Breeding and Research
The significant contribution of pastures to a successful, financially sound farming economy is reflected by the level of science and research which goes into the breeding and evaluation of pastures. The diverse range of species, the number of cultivars and the variation of characteristics in cultivars, ensures farmers have access to the ‘best fit’ pasture options for their farming practice.
Ceres Research Centre was the former PGG Seeds breeding and research facility the first private plant breeding station set up in New Zealand in 1973.
Following the merger between PGG and Wrightson, Ceres is now part of the expanded PGG Wrightson Seeds research group.
Agricoms breeding facility is based in Canterbury New Zealand, with extensive off site evaluation programmes throughout Australia. Kimihia Research Centre is the breeding and research facility for Agricom. Today, there are in excess of 50 products carrying the Ceres and AgResearch Grasslands name in the international market. Thirty plus years after the initiation of the private plant breeding and evaluation programme, Australian farmers now have access to products with beneficial advances in pest and disease tolerance, for better persistence, productivity and reliable animal performance.
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PGG Wrightson Seeds has as exclusive long-term strategic plant breeding relationship with AgResearch and Grasslanz Technology (an AgResearch subsidiary) in the areas of ryegrass and tall fescue. This joint venture called Grasslands Innovation was formed to discover, develop and market forage innovations internationally.
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Understanding the breeding process is useful when considering the purchase of a new product. All Agricom products have been progressed through each step in the breeding programme, including extensive off-site evaluation in different environments and farming systems throughout Australia. Farmers can buy Agricom cultivars with confidence knowing they come from a highly developed breeding programme and are backed by strong technical support to retailers and farmers alike.
The Breeding Programme Includes
| Ryegrass |
Herbs |
| Tall fescue |
Brassicas |
| Cocksfoot |
Clovers |
| Brome species |
Timothy |
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Endophyte is a fungus found in many grass species. The fungal strands grow between the plant cells, and transmit themselves to the next grass generated by growing into the developing seed head and then growing into the subsequent grass seedling.
Understanding the impact of endophytes (both in ryegrass and tall fescue) has lead to the development of new ‘novel’ endophytes. These novel endophytes aim to reduce the negative effects on stock health. Current commercial endophytes include:
AR1 – ryegrass (AgResearch)
Provides a safer pasture with excellent animal performance while providing a moderate range of insect protection. Care is needed in areas with high Black Beetle numbers as AR1 only gives moderate resistance to this pest.
AR37 – ryegrass (AgResearch)
Provides greater insect control than any other commercially available endophyte, providing increased tolerance of Argentine Stem Weevil, Root Aphid and Black Beetle. Has excellent animal performance (similar to AR1).
What animal health issues are associated with AR37?
AR37 does not cause heat stress or other animal effects associated with high levels of ergovaline.
Although AR37 does not contain lolitrem B it can cause ryegrass staggers. Trials have shown that on average the frequency, duration and severity of ryegrass staggers is less than for standard endophyte. However on occasions sheep (and potentially other animals) grazing AR37 ryegrass may be severely affected for short periods. To date no ryegrass staggers have been reported on dairy cows grazing on AR37 ryegrass. Due to the fact that no trial work has been undertaken on deer and horses, pastures with AR37 are not currently recommended for these classes of livestock.
Endo5 – ryegrass (AgResearch)
Endo5 pastures (as with AR1) contain no Lolitrem B, but have good resistance to Argentine Stem Weevil, Pasture Mealy Bug, Black Beetle and tolerance to Root Aphid, through the presence of low levels of Ergovaline. Endo5 pastures should persist better than AR1 pastures in areas where Black Beetle or Root Aphid is a problem.
NEA2 - ryegrass
Thought to provide insect protection similar to Endo5. NEA2 pastures contain low levels of Peramine and Ergovaline and very low levels of Lolitrem B.
Standard (High), Standard (Low) Endophyte
With the introduction of novel endophytes, this endophyte option is used predominantly where tough conditions may affect persistence. Stock grazing these pastures may suffer from ryegrass staggers and reduced weight gains during the warm part of the year. These effects may be reduced by adjusting summer/autumn grazing management.
MaxP® – tall fescue (AgResearch)
MaxP® is a novel tall fescue endophyte that improves the ability of tall fescue pastures to handle pest attack and moisture stress. Tall fescue with MaxP® endophyte offers improved persistence compared with tall fescue without endophyte.
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These sites throughout the eastern side of Australia including Tasmania are used to evaluate current commercial varieties and the potential of breeding lines. These sites are also used for demonstration and educational purposes. They provide local data to assist retailers in cultivar selection for their specific farming region.
VIC, TAS and NSW DPI
A Government-managed, independent, trialing system for the evaluation of commercial species.
Terang Demo Dairy
A number of Agricom varieties, including forage brassica and herb mixes are under evaluation in a commercial dairy farming situation.
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