Description of ryegrass removed from New Zealand North Island hill country

摘要

Using a detailed stratified technique, a collection was made of ryegrass from New Zealand North Island hill country not oversown in the last 20 years. Tillers were removed from 60 land classes described according to region, fertility, aspect, slope, species composition, and soil character. Detailed morphological measurements were carried out on 1800 hill plants and 10 bred New Zealand ryegrass cultivars all held in a common environment. The possibility of local ryegrass ecotype formation was studied. Despite detailed stratified sampling, little distinct types of perennial ryegrass were noted associated with specific environments. The hill collection contained a large variation in types, but mainly consisted of many, fine-leaved prostrate tillers. In comparison, cultivars bred from material removed from high-fertility pastures had few, large semi-erect tillers. Eighty-five percent of plants removed contained endophyte and these were spread throughout all land classes.