Seasonal production in lines of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) at Canberra, A.C.T

Abstract

Seasonal yield was evaluated over a period of two years in 30 lines of cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata L., and in Phalaris tuberosa L. (cultivar Australian Commercial), in small swards at Canberra, A.C.T. In the cocksfoot lines tested, there was a significant correlation between visual estimates of the amount of green summer herbage and autumn yields (r = 0.57***). There was also a significant correlation between earliness of culm elongation and winter yields (r = 0.80***). Lines of mid-season maturity had the highest spring yields. Spring yield was 35-65 per cent of total yield, these two measurements being highly correlated. For total yield no cocksfoot was superior to the two recently released cultivars Currie and Brignoles, which differed considerably from each other in seasonal yield.