Publication Date
1989
Location
Nice France
Description
Although it is now universally accepted that animal performance is the ultimate test of any grassland innovation, few herbage varieties have been evaluated in terms of meat, milk or fibre production. Over the last decade, however, several large grazing trials with beef cattle or sheep have been carried out at Aberystwyth (Munro and Walters, 1986). These have mainly involved promising new Station ryegrass varieties (Lolium spp.) which have completed preliminary screening for yield, persistence and feed quality. In the first trial, comparing two perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) and two cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) varieties, steers on Mascot ryegrass produced 38 % more liveweight gain per ha than those on Conrad cocksfoot (Evans et al., 1980). The enhanced performance was associated with herbage yield and quality factors. The second trial, comparing Siriol tetraploid hybrid ryegrass (L. perenne x L. multiflorum) with a control variety, RvP Italian rye grass (L. multiflorum) resulted in identical yield of herbage organic matter from the two varieties over 3 years, but gave 6 % more liveweight gain per steer and 4 % more per ha from Siriol. The advantages were related to higher leaf proportion, digestibility, mineral content and intake (Evans et al., 1984). The most recent trials, carried out since 1984, have evaluated sheep performance on a new, very early flowering, winter hardy perennial ryegrass, Aurora, bred from plants collected in the Swiss uplands (Tyler and Chorlton, 1979).
Citation
Munro, J.M M. and Davies, D A., "Animal Production Evaluation of New Herbage Varieties" (1989). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 79.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session10/79)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Animal Production Evaluation of New Herbage Varieties
Nice France
Although it is now universally accepted that animal performance is the ultimate test of any grassland innovation, few herbage varieties have been evaluated in terms of meat, milk or fibre production. Over the last decade, however, several large grazing trials with beef cattle or sheep have been carried out at Aberystwyth (Munro and Walters, 1986). These have mainly involved promising new Station ryegrass varieties (Lolium spp.) which have completed preliminary screening for yield, persistence and feed quality. In the first trial, comparing two perennial ryegrass (L. perenne) and two cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) varieties, steers on Mascot ryegrass produced 38 % more liveweight gain per ha than those on Conrad cocksfoot (Evans et al., 1980). The enhanced performance was associated with herbage yield and quality factors. The second trial, comparing Siriol tetraploid hybrid ryegrass (L. perenne x L. multiflorum) with a control variety, RvP Italian rye grass (L. multiflorum) resulted in identical yield of herbage organic matter from the two varieties over 3 years, but gave 6 % more liveweight gain per steer and 4 % more per ha from Siriol. The advantages were related to higher leaf proportion, digestibility, mineral content and intake (Evans et al., 1984). The most recent trials, carried out since 1984, have evaluated sheep performance on a new, very early flowering, winter hardy perennial ryegrass, Aurora, bred from plants collected in the Swiss uplands (Tyler and Chorlton, 1979).
