Measurement of summer dormancy in temperate perennial pasture grasses

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 498 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Norton ◽  
F. Lelièvre ◽  
S. Fukai ◽  
F. Volaire
Keyword(s):  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Leaf Growth ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Experimental Program ◽  
Drought Assessment ◽  
Summer Dormancy ◽  
Herbage Yield ◽  
Summer Storm

The search to improve drought survival in temperate perennial grasses has led to a renewed interest in summer dormancy and how to quantify it. This endogenously controlled trait, found in some temperate perennial grasses, is associated with drought that normally occurs in summer. While cessation of leaf growth and senescence of herbage occurs in all grasses in response to drought, it is under summer irrigation that these same responses are observed only in summer-dormant germplasm and hence the trait can be identified in germplasm. Across the spectrum from completely summer-dormant to non-dormant, there is a range of expression. Our objective here is to highlight differences in characteristics of indices which measure summer dormancy and to identify aspects for incorporation into a superior index for use in measuring this trait. The experimental program comprised three field trials that compared 6 cultivars and a fourth that assessed a larger group of 12 cultivars of the same three species, cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), and phalaris (Phalaris aquatica L.). Seasonal herbage yield and foliage senescence were measured under three summer watering regimes: complete drought, mid-summer storm, and full irrigation at Mauguio, France. Different indices were calculated to compare against the approach which evaluates senescence under drought. The key outcomes are as follows. (1) The assessment of summer dormancy needs to be viewed as the plant response to a period of non-limiting water supply over summer. It makes little difference whether this is produced by full summer irrigation or a mid-summer simulated storm after a drought. Assessment of this trait under conditions of unbroken drought is discouraged because it can result in false scores. (2) The determination of summer dormancy intensity under full summer irrigation is most appropriate for the intensive study of the dynamics of dormancy expression over the entire summer. A simulated mid-summer storm within a drought gives an instantaneous view of dormancy intensity at a specific observation date and may be well adapted to the requirements of plant breeding. These methods are complementary. (3) Summer dormancy intensity can be assessed either by measuring herbage production or by a visual assessment of the level of herbage senescence. (4) An index of summer dormancy based on comparing irrigated summer herbage yield of any cultivar with that of a high, summer-yielding, non-dormant control cultivar was able to provide a reliable score of dormancy intensity. This index functions across a range of cultivars and species of perennial grasses. Further refinement of the index is needed to identify ‘standard’ high and low summer-dormant populations.

Initial studies of the growth, nitrogen sequestering, and de-watering potential of perennial grass selections for use as nitrogen catch crops in orchards

2003 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Stork ◽  
P. H. Jerie
Keyword(s):  
Open Field ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
High Water ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Leaching Losses

Two field trials were established to evaluate the ability of perennial grasses to recoup leaching losses of nitrogen in orchards. A perennial grass was considered suitable for use in orchards if it had a winter active–summer dormant growth cycle. High winter growth would ensure de-watering of the soil profile and nitrate uptake during this period, when an orchard is most vulnerable to leaching losses of nitrate. Low growth in summer would minimise competition for water and nutrients with fruit trees. These traits were studied in 14 varieties of grasses from 8 species in an open field and in an established apricot orchard. Semi-dormant summer growth was observed in species such as Dactylis glomerata L. cv. Kasbah, and Festuca arundinacea L. cv. MK88931. In the open field trial, the sequestration of NO3–-N + NH4+-N between late autumn and early spring, by Kasbah and MK88931, was estimated at 172 and 220 kg N/ha, respectively. Kasbah and MK88931 also demonstrated the driest soil profiles to a depth of 1.5 m in this period. This reflected their high water use and de-watering potential. Therefore, the performance of these grasses demonstrated a model approach to mitigate nitrate leaching below orchard root-zones. They could minimise deep percolation of rainfall and sequestered large amounts of inorganic nitrogen in soil during winter, whilst producing low growth during summer.

Summer dormancy in Festuca arundinacea Schreb.; the influence of season of sowing and a simulated mid-summer storm on two contrasting cultivars

2006 ◽  
Vol 57 (12) ◽  
pp. 1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Norton ◽  
F. Volaire ◽  
F. Lelièvre
Keyword(s):  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Water Status ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Full Irrigation ◽  
Leaf Elongation ◽  
Aerial Growth ◽  
Summer Dormancy ◽  
Summer Storm ◽  
Moisture Conditions

Due to the shortage of information on summer dormancy in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea, syn. Lolium arundinaceum), we tested the response of 2 cultivars of differing dormancy expression and growth stage to a range of summer moisture conditions, including full irrigation, drought, and a simulated mid-summer storm and analysed whether traits associated with summer dormancy conferred better survival under severe field drought. Autumn-sown reproductive and younger, spring-sown plants of 2 cultivars, claimed to exhibit contrasting summer dormancy, were established and then tested in summer 2002 under either long drought, drought + simulated mid-summer storm, or full irrigation. The autumn-sown reproductive plants of cv. Flecha exhibited traits that can be associated with partial summer dormancy since under summer irrigation they reduced aerial growth significantly and exhibited earlier herbage senescence. Moreover, cv. Flecha used 35% less soil water over the first summer. However, the water status of leaf bases of young vegetative tillers of both cultivars was similar under irrigation and also throughout most of the drought (leaf potential and water content maintained over –4 MPa and at approx. 1 g H2O/g DM, respectively). The summer-active cv. Demeter did not stop leaf elongation even in drought and produced twice as much biomass as Flecha under irrigation. Cultivar Demeter responded to the simulated storm with a decline in dehydrin expression in leaf bases, whereas no decline occurred in Flecha, presumably because it remained partially dormant. The younger, spring-sown swards of both cultivars had similar biomass production under summer irrigation but whereas Demeter regrew in response to the simulated storm, cv. Flecha did not, indicating that dormancy, although only partially expressed, was reinforced by summer drought. In all trials, cv. Flecha out-yielded Demeter in autumn regrowth. In particular, the severe drought in 2003 caused a 25% loss of the basal cover in cv. Demeter, whereas Flecha fully maintained its sward allowing it to produce a higher post-drought autumn yield. This work links summer dormancy with higher persistence over long, dry summers.

Summer dormancy, regeneration and persistence of perennial grasses in south-western Australia

1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (88) ◽  
pp. 795 ◽  
Author(s):  
EF Biddiscombe ◽  
AL Rogers ◽  
RA Maller
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Internal Drainage ◽  
Plant Mortality ◽  
Podzolic Soils ◽  
Summer Dormancy ◽  
Better Than

Autumn growth and persistence of periodically grazed, spaced plant swards of eleven perennial grasses were measured at two sites registering 750 mm and 1120 mm annual rainfall respectively. The grasses were grown on gravelly podzolic soils of moderate internal drainage and depth of A horizon. After the third summer, autumn regrowth was generally better in Phalaris tuberosa lines than in lines of Dactylis glomerata, Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne, Festuca arundinacea cv. Melik and D. glomerata cv. Currie regenerated better than P. tuberosa lines in the first two autumn seasons at the drier site. Capacity for autumn growth appeared to be associated mainly with the level of dormancy achieved by basal buds at mid-summer, though relatively high dormancy of one or two lines at the drier site did not prevent significant plant mortality. Numbers of reproductive tillers per plant in spring and active basal buds per tiller in late summer were less important traits affecting the growth of some lines. We think that rankings for summer dormancy would be useful for screening future introductions for wetter parts (> 750 mm annual rainfall) of the south-western region of Western Australia.

Identification and Measurement of Summer Dormancy in Temperate Perennial Grasses

Crop Science ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 2347-2352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R. Norton ◽  
F. Volaire ◽  
F. Lelièvre ◽  
S. Fukai
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Summer Dormancy

Sources of valuable traits for perennial grass breeding

2021 ◽  
pp. 78-89
Author(s):  
LZ Baistruk-Hlodan ◽  
MM Кhomiak ◽  
HZ Zhapaleu
Keyword(s):  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Phleum Pratense ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Starting Material ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Daily Growth ◽  
Galega Orientalis

Aim. The purpose was to identify collection accessions – sources of valuable traits to use as starting material for creating varieties of perennial grasses in Western Ukraine. Results and Discussion. Perennial grasses play an essential role in improving the efficiency of forage production. They produce a fodder mass that contains major macro- and micronutrients, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and other nutrients in available forms, with a high energy protein saturation. Practice shows that due to the introduction of varietal crops into production in combination with optimal technologies of their cultivation, which allows revealing the potential of each variety, it is possible to additionally obtain 20-30% higher yields of fodder mass annually and harvest 2 to 3-fold seed yields. In 2016-2020, a search was carried out and 570 new accessions of perennial grasses were recruited, of which 201 were legumes and 369 were graminaceous grasses. The collection contains 1,319 accessions, of which 232 are Trifolium pratense L., 115 are Trifolium repens L., 49 are Trifolium hybridum L., 107 are Lotus corniculatus L., 80 belong to other legume species (Medicago, Galega orientalis L. Galega orientalis L. and Trifolium species), 131 are Phleum pratense L., 187 are Dactylis glomerata L., 146 are Lolium perenne L., 53 are Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) J. et C.Presl., 67 are Festuca rubra L., 28 are Festuca trachyphylla L., 32 are Bromopsis inermis (Leyss.) Holub, 92 belong to other species of other types of graminaceous grasses (Festuca pratensis Huds., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Agrostis alba L. etc.). Accessions that enter the Department are registered and sown for propagation in the field. After examination, valuable accessions are transferred to the National Depository and registered in the National Catalogue; the rest of the obtained seeds are used in working collections. Conclusions. The best collection accessions were identified by a set of economically valuable traits: sources of daily growth of shoots (30), winter hardiness (28), plant height (22), yield of green mass upon haymaking (28) and pasture (19) use, forage productivity (15), seed productivity (25), foliage (21), and disease resistance (23). They can be recommended as starting material to create varieties of perennial grasses with high yields of forage mass and seeds for various applications.

scholarly journals Impact of Bispyribac-sodium Application on Annual Bluegrass Control and Brown Patch Severity in Tall Fescue

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-200
Author(s):  
Matthew Cutulle ◽  
Jeffrey Derr ◽  
Adam Nichols ◽  
David McCall ◽  
Brandon Horvath
Keyword(s):  
Rhizoctonia Solani ◽  
Tall Fescue ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Iron Supplementation ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Control Field ◽  
Brown Patch ◽  
Annual Bluegrass ◽  
Application Rates

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) is a problematic weed in tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire], with limited options available for postemergence control. Field research was conducted to evaluate bispyribac-sodium application rates (37 or 74 g ai·ha−1) (0.033 or 0.066 lb ai·A−1) and timings (March, April or May) as well as iron supplementation on brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani) severity, annual bluegrass control, and tall fescue quality. In general, applying bispyribac-sodium to tall fescue did not result in significantly more brown patch than in untreated plots in field trials. Applying bispyribac-sodium in March or April resulted in significantly higher annual bluegrass control than applications in May. In greenhouse experiments, bispyribac-sodium at 37 and 74 g ai·ha−1 (0.033 or 0.066 lb ai·A−1) was applied to brown patch-inoculated tall fescue plants. Under conditions of high inoculum and humidity in those greenhouse studies, applications of bispyribac-sodium increased the number of brown patch lesions relative to untreated plants. Tall fescue plant height was initially reduced after being treated with bispyribac-sodium; however, six weeks after application tall fescue plants in treated with herbicide were taller than the nontreated plants.

scholarly journals A comparison of methods to estimate harvest-induced damage to the soil using the example of a beech timber stand

2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-251
Author(s):  
Dariusz Kulak
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Soil Condition ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Comparison Of Methods ◽  
Farm Tractor ◽  
Damage Indicators ◽  
Soil Disturbances ◽  
Different Order ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract The study determines the extent of soil disturbances occurring during mechanised harvesting operations in a beech timber stand and investigates whether applying different research methods can be used to classify, in a comparable way, forest areas with different levels of soil damage. In the analysed stand, felling and on-side processing were conducted with chainsaws, while extraction - using an farm tractor. After the completion of logging operations, visible soil disturbances on each sample plot were measured, including surface area, volume and depth, and the value of five most common indicators of soil damage was calculated. The share of disturbed surface area, the volume of soil disturbances and different soil damage indicators allowed sample plots to be arranged in the same way according to increasing levels of soil damage occurring during harvesting. A different order was observed only in relation to the depth of the ruts formed. The similarity of the applied measures and classifications of soil disturbances indicates that all of the methods can be applied to make simple comparisons of the degree of soil damage. Because field trials are easy to perform, soil damage indicators based on a visual assessment of soil condition, without the need to take measurements, are worth recommending at first. A fuller picture of the level and nature of detected soil damage, however, can be obtained by taking into account the depth of the disturbance.

scholarly journals The Role Of Perennial Grasses In The Protection Of Soil Resources Of Erosive Ecosystems With Active Development Of Linear Erosion

2021 ◽  
Vol 901 (1) ◽  
pp. 012007
Author(s):  
V M Kosolapov ◽  
V I Cherniavskih ◽  
E V Dumacheva ◽  
M N Marinich ◽  
L D Sajfutdinova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Trifolium Pratense ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Steppe Zone ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Perennial Legume ◽  
The Stability

Abstract We evaluated the stability of perennial legume and cereal grass species in artificial plant communities on permanent anti-erosion watercourses in the agroecosystems of the Belgorod region with active development of linear soil erosion. In the conditions of steppe and forest-steppe zones of the Belgorod region on permanently grassed watercourses in 2017-2019. varieties of perennial leguminous and cereal grasses: ‘Krasnoyaruzhskaya 1’ and ‘Krasnoyaruzhskaya 2’ (Medicago varia), ‘Kazatsky’ (Trifolium pratense), ‘Olshanka’ and ‘Ivica’ (Festuca arundinacea), ‘Streletsky’ and ‘Stepnyak’ (Lolium perenne)) obtained using local genetic material were studied. All varieties showed their resistance in agro-ecosystems with active development of linear erosion in the forest-steppe and steppe zones. Projective cover on watercourses in the steppe zone in all variants of experience was on average 83,4 %, in the forest-steppe zone - 86,3 %. In the third year of the tests on permanently irrigated watercourses in the steppe zone, the share of cereal and legume grass species was quite high and varied from 88 % in the variant M. varia + Onobrychis arenaria to 92 % in the variants M. varia + Bromopsis inermis and O. arenaria. In the forest-steppe zone, the share of cereal and legume grass species varied from 86 % in the variant L. perenne to 94 % in the variant L. perenne + B. inermis.

scholarly journals Yield evaluation of varieties from the world collection of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.)

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 265-270
Author(s):  
J. Pelikán
Keyword(s):  
Seed Yield ◽  
Lotus Corniculatus ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Birdsfoot Trefoil ◽  
Local Varieties ◽  
World Collection ◽  
The World ◽  
Herbage Yield ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Good Productivity

In field trials in 1998–2000, ten varieties of the world collection of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) were evaluated for herbage and hay yields. In all the years of testing yields from three cuttings and total annual production were evaluated. In 1999, seed yield was also recorded. As a control, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) variety was included in the experiment. The test varieties showed good productivity in the first and especially in the second year of testing, most of them exceeded alfalfa in herbage yield in individual cuttings and in total productions. As for hay yield, the differences were not so great. Local varieties showed very good productivity, predominantly in herbage yields. Of foreign varieties, the best herbage, hay and seed yielder was the Hungarian variety Puszta. There were no statistical differences in seed yield between the varieties. The yields were, however, relatively low.

Performance of temperate perennial pastures in the Australian subtropics 2. Milk production

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 677 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Bowdler ◽  
N. D. Casey ◽  
R. J. Moss ◽  
K. F. Lowe
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
Festuca Arundinacea ◽  
Italian Ryegrass ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Gross Margin ◽  
The Third ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
Prairie Grass ◽  
Milk Component

Summary. Milk production from irrigated, pure stands of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne cv. Yatsyn), prairie grass (Bromus willdenodii cv. Matua) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea cv. AU Triumph) were compared with that achieved from Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum cv. Concord) over 3 lactations of multiparous Holstein–Friesian cows at Mutdapilly in south-east Queensland. Pastures were fertilised with 50 kg nitrogen/ha . month as urea and annual dressings of 20 kg phosphorus/ha and 50 kg potassium/ha (as superphosphate and muriate of potash respectively). There were 4 pasture treatments grazed at 3 cows/ha in a 1-week-on, 3-weeks-off rotation with 2 replicates and 3 cows/treatment block. Cows grazed the pastures day and night from May to November. Over summer, cows grazed the pastures during the night and were fed supplements (silage in the first lactation, and lucerne hay in the second and third lactations) during the day because there was no shade available in the irrigation areas. In autumn, the animals were removed from the ryegrass and prairie grass pastures for 8 weeks to allow seedling re-establishment, either by oversowing (ryegrasses) or natural reseeding (prairie grass). Cows continued to graze the fescue pastures at night during autumn. All cows received a ration of 4 kg/cow of a grain–minerals mixture in the first lactation and 5 kg/cow in the second and third lactations. Milk production from perennial ryegrass was higher than from fescue in the first lactation and Italian ryegrass in the second and third lactations. Prairie grass gave similar milk production to perennial ryegrass in all 3 years. In the third year, perennial ryegrass, prairie grass and fescue gave similar milk production. Milk quality from the 4 grasses was similar except in the third lactation when the lactose content of milk from perennial ryegrass pastures was lowest. There were also small and inconsistent differences in milk component yields between the 4 grasses. Liveweight changes were small except in the second lactation when the cows grazing fescue lost weight relative to the other treatments. Mean liveweight at calving increased over the 3 lactations. It was concluded that all 3 temperate perennial grasses demonstrated useful traits for use in subtropical dairy pastures. Perennial ryegrass produced the most milk from the lowest amount of dry matter on offer. Prairie grass produced similar milk yields to perennial ryegrass, was well eaten by cattle and was self regenerating. Although fescue was slower to establish and needed more intensive management to control maturity, it was the most persistent and was the only grass to provide autumn grazing. In the second year this attribute resulted in a lower requirement for supplementary feeding. Fescue produced the highest gross margin in the second lactation and was only marginally less than prairie grass in the third. The performance of Italian ryegrass was as good as that of perennial ryegrass in the first lactation but fell substantially in the second and third lactations as the level of summer grass invasion increased.

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