

Valley Diploid Perennial Ryegrass
Lolium perenne
- Kangaroo Valley germplasm – excellent persistence
- Extremely vigorous winter and early spring production
- Suited to marginal perennial ryegrass areas of 550+mm rainfall
- Widely adapted, semi-erect growth habit and is very deep rooted
- Frost tolerant and hardy cultivar, able to withstand periods of drought
- Summer dormant to enhance long-term persistence
- Establishes well to produce good early feed
- Excellent companion option with early seeded sub-clover or medics
- Ideal for sheep enterprises with fine wool or fat lambs
- Long term pasture option
Seed agronomy table
Heading date | -17 days |
Maturity | Early |
Lifespan | 7 - 10 years |
Min Rainfall (mm) | 550 |
Seeding Rate | Kg/Ha |
Dryland | 8-14 |
High Rainfall / Irrigation | 20-25 |
Heading date: 0 days = Nui perennial ryegrass.
Blends using this Seed
Grazier BlendEnterprises for this Seed
SheepBeef Cattle
Diary 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: > 550mm+.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.