Description
Annual ryegrass reestablished yearly by allowing natural reseeding is a common practice among Uruguayan farmers. Its success relies on the farmers’ ability to balance grazing and seed production during spring. We tested a set of ryegrass varieties covering a wide range of heading dates under defoliation management. Each variety was managed independently according to its phenological stage, resulting in different closing dates. We tested the varieties’ ability to produce seeds under such management, the effect of heading date on seed yield components, the resulting amount of straw and its effect on summer soil temperatures. A strong negative association between heading date and most of the seed yield components were found. A negative correlation was also found with the amount of straw that remains after the end of the growing season, and this was associated with higher soils surface temperature peaks during summer. We conclude that early maturing varieties could perform better where reseeding is desired.
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Annual Ryegrass Managed for Reseeding Purposes: Relationship Between Heading Date and Seed Production
Annual ryegrass reestablished yearly by allowing natural reseeding is a common practice among Uruguayan farmers. Its success relies on the farmers’ ability to balance grazing and seed production during spring. We tested a set of ryegrass varieties covering a wide range of heading dates under defoliation management. Each variety was managed independently according to its phenological stage, resulting in different closing dates. We tested the varieties’ ability to produce seeds under such management, the effect of heading date on seed yield components, the resulting amount of straw and its effect on summer soil temperatures. A strong negative association between heading date and most of the seed yield components were found. A negative correlation was also found with the amount of straw that remains after the end of the growing season, and this was associated with higher soils surface temperature peaks during summer. We conclude that early maturing varieties could perform better where reseeding is desired.
