Panic Grass Seed

Gatton panic is well suited. Its root system is concentrated in the upper soil layers, so it responds quickly to light showers, and once established it's deep-rooted and persistent with some drought tolerance. It suits 300 mm-plus rainfall on light sands through to loams, with a soil pH (CaCl2) of 5 or more. On lighter soils it needs good soil nutrition to persist, so soil test and fertilise accordingly.

Usually both. Gatton panic is a deep-rooted bunch grass with good palatability and shade tolerance, while Rhodes grass spreads by stolons to cover ground, and some varieties handle salt or wetter soils. Gatton doesn't tolerate waterlogging and is sensitive to frost. We recommend sowing Gatton with other sub-tropical grasses, as it can be hard to establish enough plants on its own. Our WA Northern Perennial Pasture Mix is mainly Gatton, with Katambora and Finecut Rhodes.

Sow Gatton Panic Grass at 4 to 8 kg/ha. Our seed is coated and treated with Gaucho; the coating helps the small seed flow evenly through the seeder but adds weight, so coated rates run higher than the bare-seed rates you may see quoted. Gatton is best sown with other sub-tropical grasses. Our WA Northern and WA Southern Perennial Pasture Mixes both include Gatton and are sown at 6 to 8 kg/ha.

Seed dormancy is a common cause. Freshly harvested Gatton and green panic seed can take 8 to 10 months after harvest to reach full germination, so seed from the previous season usually performs best. Sowing too deep, into cold soil or ahead of a dry spell are the other usual culprits. Gatton establishes more easily than other panic grasses, but getting enough plants can still be hard, which is why we recommend sowing it with Rhodes grass.

No. Gatton panic doesn't tolerate waterlogging and is suited to well-drained light sands to loams, so keep it to the freely drained parts of the paddock. For wetter areas, Callide Rhodes Grass has waterlogging tolerance and Katambora Rhodes Grass has mild tolerance, though Callide needs 400 mm-plus rainfall and is better north of Perth. Setaria is the other summer grass commonly used on wetter duplex soils.

With care. Gatton panic is sensitive to frost, and plants grazed hard in late summer or autumn are more likely to be killed by heavy frost, so go easy in autumn and leave a good residue going into winter. South of Perth, our WA Southern Perennial Pasture Mix combines Gatton with Finecut Rhodes, Amplify Phalaris and kikuyu. The phalaris provides high winter forage yields while the panic is dormant.

Wait 8 to 10 months, or until plants are mature and becoming reproductive, so they're well anchored. Tug a few plants first: if they pull out of the ground, they're not ready. After that, graze rotationally. Go in at 25 to 30 cm, leave a residue of 12 to 15 cm, and don't overgraze over summer. Careful management through the first summer keeps enough plants alive into the second year.

Feed it and rest it. Gatton panic can grow on lighter soils but needs good soil nutrition to persist there, so soil test and fertilise to match. It's suited to well-drained soils and performs on other soils where fertility is good. Rotational grazing is the other key: give plants time to regrow between grazings and avoid overgrazing in summer. A legume through the pasture adds nitrogen that helps grass growth.

Add an annual legume. After the first grazing, broadcast or sow legumes in that first autumn, then put stock back in to tread the seed into the soil for good seed-to-soil contact. Choose legumes that suit your soil and rainfall; on the sandy soils where panic is common, serradella is a good fit. The legume grows while the panic is dormant over winter and adds nitrogen for the grass in spring and summer.

Gatton and green panic are both forms of guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus). Gatton is a medium-height variety with broader, longer leaves and better palatability than green panic, and it's more robust than Bambatsi or Petrie. It's a summer-active, deep-rooted bunch grass that stores more of its surplus carbohydrate in the upper part of the plant, where stock can eat it. It also tolerates shade.