Our spring dries off early. Which tetraploid annual ryegrass should I sow?
Choose an early-heading variety, so the ryegrass does its main growth and sets seed before the soil dries out. New Tetila is our earliest tetraploid annual. It is rated for 500 mm of rainfall and up, with strong winter growth and production that peaks in early to mid spring.
If your season is shorter or drier than that, a tetraploid may not be the right tool. Safeguard, a very early diploid annual rated from 350 mm, is built for short seasons. Sow tetraploids at 25–35 kg/ha.
I want ryegrass feed to last into November. Which tetraploid holds on longest?
Pick a later-heading variety, because ryegrass quality falls once it runs to head. Evoke is our latest-heading tetraploid annual. It combines annual and Italian ryegrass genetics to hold quality later in the season, and it suits areas with 550 mm of rainfall or more.
Astound and Amazon T are mid-late, and Abundant, a mid-season type, can stay green into late spring when it has enough moisture and nutrition. In shorter seasons a late variety may not finish, so match maturity to your rainfall.
My paddock goes wet in winter. Will a tetraploid annual ryegrass cope?
Yes, within limits. All five of our tetraploid annuals, Astound, Amazon T, New Tetila, Abundant and Evoke, are rated for waterlogging tolerance. In practice that means coping with short periods of wet feet, not standing water for weeks.
Keep heavy stock off when the soil is soft, as pugging damages a tetraploid's fewer, larger tillers. On soils that are also acidic, Amazon T has mild low pH tolerance, and New Tetila has mild salinity tolerance for slightly salty patches.
The autumn break is often patchy here. Which tetraploid gets up fastest?
Astound and Amazon T were both selected for fast emergence after unreliable autumn breaks. Their large seed gives seedlings more reserves, and Astound's large seed also helps where sowing depth is uneven.
Sow shallow, around 10–15 mm, into moist soil and roll if you can to improve seed-soil contact. Astound is rated from 450 mm of rainfall and Amazon T from 500 mm, and both are sown at 25–35 kg/ha.
Rust turns my ryegrass orange every spring. Which tetraploid resists it?
Rust is worst in warm, humid spring weather, so variety choice matters on the coast and in irrigated paddocks. Amazon T was selected for excellent rust resistance where high humidity occurs in spring, and Astound has outstanding rust resistance, which helps keep it palatable late in the season.
Management helps too. Don't let pasture get long and rank, graze rusty paddocks down to remove infected leaf, and keep nitrogen up, as nutrient-stressed ryegrass is more prone to rust.
Stock love my tetraploid ryegrass but seem to need more of it. Why?
Tetraploid ryegrass has larger cells holding about 20% more water, so each mouthful carries less dry matter, and therefore less energy, than the same weight of diploid grass. Stock eat it eagerly because it is palatable and higher in sugars, and its protein is similar to a diploid's.
For milkers and finishing stock, sowing a tetraploid with a diploid gives a better balance of dry matter and quality. Offering some hay or other dry feed during very lush periods can also help.
Should I mix tetraploid and diploid ryegrass in the same paddock?
Often, yes. A blend gives a more balanced pasture: the tetraploid brings palatability and feed quality, the diploid adds dense tillers and extra dry matter, and silage from a mix cures more easily than a pure tetraploid stand.
Finefeed, our late-flowering diploid annual, is a good partner for Amazon T. Remember tetraploid seed has half the seeds per kilogram, so the tetraploid share of the blend needs to be large enough to count. Talk to us about blend rates for your paddock.
Can I sow tetraploid ryegrass at a lighter rate to stretch my seed?
We wouldn't. Tetraploid seed is larger, with about half as many seeds per kilogram as a diploid, so sowing at a diploid rate leaves a thin, low-density stand that weeds can move into. All our tetraploid annuals are sown at 25–35 kg/ha.
Use the higher end of the range where seedbed conditions are less than ideal. Higher rates also lift production when you back them with extra fertiliser.
Are tetraploid ryegrasses harder to make into hay or silage?
They can be slower to dry, because tetraploid leaves hold more water than diploids, so allow extra wilting time. A tetraploid and diploid mix cures more easily than a pure tetraploid stand.
Among our tetraploid annuals, Abundant is finer stemmed, has excellent silage and hay attributes and regrows well after a cut. Astound, New Tetila and Evoke also suit hay and silage, while Amazon T is listed for grazing and hay.
How do I get winter feed out of a kikuyu paddock?
Oversow an annual ryegrass into it in autumn. Astound was selected for fast emergence and for mulching into kikuyu, which makes it a strong choice where kikuyu dominates.
Before the break, graze or mulch the kikuyu hard, to around 800–1000 kg DM/ha, to open the sward so ryegrass seedlings get light and space. Once they're up, keep grazing pressure on the kikuyu so the ryegrass carries the paddock through winter. Sow Astound at 25–35 kg/ha.
