Cultivar choice in Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.)

摘要

At the beginning of the sowing season, farmers have to choose the species and cultivars to grow. When meeting local farmers, a lack of knowledge on the use of the different forage species and cultivars has emerged. Market distributors import seed on the basis of the lowest international price. This focus on price makes finding the best-adapted varieties to our environmental conditions difficult. In this context, eleven cultivars of Italian ryegrass available on the local market were tested. The evaluation was carried out in an experimental farm located in southern Sardinia. Compared to similar tests performed over ten years ago, the range of varieties was remarkably different. Results show 6.33 t ha~(-1) of dry matter yield annual average, without significant differences among varieties. Conversely, some differences in winter growth and flowering date, ranging from the last week of April to the first week of May, were found. The choice of the variety should not be led by annual potential productiononly, but by seasonal production and class of earliness.