shown high tolerance to crown rust during periods of stress. Another significant performance trait is that Three60 is a highly vegetative cultivar that exhibits very little seed development in a grazed system, making it an ideal cultivar for easy spring and summer pasture management.
Ultra AR1: (+20)- New release from Cropmark seeds. High dry matter production, Late flowering (+20days) strong cool season growth. Inter species – cross New Zealand bred. AR1. Very Late Season Maturing: (+21 to +35 days) – Better suited to paddocks with good fertility in reliable rainfall areas or under cool climate irrigation. Better late season quality than early
maturing cultivars.
Available in AR1 and LE
Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass
(Sowing Rates: Alone: 25-30 kgs per ha, Mixed: 18-22 kgs per ha)
Late Season Maturing: (20+ to 25+ days)
Better suited to paddocks with good fertility in reliable rainfall areas or under irrigation. Better late season quality than early maturing cultivars.
AberGain (+25) AberGain is a high sugar ryegrass, meaning it has been bred to contain a higher level of water-soluble carbohydrates, or sugars, than traditional perennial ryegrass.
Avatar: (+22) Avatar NEA is a very high yielding, very late heading tetraploid perennial ryegrass containing the NEA endophyte, bred for a combination of improved animal safety and persistence against insect pests. It has strong year-round growth performance. PERFORMANCE Avatar NEA is displaying outstanding yield performance in all trials it has been entered into around New Zealand. It is rated a 5 Star grass in Dairy NZ’s Forage Value Index – Upper North Island.
Available in NEA
Base: (+22)- Base is a tetraploid perennial ryegrass available with AR37 endophyte. Base was selected from high yielding, densely tillered plants that survived 2 years of severe drought and hard sheep grazing.
Available in AR37, AR1 and LE
Halo: (+25)- is a new generation tetraploid. Halo is a late flowering perennial ryegrass.
Available in AR37 and AR1
Vast: (+36) Vast is the next generation in tetraploid perennial ryegrass breeding delivering the ultimate combination of density, quality, production and grazing preference for New Zealand farmers to maximise stock performance and productivity.
With an extremely late (+36 days) heading date, Vast offers the latest perennial ryegrass heading date on the market. Low seed head production after the initial seeding period, in combination with a very late flowering date, means Vast will provide high quality feed across the majority of the growing season.
Viscount: (+9 days) Viscount has been a standout tetraploid perennial ryegrass in Barenberg plant breeding programme, with more early spring growth and better total yield than Bealey. Other key benefits include improved rust resistance and high feed quality. Viscount is late heading (+19). The biggest improvement with Viscount is in its early spring growth, coinciding with calving or lambing when feed is most valuable.
Available in NEA4 and LE
4front NEA2: is the new benchmark in tetraploid ryegrass, with superior year-round growth, improved persistence, easy grazing and excellent animal performance. It’s better for the environment, too. 4front NEA2 is the highest yielding tetraploid perennial Barenbrug have bred, outgrowing several other cultivars. Equally important is the way it does this, with high yield across all seasons. 4front has excellent growth in both the cool and warm seasons.
Available in NEA2 and LE