DLF look to New Zealand grass varieties

The last time a New Zealand-bred grass variety attracted as much attention was when Bealey was introduced back in 2008/2009. A tetraploid with exceptional growth rates, it was sown in Curtins Farm in Moorepark and at the Greenfield Farm in Kilkenny, but had poor tolerance to the severe frost in 2010/2011.

Now DLF, the Waterford-based seed importer, has a new range of perennial ryegrass varieties from New Zealand available to Irish farmers.

The big attraction this time is a late tetraploid called Vast and it is available as part of a “Kiwi Grazer” mixture developed by DLF.

Vast is a well-known variety in New Zealand and is used on many high performing dairy farms where its low seed head count and high summer and autumn growth rates are seen as a big advantage.

Based on its late heading date, quality in spring is high, but often times with late heading varieties spring growth can be low.

The other varieties in the “Kiwi Grazer” mix include Bowie, Nashota and Anurad along with white clover.

Very little Irish information is available about Vast because it has not been put forward for the Irish recommended lists trials, but, according to DLF’s Thomas Moloney, the variety has been evaluated since 2020 at the company’s evaluation trial sites on partner farms.

DLF say that of the 21 varieties on trial, Vast performed consistently well in terms of dry matter yield, utilised yield and grazability, which is determined by post grazing sward height after being grazed by animals.

The companion grasses in the “Kiwi Grazer” mixtures have been through the Irish recommended lists trials and so have a PPI.

Grazing mixture

DLF are also offering an all-tetraploid and all five-star grazing utilisation trait seed mixture. Containing the varieties Nashota, Xenon and Aspect and white clover, DLF says the mixture is unique in that it contains no diploid grass varieties but says that tetraploids have better quality, better graze out and better utilisation than diploids.

Other grazing mixtures are available with some diploids.

DLF are also big players on the multispecies front and has the plantain variety Agritain in its stable.

This is also a New Zealand-bred variety that has been proven in trials to significantly reduce nitrogen leaching from urine splashes.

It does this by reducing the amount of nitrogen in the urine and diluting the nitrogen in the urine so it is less potent.

The rate of conversion of the ammonium to nitrate in the urine splash is also delayed when animals are fed a diet high in plantain.

Some farmers are now including plantain in their seed mixtures along with white clover.

This is a sort of half-way house approach between full multispecies and the more conventional perennial ryegrass and white clover mixture.