A u t u m n 2 014
FORAGER
Germinal Seeds NZ Ltd
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Answers to real questions from farmers and retailers Aber High Sugar Grass (AberHSG) varieties combine reliable persistency with high herbage quality. AberHSG varieties have a higher soluble carbohydrate (sugar) content and lower fibre content which improves production from grazing livestock.
2. How do Aber grasses perform in NZ when bred in the UK? AberHSG pasture is growing successfully and reliably in 18 countries in total, including Australia, North America and South Africa where growing conditions are more extreme than in New Zealand.
3. What is the process for new varieties entering the NZ market? New AberHSG varieties go through the normal NZ registration process to establish plant variety rights. All AberHSG seed sold here is grown in Canterbury by contract seed crop growers - and most of the NZ seed crop grown is exported.
4. What NZ trials have been completed with Aber varieties? Germinal Seeds NZ is known for its willingness to contract outside science providers to test AberHSG varieties in the NZ farm environment. AgResearch was contracted by Germinal Seeds NZ between 2000 and 2006 to conduct two three-year trials to compare dry matter production and sugar content with NZ varieties. Taken together the results show that the latest HSG cultivars grow well in New Zealand and that the higher sugar trait is expressed. A three year AgResearch dairy grazing trial (2004-2007) showed a 10% increase in autumn milksolids production from cows grazing AberHSG compared to cows on a standard ryegrass. AberHSGs globally have been under more scientific scrutiny than any other pasture variety because they offer pastoral agriculture a very attractive concept - to increase animal production while reducing the environmental impact by way of more efficient digestion and therefore less waste from animals.
5. Are there any other HSGs marketed in NZ? There are no other HSGs that can seriously contend with the performance of AberHSG varieties bred by a
world leading plant breeding team at Aberystwyth University in Wales (hence the name ‘Aber’) where there’s a new $23 million plant phenomics centre used to precisely measure the physical and biochemical traits of plants under varied conditions. There are two or three HSG pretenders in the NZ market but they lack the peer reviewed and published trial results for AberHSGs and don’t have the ongoing endorsement of NZ farmers who have tried the grass and made their own judgement.
6. Aber grasses are bred using recurrent principles. What is this and how is this different? Recurrent selection is a process similar to the line breeding of elite animals. Only a small selection of plant progeny expressing all the desired traits - such as high sugar, growth vigour and persistency - is carried through to the next generation of breed development. Recurrent selection enables AberHSGs to be progressively improved from one four-year generation to the next as opposed to the traditional method of crossing a multitude of plants in the hope of finding a winner. The AberHSG breeding process had run 20 years until the first blockbuster variety AberDart was released into world markets in 2000 (NZ 2004) as a more digestible and more persistent ryegrass.
7. There was a rumour that AberHSG requires a cold winter to perform. Is this correct? This is not correct and there is no special cold trigger required to make AberHSGs grow or to express their higher sugar content. This idea was derived from an AgResearch paper in 2004 based on a limited climate chamber study - later expanded to discover that sugar expression is more complicated and could be related to growth tissue. The on-farm evidence from Northland to Southland is that AberHSG varieties perform well in various climates and land types and, according to an AgResearch trial, express more sugar content in a warmer region (Palmerston North compared to Gore). The same AberHSG varieties are grown in 18 countries and have proven valuable to farmers in South Australia, west and east Victoria and at Boyanup in West Australia.
8. I need AR37 endophyte in the Waikato and AberHSG doesn’t come with AR37. Should I plant AberHSG in areas that have a bad black beetle history? Germinal Seeds NZ Ltd is not convinced that AR37 or any endophyte is offering adequate ‘insurance’ for pasture persistency. Strong, dense and deep root growth more than compensates for the pest deterrent effect of an endophyte fungus in shallow roots. The endophyte AR37 was found by a DairyNZ trial to lower dairy cows’ summer and autumn milk production by an average of 9.5 percent compared to cows fed AR1 ryegrass - so why go there?
For longer lasting pasture. Densely tillered and resilient...
9. What is D-value and what does this mean to a farmer? D-value relates to the amount of digestible organic matter in a plant as a percentage of total drymatter. A higher D-value also means there is more metabolisable energy in the grass and animals will more likely eat more of it. The D-value of AberHSGs is consistently ahead of the D-value of standard ryegrasses and significantly ahead In the later summer and autumn months - further confirmed by a Canterbury, NZ, trial with plant composition measured independently.
10. When a grass is more digestible, does this have an effect on persistency? No. The AberHSGs offer both traits high digestibility and strong persistency.
with excellent ground cover...
and deep roots for persistence.
11. I have seen pictures of the AberHSG root system being superior to other grasses. Is this part of the breeding process? AberHSG perennials are bred to last 10 years or more and their long persistency appears related to these plants being deeply rooted. From Northland to Southland, farmers who have dug up AberHSG have seen roots reaching to the end of the spade spit, or beyond.
12. Is AberHSG more suitable for sheep, cattle, dairy or deer and for rotational grazing or set stocking? The AberHSGs’ high digestibility will benefit any ruminant animal (cattle, sheep and deer). Tiller density and vigorous root growth enable AberHSGs to recover quickly from close grazing and therefore they are well suited to either rotational or set grazing.
AberHSGs are persistent, high performing and proven throughout New Zealand. David Jones, Hinds Dairy Farm 7 year old AberDart HSG with 32 cm root depth.
FREEPHONE 0800 17 1825 www.highsugargrass.co.nz
GSL 0634-b1
1. What is AberHSG and how is it different to other grasses in the NZ market?