Ranger Plantain

Ranger is a Plantain variety, chosen for its forage improvement qualities. It is a perfect addition to a pasture mix for increased animal health and performance and is a larger leaf type, with excellent winter production.

• Performs well in all ranges of fertility
• Strikes faster than grasses
• Good water use efficiency, with high drought tolerance
• Highly palatable and provides excellent stock nutrition and performance
• Good all year growth and higher cool season growth, giving feed at key times of the year
• Well balanced levels of crude protein, energy and minerals
• Higher levels of S, Ca, Na, Cu and B than grasses and some clovers
• Use in a mix leads to excellent increases in weight gains and decreased dagginess.

Seed agronomy table

Dry Matter	<High
Drought Tolerance	<High
Lifespan
Min Rainfall (mm)	500
Seeding Rate	Kg/Ha
Dryland	4-8
Pasture Mix	1-3

Enterprises for this Seed

Sheep
Beef Cattle
Horse
Viti & Horti

Strengths

• Fast establishing.
• Tolerant of drought and low fertility.
• Excellent feeding value including summer.

Limitations

• Susceptible to broad leaf herbicides.
• Slow growth in winter.

Plant Description

Plant: Erect, leafy, perennial herb with a deep, dense, branching fibrous root system.
Leaves: Rosette of broad leaves from central crown. Leaves up to 25 cm long, often purplish at the base and each with 3 - 5 longitudinal ribs. Fine hairs on upper surface; hairy along the lower side ribs.
Flowers: Tiny, four parted, creamy-white flowers with long stamens. Flowers during midsummer. Flower stems are erect, furrowed, leafless, and up to 50 cm long.
Seedhead: A single spike per stem, up to 2.5 cm long, cone-shaped or cylindrical, very compact grey green turning dark brown-black on ripening.
Seeds: ~ 1 mm and oval; black-brown. 500,000/kg.

Pasture type and use

Valuable component of permanent pastures and specialist summer pastures.

Where it grows

Rainfall: >600 mm
Soils: Tolerates a broad range of soil types, fertility and pH.
Temperature: Wide climate adaption; tolerant of frost; relatively heat tolerant.

Establishment

Companion species:
Grasses: Phalaris, cocksfoot, tall fescue, Bromus spp.
Legumes: Sub, white and red clover.
Fodder crops: Brassica spp.
Sowing/planting rates as single species: 4 - 8 kg/Ha.
Sowing/planting rates in mixtures: 4 - 6 kg/Ha with specialist clover pastures, 2- 4 kg/Ha with grass pastures or Brassica fodder spp.
Sowing time: Sow in autumn/spring after pre-emergent weed control.
Inoculation: Not applicable.
Fertiliser: Sow with ~10-15 kg P/Ha.

Management

Maintenance fertiliser: 10 kg P/ha.
Grazing/cutting: Can tolerate continuous and close grazing. Graze rotationally to gain maximum production. A 3-4 week rotation in late spring will maintain seed head palatability. Can use for silage/hay.
Ability to spread: Yes. Regenerates from self-sown seed. Is a widely naturalised species.
Weed potential: Pollen contains allergens associated with asthma and bronchitis.
Major pests: Red legged earth mite, slugs, snails.
Herbicide susceptibility: Glyphosate and phenoxy based chemicals (2,4-D, MCPA).

Animal production

Feeding value: Good quality feed. High mineral concentrations including copper, zinc, selenium, cobalt. This widely used medicinal herb contains various secondary metabolites with recognised tonic and antibiotic properties; these may benefit stock/rumen flora.
Palatability: Highly palatable.
Production potential: Good spring autumn production.