BROWNTOP
K.R. Brown, R.S. Wilson and N. Blakemore
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Sefton browntop is a new Grasslands cultivar. At present there are three
growers entering Sefton for certification, with a total of 22 ha sown. Yields average
around 150 kg ha-‘. Egmont browntop is more established in the New Zealand
herbage seed industry. Thirty-five growers entered crops for certification in 1988,
amounting to 200 ha.- Yields average around 150 kg ha-’ but yields of 450 kg ha“
have been recorded.
C O C K S F O O T
K.R. Brown and C. Lill
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Around 1000 ha of cocksfoot seed are entered for certification each year.
Average seed yields are 250 kg ha” for Grasslands Kara and 400 kg ha- for
Grasslands Wana, but specialist growers can achieve at least another 100 kg ha-‘.
In the case of Wana cocksfoot yields of 700 kg ha” have been recorded.. Most of
the cocksfoot seed crops in New Zealand are in the Methven area.
DISEASES AND PESTS OF GRASS SEED CROPS
R.E. Falloon
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This paper will discuss the diseases and pests that affect grass seed
production. In order to put the diseases and pests into perspective, the
principlesof grass seed production will be considered.
The components of yield of any crop for which seed is the product are:
number of plants per unit area; number of inflorescences per plant; number of
seeds per inflorescence; seed weight,
Many factors can influence these components, for example:
(1) crop establishment (cultivation, seed quality, seeding rate, sowing
time, soil moisture and fertility can all affect numbers of plants)
(2) crop growth (soil moisture, fertility, grazing and weeds can affect
crop growth and influence numbers of inflorescences and numbers
and weight of seeds).
ESTABLISHMENT, SPACING DENSITY AND GRAZING EFFECT
M.D. Hare
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For the production of acceptable yields of grass seeds, attention must be
paid throughout the life of the plant towards encouraging the type of growth and
development that is likely to result in the maximum seed production from any
particular stand during its lifetime.
The lifetime of certified grass seed crops’in New Zealand ranges from one
harvest season for Tama ryegrass, to four harvest seasons for perennial
ryegrass, six for tall fescue, seven for phalaris and eight for cocksfoot.
Management of these stands, particularly the long term stands, is a year round
process right from the day harvest is finished until the next season’s harvest.
In this paper severalcultural aspects of grass seed production which will
encourage consistent high seed yields throughout the lifetime of the stand, and
methods of avoiding the decline in seed yields that often comes with stand age,
will be discussed. Particular emphasis will be placed on plant density in
establishing the stand, time of establishment and post-harvest management.
HARVEST - THE WEEK BEFORE AND ON THE DAY
G. Marr
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The first rule in harvesting is not to panic. The second is to plan ahead
and prepare the machinery months in advance so that everything is ready when
the time comes. As a general rule when the cocksfoot crop flowers at Methven
there are 28 days until harvest; when close examination of the seed kernel
indicates that it has passed from the milk to dough stage, there are seven days.
left.
Cocksfoot is judged to be ripe when seed drops into a hat swept through
the crop. If in doubt an infra-red lamp is used. After cutting, the crop is
windrowed high, parallel to the prevailing wind. A secondary cut with the rotary
mower increases wind protection and improves ease of pickup.
HERBICIDES AND FERTILISERS
M.P. Ralston
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In the battle against weeds one can either try the Father Christmas
approach -hoe, hoe, hoe, ,., or try herbicides However, before beginning on
the herbicide approach it must be stated that with increases- in the price of
herbicides, and awareness of associated problems including weed tolerance,
hoeing and spot-spraying should be a more common practice.
The weed problem is such that one in ten ryegrass seed crops are
rejected or downgraded because of weeds. This is a massive mortality rate.
Seventy-five percent of all rejections and downgradings are because of weeds;
they are a major .problem in seed production. Wild oats are a major contributor
to the problem, also soft brome (also known as goosegrass) particularly when
over-threshed; bearing this in mind headers should be adjusted to’ keep awns
intact.
MANAWA, MOATA AND TAMA
K.R. Brown and R.R. McIntosh
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Grasslands Manawa, Moata and Tama are greenfeed crops. Manawa is a
perennial x Italian hybrid, also known as ‘short-rotation ryegrass’. Moata is a
tetraploid Italian ryegrass and Tama is a tetraploid Westerwolds Italian ryegrass (i.e.,
it is an extreme annual type). About 1500 ha of these three were entered for
certification in the 1987/88 season; twice as much Moata was sown as Manawa and
Tama. Yields of l$OO kg ha-’ are achieved by specialist growers in these crops;
in theory yields of 2000 kg ha-’ should be possible.
NUCLEUS SEED MULTIPLICATION
E. Kevern
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The multiplic,ation of Nucleus Seed to produce Breeders’ Seed of any of
the Grasslands Division cultivars not covered by Head Licensees is handled by
the Grasslands Division Seed Production Specialist. The procedure for the
selection of increase areas is as follows.
The Region: Wherever possible, cultivars are kept to districts that produce that
type of cultivar already. As an example, ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ perennial ryegrass
is grown at Waitohi in South Canterbury. This helps eliminate chance of crosspollination,
provides better isolation, and reduces the likelihood of disagreements
between
PRAIRIE GRASS
I.R. Brown, J.G. Hampton and C. Lill
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Prairie grass is used in dairy pastures and for winter/spring feed on sheep
farms. Four. hundred and fifty-nine hectares of prairie grass were grown for seed
in 1987/88. Average yields are 680 kg ha-‘; the specialist grower can achieve yields
of 1400 kg ha-‘.
RYEGRASS SEED CROPS
K.R. Brown, G. Lill, J. McCartin, D. Jarman, B. McCloy, J.G. Hampton,
M.P. Rolston, A.V. Stewart and J. White
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Perennial ryegrass seed has been one of the most profitable large scale arable
crops in the long term, where good yields have been maintained. The key factor in
producing high yields of quality ryegrass seed is to take a ‘specialist crop’ approach.
By following the principles given here, specialist growers are achieving consistent
seed yields of 1500 kg ha”.
SEED AGENCIES FOR GRASSLANDS’ CULTIVARS
J.A. Lancashire
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The seed agency system was set up in New Zealand to inject some netl; life
into the industry. Over the past 30 years the New Zealand Herbage Seeds Industry
has been in a no-growth phase: it has not expanded; the amount of certified seed
has been static, if not declining; exports have stayed at the same level in terms of
percentage of total exports; the-amount of pasture renewal has stayed at 2-3% of
the total pasture area. During this time there was little promotion of the different
cultivars of grass seed, presumably because individual companies were reluctant to
spend money on advertising which would not benefit them specifically. By bringing
in a system whereby individual companies within New Zealand have the
responsibility for individual cultivars, expenditure on promotion is directly
recoupable by the company doing the promoting. Furthermore, planned marketing
with amounts of seed grown being linked into projected markets which have been
created or developed both here and overseas, is possible.
SEED CERTIFICATION
K.G. Broadfoot
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The provision of good seed is an essential requirement for a healthy
primary production industry. Without good seed, pastures and crops can be low
producing, livestock production less than optimal and land not utilised to
advantage.
An effective Seed Industry needs:
* Plant Breeders to produce suitable cultivars for the differing
requirements in various parts of New Zealand.
* An authority to supervise the multiplication of the seed produced
by the breeder.
* Skilled and efficient farmers to grow the seed.
* Modern cleaning plants capable of removing impurities from the
harvested seed.
* An efficient seed trade to expedite the flow of seed from
producer to consumer (NZ and overseas).
* A means of ensuring that contaminated seed does not spread
undesirable weeds through NZ.
* Plant Quarantine regulations which can effectively prevent the entry
of diseases, insects and undesirable species.
* A prompt and accurate seed testing service.
Seed certification is a means of achieving all these.
SEED PROCESSING
P. O’Neill
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Co-operation, tolerance, communication and planning are necessary at harvest
1 time, and can help minimise delays and difficulties when off-loading seed at the
processing plant. In normal circumstances the first areas of concern on the seed’s
arrival into store are the condition of the seed and the certification requirements.
These areas have been dealt with in other papers, so this paper will concentrate on
the post-harvest treatment of seed.
A common fault in ryegrass harvesting is to. include a large amount of light
trash, straw and empty glumes in the sample. This creates problems when dressing,
for although the rubbish can be removed relatively easily and the weight loss may
not be excessive, production from the plant is likely to be reduced because of the
volume passing through the machine. Furthermore, in an effort not to lose good
seed the operator may tend to cut back on ‘blast’. This in turn may result in an
inferior Purity and Germination test because of the inert matter content.
TALL FESCUE
K.R. Brown, D. Ritchie and C. Lill
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Roa tall fescue was bred by Grasslands Division for high summer
productivity and drought tolerance.. By following the principles outlined, specialist
growers are able to achieve machine dressed seed yields of over 600 kg ha-l; seed
yields of over 1000 kg ha“ have been recorded.
THE FLOWERING AND SEEDING PROCESS
R.H.M. Langer
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Whether one is a butcher, baker, candlestick-maker, seed producer or
traffic officer one needs to understand the,components of the system one is
dealing with before one can understand the system itself. Traffic officers, for
example, need to know about cars and how they work (lights and brakes and
all things subject to a warrant of fitness). For any job, however simple it
appears, one must understand the components of the system in order to
understand the system.
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