Agronomy and Soils Departmental Series No. 124 July 1988 Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station Auburn University Lowell T. Frobish, Director Auburn University, Alabama I : .. ... ...... . . . ......... , " . ".. 94 : . 1,. , PERFORMANCE OF RYEGRASS VARIETIES IN ALABAMA, 1987-88 1 D. L. Thurlow and W.C. Johnson The Alabama Ryegrass Variety Test is a continuing evaluation of available varieties and breeding lines from private companies and state agricultural experiment stations. Tests are planted in northern, central, and southern locations to evaluate the varieties and lines under the different environmental conditions in these regions of Alabama. The tests are conducted by Experiment Station personnel and the results are presented in a fair and unbiased manner. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES AND DISCUSSION Ryegrass entries were seeded at a 20-pound-per-acre rate in rows 7 inches apart, using plots 5 x 20 feet with four replications. stand was obtained at all locations: A good Sand Mountain Substation, Plant Breeding Unit, and Gulf Coast Substation. The tests were fertilized with phosphorus and potassium according to Auburn University soil test recommendations. At planting, nitrogen was applied at the rate of 50 pounds of N per acre, and an additional 50 pounds of N was applied per acre after each cutting to allow the varieties to perform at their maximum yield potential. A 32-inch swath 'Associate Professor and Professor of Agronomy and Soils. of each plot was harvested with a flail harvester each time the ryegrass reached 6-10 inches tall. A herbage sample of approximately 1 pound was taken from each plot at each harvest for determining forage dry matter percentage. The unusually severe cold weather during December 1985 and January 1986 virtually eliminated any winter production at the Plant Breeding Unit and the Sand Mountain Substation in 1986. Lower total yields in 1986 and 1988 were due to below normal rainfall for winter and spring at all locations. The tests at the Sand Mountain Substation and Gulf Coast Substation were planted 1 month to 6 weeks later in 1987 than in 1986 and 1985. However, the test at Plant Breeding Unit was planted 1 week Due to the late later than in 1986 and 1 week earlier than 1985. planting and dry conditions at Sand Mountain and the Gulf Coast substations, there was little winter production in the 1987-88 season. There was fall and winter growth at the Plant Breeding Unit, but yields were low due to lack of sufficient water. The late spring yields were also extremely low at all locations in 1987 and 1988 due to severe dry weather in April both years and in May 1988. Marshall continued to be among the highest in total herbage production throughout Alabama for the 3-year period, 1986-88, and is especially outstanding in late winter/early spring production. However, in 1988 a number of new entries yielded more total herbage at all locations. -4- Strategies to meet seasonal forage needs are an important consideration for livestock producers. Tables 7, 8, and 9 show 3-year A 3-year average average yields for the ryegrass production season. provides a more dependable comparison of ryegrass varieties than does single-year results. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Appreciation is expressed to Mein-Huei Tzeng and Mrs. Sally Bagwell, Research Data Analysis, for the data processing of this report. Also acknowledged are the contributions of J. T. Eason and M. E. Ruf, Sand Mountain Substation; E. L. Carden, N. R. McDaniel, and M. D. Pegues, Gulf Coast Substation; and Steve Nightengale, Plant Breeding Unit, for growing and harvesting the experiments. -5- SOURCES OF RYEGRASS SEED Aubade Billion Bulldog Caramba Cervus Comet Dalita Dama Florida 80 FL-X 1986 LR Gulf HHH HI 124 Magnolia Marshall Max MSR 86-1 Mom LM 455 Multimo Tetrablend 444 T3 Nutriblend Pennploid V Polly Tetrone Top-one Torero Urbana Wilo Wilamette Seed & Grain, Shedd, Oregon Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon Lofts Seed Inc., Bound Brooks, New Jersey Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon International Seeds, Halsey, Oregon NPI Seed Inc., Salem, Oregon Daehnfeldt, Albany, Oregon International Seeds, Halsey, Oregon Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Local purchase Holms Farm, Tylertown, Mississippi Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon Forbes Seed, Junction City, Oregon Funk Seeds Int., Alexandria, Louisiana NPI Seed Inc., Salem, Oregon Mississippi State Univ., Mississippi State, Mississippi Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon The New Northrup King Co., Laurinburg, North Carolina Daehnfeldt, Albany, Oregon Pennington Enterprises, Madison, Georgia Daehnfeldt, Albany, Oregon Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Georgia Wilamette Seed & Grain, Shedd, Oregon Van Der Have Oregon, Inc., Albany, Oregon, International Seed, Halsey, Oregon Daehnfeldt, Albany, Oregon -6- Table 1. Seasonal Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties at the Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope, Alabama, 1988 lable I, ~easona Brand-variety r urv rratter rtera or K~vecirass /T9Lb* Lb. Lb. v b/ll Lb. tYield/acre, by harvest date 4114 3/23 3/2 Lb. - Season* total LD. - HI 124 HHH Bulldog MSR 86-1 FL-X 1986 LR Mom LM 455 Marshall Tetrone Magnolia Multimo Gulf Urbana Nutriblend Cervus Top-One Florida 80 Max Ca ramba Pennploid V Torero Tetrablend 444 T3 Aubade Dama Polly Billion Wi 10 Comet Dal ita 1,117 894 1,189 924 1,355 1,029 987 775 1,252 1,270 1,422 979 860 797 1,122 940 1,080 1,247 900 794 887 1,105 826 323 1,413 531 1,039 712 320 487 512 368 498 237 296 166 492 440 451 294 427 289 362 557 270 325 461 362 337 376 244 177 320 135 282 218 1996 2,414 2,135 2,437 1,752 2,041 2,138 1,917 1,679 1,746 1,628 1,806 1,769 1,836 1,937 1,749 1,843 1,924 1,887 1,977 1,762 1,833 1,t564 1,736 1,534 1,511 19,809 1,329 2,654 2,058 2,001 2,121 1,964 2,491 2,235 2,097 1,901 2,034 1,934 1,943 2,201 2,104 1,933 1,721 1,898 1,775 1,913 1,870 1,968 1,811 2,039 2,244 1,662 2,109 1,739 2,036 1,353 1,403 1,417 1,275 1,548 1,294 1,321 1,850 19,402 1,229 1,280 1,654 1,372 1,561 1,217 1,581 1,437 1,211 19,31t7 1,359 1,375 1,197 1,481 1,672 1,138 1,679 1,089 1,417 7,413 /,256 7,254 79126 79117 7,092 69978 6,805 6,726 6,719 6,714 6,677 6,629 6,587 6,572 6,548 6,528 6,482 6,477 6,362 6,329 6,322 6,155 6,152 6,068 5,966 5,957 5,712 *LSD (.05)= 548; C.V.= 7%. Planted: Soil: November 12, 1987. Malbis fine sandy loam. -7- Table 2. Seasonal Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties at the Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee, Alabama, 1988 Brand-variety 11/23 Lb. FL-X 1986 LR Marshall MSR 86-1 Mom LM 455 HI 124 Urbana HHH Bulldog Florida 80 Comet Tetrablend 444 T3 Pennploid V Magnolia Nutriblend Cervus Billion Aubade Torero Max Tetrone Top-One Caramba Multimo Wilo Dali ta Dama Polly 663 766 629 642 764 506 486 669 557 507 479 421 622 597 499 591 597 584 463 450 486 607 564 442 366 517 241 Yield/acre, by harvest date 4/27 3/7 4/4 1/6 Lb. Lb. Lb. Lb. 955 874 779 687 636 713 1,028 863 715 733 831 846 928 762 597 792 910 734 737 682 762 733 633 492 452 544 367 1,327 767 986 548 539 885 966 985 1,243 1,175 935 1,088 922 831 780 1,065 1,029 941 785 542 904 872 450 429 370 413 114 1,613 1,907 1,984 2,077 1,875 1,432 1,816 1,672 1,484 1,206 1,447 1,446 1,414 1,480 1,389 1,031 1,060 1,136 1,334 1,483 1,207 1,081 1,279 1,614 1,322 1,083 1,390 700 803 534 865 1,021 1,218 442 563 580 718 758 519 473 639 871 653 591 704 770 959 628 676 939 944 898 882 956 Season* total Lb. 6,029 6,015 5,725 5,693 5,674 5,464 5,425 5,425 5,169 5,031 4,950 4,940 4,852 4,756 4,736 4,684 4,659 4,616 4,533 4,508 4,453 4,435 4,298 4,285 3,932 3,822 3,462 5/26 Lb. 770 898 812 874 838 710 688 674 591 692 500 613 492 446 600 552 473 516 444 392 467 465 433 364 523 384 393 *LSD (.05) = 650; C.V. = 11%. Planted: Soil: October 1, 1987. Cahaba fine sandy loam. -8- Tabl e 3.o Seasonal Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties at the Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville, Alabama, 1988 C,,,,,,1 n,.. UI~LLAU V t Al ~ AC n~ AhCAII~.CI ~14 ~A ~' ~ Brand-vaniety ^ I^ ^ 1byharvetdate rC0- 1 de ^ Tff7 Mom LM 455 HI 124 Marshall FL-X 1986 LR Urbana Bulldog Polly HHH Da1 ita utriblend Te trone Max Pennploid V Florida 80 Tetrablend 444 T3 Magnolia Cervus MSR 86-1 Billion Comet Aubade Top-One Caramba Torero Dama 87 114 100 311 257 250 22 60 30 94 104 191 52 169 349 141 151 205 80 352 314 286 162 226 108 41 = 5/13 Season* total 3,298 3902b 2,938 2,906 2,837 2,804 2,791 2,749 2,686 2,677 2,6b7 2,626 2,615 2,587 2,549 2,463 2,451 2,434 2,362 2,302 2,206 2,204 2,127 2,081 1,920 1,829 Lb. 21.5 175 183 131 198 121 278 161 256 163 213 130 217 113 76 154 117 132 131 85 100 104 108 143 106 122 Lb. 1,257 1,192 1,105 1,060 1,149 1,059 1,224 1,013 1,140 1,097 1,075 1,011 1,089 883 915 955 815 851 910 737 755 680 772 777 736 762 850 738 745 632 595 656 829 748 674 687 590 616 675 726 526 592 723 693 577 541 484 595 534 480 559. 509 888 808 805 771 637 718 438 767 585 637 685 678 582 696 683 621 644 554 665 586 553 539 551 456 411 396 LrlL *LSD (.05)= 309; C.V. Planted: 10%9 October 28, 1987. .Soil: Hartsells fine sandy loam -9- Table 4. Total Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties, 1988 and Twoand Three-year Averages, Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope, Alabama T ~t\'l d II T~+~ 1 nvrrl M~++~~r V;nlA ~C Dlln~~~e Brand-variety H1988 ear Dry matter/acre Lb. HI 124 HHH Bulldog MSR 86-1 FL-X 1986 LR Mom LM 455 Marshall Tetrone Magnolia Multimo Gulf Urbana mutriblend Cervus Top-One Florida 80 Max Caramba Pennploid V Torero Tetrablend 444 T3 Aubade Dama Polly Billion Wi 10o Comet Dal1i ta Ih~_llnh -'yr. av. (1987-88) Lb. 7,245 6s867 6,833 6,889 6,717 6,800 6,335 6,767 6,205 6,944 6,351 6,555 6,301 6,535 6,495 6,838 6,550 5,816 6,356 6,122 59872 3-yr. av. (1986-88), Lb. /,413 79256 7,254 7,126 7,117 7,092 6,978 6,805 6,726 6,719 69714 6,676 6,629 6,587 6,572 6,548 6,527 6, 482 6,477 6,362 6,329 6,322 6,155 6,152 6,9068 5,966 5,957 59712 L~ L/'I 6,478 6,417 6,035 6,021 69041 5,907 6,176 6,063 6,000 4,941 5,855 5,347 5,165 - 10- Table 5. Total Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties, 1988 and Two- and Three-Year Averages, Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee, Alabama Dry matter/acre 2-yr. av. Brand-variety 1988 Lb. 3-yr. av. (1987-88) Lb. 6,421 5,630 5,748 5,149 5,508 5,656 5,070 5,281 5,041 5,033 4,646 5,784 4,583 4,552 4,076 4,694 4,647 4,259 5,100 3,525 3,700 FL-X 1986 LR Marshall MSR 86-1 Mom LM 455 HI 124 Urbana HHH Bulldog Florida 80 Comet Tetrablend 444 T3 Pennploid V Magnolia Nutriblend Cervus Billion Aubade Torero Max Tetrone Top-One Caramba Multimo Wilo Dalita Dama Polly 6,029 6,015 5,725 5,693 5,674 5,464 5,425 5,425 5,169 5,017 4,950 4,940 4,852 4,756 4,736 4,684 4,659 4,616 4,533 4,508 4,453 4,435 4,298 4,285 3,932 3,822 3,462 (1986-88) Lb. 5,026 5,243 4,642 4,654 4,374 3,852 3,395 3,809 3,611 4,000 2,840 2,840 -11- Table 6. Total Dry Matter Yield of Ryegrass Varieties, 1988 and Two- and Three-Year Averages, Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville, Alabama Dry matter/acre Brand-variety 1988 Lb. 2-yr. av. (19 /-1988) Lb. 4,949 4,876 4,827 4,338 4,688 4,34/ 3,547 3,670 4,209 3,973 3,780 3,951 3,384 3,887 3,959 4,020 3,986 3,931 3,431 3-yr. av. (1986-88) Lb. 5,559 5,51/ 5,065 4,128 4,278 4,489 Mom LM 455 HI 124 Marshall FL-X 1986 LR Urbana Bulldog Polly HHH Dalita Nutriblend Tetrone Max Wilo Pennploid V Florida 80 Tetrablend 444 T3 Magnolia Cervus MSR 86-1 Billion Comet Aubade Top-One Caramba Torero Dama 3,298 3,027 2,938 2,906 2,837 2,804 2,786 2,749 2,686 2,677 2,667l 2,626 2,614 2,587 2,549 2,463 2,451 2,434 2,363 2,302 2,206 2,204 2,127 2,081 1,920 1,829 3,992 4,384 4,255 3,928 -12- Table 7. Three-Year Average Seasonal Distribution of Ryegrass Variety Forage Production, Gulf Coast Substation, Fairhope, Alabama, 1986-88 Seasonal forage yield/acre Early Winter spring Lb. Lb. 2,092 1,994 Brand-variety I Autumn Lb. Marshall Mom LM 455 Urbana Florida 80 Tetrone Multimo Magnolia Caramba Gulf Billion Wilo Dalita Polly 546 368 476 243 482 408 387 675 376 449 393 485 394 r~rr Late spring Lb. 716 782 877 1,031 934 716 741 667 653 644 874 725 812 2,124 2,239 1,650 2,116 2,073 2,047 2,218 2,212 1,204 1,385 1,021 3,064 3,334 2,699 2,550 2,969 2,801 2,821 2,612 2,661 2,550 2,876 2,569 2,715 Table 8. Three-Year Average Seasonal Distribution of Ryegrass Variety Forage Production, Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee, Alabama, 1986-88 Seasonal forage yield/acre Early Winter spring Lb. Lb. 1,045 1,277 1,664 1,355 1,486 1,029 1,347 1,363 999 895 612 521 2,394 2,037 1,927 1,797 1,593 1,618 1,245 1,191 1,395 1,399 1,195 1,332 Brand-variety Autumn Lb. Mom LM 455 Marshall Florida 80 Urbana Magnolia Wilo Billion Caramba Multimo Tetrone Dalita Polly 497 748 342 504 690 594 505 476 447 416 418 356 Late spring Lb. 1,307 965 721 986 605 759 754 779 770 685 614 630 -13- Table 9. Three-Year Average Seasonal Distribution of Ryegrass Variety Forage Production, Sand Mountain Substation, Crossville, Alabama, 1986-88 Seasonal torage yield/acre V IYI1Y Early spring Winter Lb. Lb. 543 850 672 3717 547 198 612 163 649 463 L~I 'I YV Brand-vari ety Autumn Lb. Mom LM 455 Marshall Urbana Tetrone Magnolia Dalita Billion Polly Florida 80 Caramba 545 713 499 496 576 577 575 538 586 591 nriri Late spring Lb. 2,0U/8 1,770 1,787 1,619 1,509 1,670 1,499 1,612 1,018 1,431 2,392 2,183 2,106 1,997 1,751 1,832 1,568 1,817 1,738 1,443 Information contained herein is available to all without regard to race color, sex, or national origin. -14-