Kikuyu Grass Seed

Sow Whittet Kikuyu at 2 to 5 kg/ha. Our seed is coated and treated with Gaucho, which helps it flow evenly through the seeder and makes placement easier to check. Kikuyu needs a warm, moist seedbed, so sow when soil temperatures are above 20°C and several days of good soil moisture are likely. It suits 650 mm-plus rainfall on sands through to heavy soils.

Sow Whittet Kikuyu in spring or early summer, once the soil temperature is above 20°C and there's a high chance of several days of good soil moisture. Kikuyu needs warmer soil than most pasture grasses. Autumn sowings usually fail because seedlings struggle with the cold and with fast-growing annuals over winter. Control weeds and insects such as redlegged earth mite before sowing, and keep the seed shallow in a firm seedbed.

Wait until the runners are about 20 to 25 cm long and have taken significant roots. Before letting stock in, check that grazing won't pull the runners out of the soil; if it does, give it more time. A short, sharp first graze followed by a rest encourages the runners to spread and thicken the sward. Whittet Kikuyu is deep-rooted and self-repairing once established, so patience early pays off.

Graze it harder and more often. Kikuyu is highly palatable when kept short with a good legume content, but older, rank growth isn't readily eaten. Bring in enough stock to graze it down quickly, then slash or mulch what's left so fresh leaf regrows. On the south coast, growers aim to keep it very short over summer, around 800 kg DM/ha. Nitrogen in the warm season then drives fresh, high-quality regrowth.

Graze the kikuyu hard in autumn. Kikuyu is very competitive, which reduces its compatibility with legumes and other pastures, so around the break bring it down to about 800 to 1000 kg DM/ha so clover and annual grasses can establish. Through winter, aim for more than 60% clover and annual grasses in the sward, and oversow sub clover where legume history is poor. The legume lifts palatability and supplies nitrogen.

Yes, within limits. Whittet Kikuyu has tolerance to waterlogging and mild salinity, and grows on sands through to heavy soils in 650 mm-plus rainfall country. Mild salinity tolerance means it suits slightly salty margins, not bare scalds. For more saline ground, Reclaimer Rhodes Grass was bred for saline areas, while puccinellia suits salty ground that also stays wet through winter.

Whittet Kikuyu is a strong candidate. It's deep-rooted, drought tolerant and highly persistent, survives long dry periods, and persists better under lower fertility than other kikuyu varieties. It's very popular in coastal areas of the South West for sheep and cattle. It needs 650 mm-plus rainfall, has mild frost tolerance and grows little in winter, so run it with annual legumes and grasses for winter feed.

It pays to apply it. Whittet Kikuyu responds well to fertiliser, especially nitrogen in the warm season, and quality is highest when fresh leaf is growing. On the WA south coast, growers commonly apply 40 to 50 kg N/ha after early autumn rain, or in spring and summer ideally just before a rainfall event. A good legume content supplies nitrogen too, and base phosphorus and potassium on a soil test.

It can. Kikuyu spreads by stolons that creep above and below the soil surface and is very competitive, so it can move into neighbouring pasture, cropping country and water channels. Keep it to paddocks where you want a permanent kikuyu base, keep boundaries clean, and manage stock movement from kikuyu paddocks into areas you want kept free of it. The same competitiveness makes it good at holding erosion-prone soil.

Whittet is a taller variety of kikuyu, with broader leaves, thicker stems and larger internodes on its stolons. It's a vigorous grower that gives quick cover, and it persists better under lower fertility than other kikuyu varieties. Like all kikuyu, it's active from late spring through summer into early autumn while it's warm, with very little winter growth. It provides high-quality forage when moisture is available and it's kept grazed short.