Hybrid Ryegrass: 26 varieties tested in thefield

From 2012 to 2014, as part of variety testing, Agroscope performed trials with 25 varieties of hybrid ryegrass (Lolium x hybridum Hausskn.) and one variety of xFestulolium braunii akin to hybrid ryegrass at a total of six sites. Among these varieties were twelve previously recommended cultivars, which were to undergo periodical retesting. Dry-matter yield, digestibility, vigour, juvenile development, competitive ability, persistence, winter-hardiness, and resistance to leaf diseases and bacterial wilt were evaluated. The new varieties G 0373 and G 0366 fulfilled the applicable agronomic performance criteria for a variety recommendation. For G 0373, a variety whose appearance is somewhere between that of Italian and perennial ryegrass, the main characteristics to be cited were good values for yield, disease resistance and winter-hardiness. The variety G 0366, which is more similar to perennial ryegrass, showed impressive disease resistance, good winter-hardiness, vigour, and good persistence. The previously recommended varieties Redunca and Enduro no longer fulfil the necessary agronomic conditions, and will thus be stricken from the List of Recommended Varieties of Forage Plants. In addition to successfully passing the agronomic test, the two new varieties mentioned must pass the tests concerning distinctiveness, uniformity and stability of characteristics in order to be recommended.