Description
The persistence of sown, temperate pasture species is an important determinant of perennial pasture-grass productivity. Defining the traits that affect persistence is essential for improving pasture longevity through plant breeding and for identifying criteria that should be included in cultivar ranking indices such as the DairyNZ, Forage Value Index. Compared with a conventional longitudinal study, in which pasture from a single sowing is monitored over time, repeated annual sowings allow the effects on persistence of sowing year and the ensuing interactions between environment and age of pasture to be identified. A repeated sowings experiment was commenced at two sites: under sheep grazing in Canterbury, New Zealand and under cattle grazing in Waikato, New Zealand. At each site, eight cultivars of perennial ryegrass representing different ploidy, flowering date, and decade of cultivar release, and one cultivar each of tall fescue and cocksfoot were sown in a randomised complete block design with four replicates, in autumn each year. The longitudinal cohort (i.e., the measurements conducted over time following each annual sowing) is the experimental unit for effects of sowing year and age. This paper reports interim data from the longest available longitudinal cohort, sown in autumn 2016 at Waikato on pasture yield and botanical composition measured in spring and autumn for six successive years following sowing. Repeated measures analysis of the six years of pasture data was used to identify trends over time and inter-annual variability in the effects of cultivar and site.
Included in
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Persistence of Perennial Ryegrass, Tall Fescue and Cocksfoot Following Sequential Annual Sowings: Influence of Species, Cultivar and Pasture Age on Inter-Annual Variability in Yield and Botanical Composition
The persistence of sown, temperate pasture species is an important determinant of perennial pasture-grass productivity. Defining the traits that affect persistence is essential for improving pasture longevity through plant breeding and for identifying criteria that should be included in cultivar ranking indices such as the DairyNZ, Forage Value Index. Compared with a conventional longitudinal study, in which pasture from a single sowing is monitored over time, repeated annual sowings allow the effects on persistence of sowing year and the ensuing interactions between environment and age of pasture to be identified. A repeated sowings experiment was commenced at two sites: under sheep grazing in Canterbury, New Zealand and under cattle grazing in Waikato, New Zealand. At each site, eight cultivars of perennial ryegrass representing different ploidy, flowering date, and decade of cultivar release, and one cultivar each of tall fescue and cocksfoot were sown in a randomised complete block design with four replicates, in autumn each year. The longitudinal cohort (i.e., the measurements conducted over time following each annual sowing) is the experimental unit for effects of sowing year and age. This paper reports interim data from the longest available longitudinal cohort, sown in autumn 2016 at Waikato on pasture yield and botanical composition measured in spring and autumn for six successive years following sowing. Repeated measures analysis of the six years of pasture data was used to identify trends over time and inter-annual variability in the effects of cultivar and site.
