I need one or two years of pasture before sowing a permanent irrigated pasture. What fits?
An Italian ryegrass is built for that job. Amass and Achieve can both be used as a transition crop after a summer forage while you do remedial work on the paddock, and where managed well they give high-quality pasture for up to two years.
Amass, a tetraploid, needs 600 mm of rainfall or irrigation and is sown at 25–35 kg/ha under irrigation. Achieve, a diploid, is rated from 450 mm and sown at 20–25 kg/ha. Sow either with suitable clovers.
How can I lift production in a tired irrigated dairy pasture without resowing it?
Undersow it with an Italian ryegrass in autumn. Amass is ideal for undersowing dairy pastures: sown into an older sward it boosts winter and spring growth, with benefits carrying into the following summer. It recovers well from heavy grazing and holds quality for longer thanks to its later heading.
Under irrigation, sow Amass at 25–35 kg/ha. Graze the existing pasture down first so the seedlings get light, and drill the seed in rather than broadcasting where you can.
What do I need to do to get a second year out of an Italian ryegrass?
Give it summer moisture and go easy on it in the heat. Italian ryegrass carries into a second year where there's irrigation or summer rain; without that, expect it to behave as a one-year pasture.
Amass and Achieve can give high-quality pasture for up to two years when managed well. Avoid hard grazing through summer and keep fertility up. In its second season Amass flowers late, up to early December, so it stays leafy for longer.
Can I sow ryegrass in spring under irrigation without it running to head?
Yes, with a true Italian ryegrass. Italian types need a cold winter period before they flower, so a spring-sown crop stays leafy through its first summer instead of heading. Amass can be sown in autumn or spring when conditions suit, and it won't go to head when planted in spring.
That makes it useful for summer feed under irrigation or where you get summer rain. Amass needs 600 mm of rainfall or irrigation, and is sown at 25–35 kg/ha irrigated.
Is there an Italian ryegrass that copes with low-fertility soil?
Achieve is the one to look at. This diploid Italian ryegrass has the winter production of an annual with the later production of an Italian, and its increased nutrient utilisation lets it grow in areas of low soil fertility.
It is rated from 450 mm of rainfall, suits sands through to heavy soils, and has mild low pH tolerance and waterlogging tolerance. Sow at 20–25 kg/ha with clovers, and still apply fertiliser at sowing to get it away well.
My ryegrass hay crop keeps lodging. Is there a variety that stands up better?
Achieve has an upright growth habit that prevents lodging during hay and silage production, and its good tillering means it recovers well after cutting or heavy grazing. It's a mid-late heading Italian ryegrass that holds quality late into the season and gives high spring yields.
It suits areas with 450 mm of rainfall or more, on sands through to heavy soils, and is sown at 20–25 kg/ha. For a cutting paddock, sow it in autumn to get the most bulk by spring.
What's the difference between Italian ryegrass and annual ryegrass?
Annual ryegrasses, including westerwolds types, flower in the year they're sown and finish in one season. True Italian ryegrass needs a cold winter before it flowers, heads later, and can carry into a second year where there's summer moisture.
In practice, annuals give fast winter feed and suit shorter seasons, while Italians hold quality later into spring and summer. Our Abundant is a true westerwolds type, while Amass and Achieve are Italian types that can last up to two years.
Is Dargo an Italian or an annual ryegrass?
Dargo is a diploid Italian-type ryegrass that behaves as an annual: it's early heading and gives a single season of production. It has proven itself from Esperance to Geraldton, producing well in shorter seasons and early dry springs.
It's rated from 400 mm of rainfall, suits sands through to heavy soils, and has mild salinity tolerance. Sow 15–30 kg/ha with clovers, no deeper than 2 cm.
How much Amass seed do I sow on dryland versus under irrigation?
Sow Amass at 20–25 kg/ha on dryland and 25–35 kg/ha under irrigation, with suitable clovers either way. On dryland it needs high rainfall, at least 600 mm.
Amass suits sands through to heavy soils and tolerates periodic winter waterlogging. Autumn sowing gives the most winter feed, and early autumn sowing suits paddocks you plan to shut up for silage or hay.
We get about 450 mm of rain. Can we grow an Italian ryegrass?
Yes, if you choose carefully. Achieve is rated from 450 mm and Dargo from 400 mm, so both suit medium-rainfall country, while Amass needs 600 mm or irrigation. Dargo is early heading and performs as a one-season annual, which suits shorter seasons and dry springs.
Achieve heads later and holds quality longer, but in a 450 mm district it will usually behave as a one-year pasture unless you get summer rain. Sow either with clovers.
