The Native and Low Input Grasses Network

Summary

There was little knowledge of the adaptation of selections of native perennial grasses across the pastoral regions of temperate Australia. The National Pasture Improvement Co-ordinating Committee (NPICC) recommended that a multi-site evaluation program be established, and the Native and Low Input Grasses Evaluation Network was set up to carry out this task.

The sites, which were established in 1998, are located in each of the following regions: New England tablelands, southern tablelands, Riverina and the north west plains, NSW; north-east Victoria; Tasmanian Midlands; Adelaide Hills, SA; and the Albany district, WA. The wide range of sites ensured that test lines were subjected to the important environmental constraints (e.g. summer drought, soil acidity, low winter temperatures) which commonly limited the performance of perennial grasses across the target area.

Lines were sown as spaced plants, without a legume, and were given only low rates of fertiliser according to local experience at each site. All sites were managed according to the same protocol so that lines can be compared uniformly across sites. Test lines were assessed for persistence, production, leafiness (index of digestibility) and palatability to grazing animals as well as resistance to disease and insect attack. Field evaluation proceeded for three years.

Project Outcomes:

1. To assemble, and where necessary, multiply seed of genotypes for field evaluation.

2. To improve our understanding of genotype adaptation across temperate Australia.

3. To identify genotypes with the potential to be developed as cultivars for specific uses and environments.