Ansa Diploid Perennial Ryegrass

Ansa is one of the first diploid perennial ryegrasses to be released from DLF Seeds Australasian Breeding Program. Diploid perennial ryegrasses with AR1 endophyte are the most popular grasses because of the combination of good grazing and insect tolerance, which are important for pasture persistence. Ansa is a high-performance perennial with very good annual production. Its real strength is in winter, when it yielded better than 10 of the 11 cultivars it was tested against (Meridian was equal to Ansa) (Yaldhurst 2008). This makes Ansa an ideal choice for farms wanting to maximise pasture supplies in winter and early spring.

• + 14 day maturity ideal to meet and manage feed requirements on both dryland and irrigated farms.
• Excellent seedling vigour for quick pasture establishment.
• High winter performance that is unique to only a few perennial ryegrasses.
• Ability to target feed production in winter when high quality forage options are limited.
• Ideal ryegrass to use in high performance based systems.
• Very densely tillered to offer excellent grazing characteristics.
• AR1 endophyte package.

Seed agronomy table

Heading date	+14 days
Maturity	Mid
Lifespan	5 - 7 years
Min Rainfall (mm)	700
Seeding Rate	Kg/Ha
Dryland	10-15
High Rainfall / Irrigation	25-30

Heading date: 0 days = Nui perennial ryegrass.

Enterprises for this Seed

Sheep
Beef Cattle
Horse
Hay & Silage

Strengths

• Easily established, highly productive and nutritious under grazing, moderate winter and summer growth, rapid regrowth.

Limitations

• Requires moderate to high soil fertility. Does not withstand heavy grazing pressure through drought. Susceptible to cockchafer and cricket damage.

Plant Description

Plant: Densely tufted, multi-tillered perennial with fibrous root system.
Stems: 30-90 cm.
Leaves: fine (~7 mm), dark green, hairless, under surface shiny, blade folded about mid-rib in young shoot, leaf-base usually dark red.
Seedhead: spike ~20 cm, spikelet usually <10 florets/spikelet; awnless lemma.
Seeds: fawn, flat, awnless, ~6mm long. Approx. ~520,000/kg (diploid cvv).

Pasture type and use

Grazing and fodder conservation. Most widely sown pasture grass in temperate regions.

Where it grows

Rainfall: > 700mm+.
Soils: Medium-heavy, moderate-high fertility (eg Olsen P >12, 0-10 cm). Tolerates slight salinity.
Temperature: Cold and frost tolerant, growth constrained by high temperature.

Establishment

Companion species:
Grasses: Perennial ryegrass.
Legumes: white clover, medics and sub clover.
Sowing/planting rates as single species: 10-25 kg/ha.
Sowing/planting rates in mixtures: 5-10 kg/ha.
Sowing time: Autumn and spring.
Fertiliser: P & possibly N at sowing.

Management

Maintenance fertiliser: requires fertile soil to persist. ~10 kg P/ha. Monitor S, K, Cu especially. Supply N by clover/fertiliser. Maintain Colwell P ~30 (WA), Olsen P >12.
Grazing/cutting: Tolerates close, continuous grazing except if drought-stressed. Graze at 2.5-3 leaf stage to optimise yield under rotational grazing. Well suited to hay/silage.
Ability to spread: Will spread if allowed to seed.
Weed potential: Widely naturalised on fertile soils in temperate Australia.
Major pests: Red and black-headed cockchafer, black field cricket, white-fringed weevil, African black beetle, corbies, underground grass caterpillar.
Major diseases: Crown rust, stem rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, ryegrass mosaic virus.
Herbicide susceptibility: In considering selective herbicides consider the stage of growth of the ryegrass and what non-target companion species are present.

Animal production

Feeding value: High nutritive value.
Palatability: Palatable.
Production potential: High yields; highly responsive to fertiliser and irrigation.
Livestock disorders/toxicity: Cultivars with wild endophyte can cause perennial ryegrass toxicosis and ill-thrift. Bacterial infection of seedhead can occasionally occur and result in ergot poisoning.