Skip to main content
×
×
Home

Combining seasonal yield, silage dry matter yield, quality and persistency in an economic index to assist perennial ryegrass variety selection

  • M. O'DONOVAN (a1), N. MCHUGH (a1), M. MCEVOY (a1), D. GROGAN (a2) and L. SHALLOO (a1)...
Summary

A total economic merit index (Pasture Profit Index, PPI) for perennial ryegrass variety selection was developed to rank perennial ryegrass varieties (Lolium perenne L.) based on their economic potential for grass-based ruminant production systems. The key traits of importance identified were: spring, mid-season (April 11–August 10) and autumn dry matter (DM) yield, first and second cut silage DM yield, grass quality April to July (inclusive) and sward persistency. Variety persistency was quantified by determining the ground score (GS) change across years, which was associated with a yield threshold which triggered sward replacement. Each one-unit decline in GS was associated with a 1683 kg loss in DM yield. Data generated in the Irish recommended list trials for value for cultivation and use were analysed to quantify the relative performance of each variety for each of the aforementioned traits. A previously developed methodology to generate economic values was used with updated price assumptions to develop economic values, which were applied to the analysed performance data of individual varieties. These data were used to estimate the total economic merit of each variety. Thirty-nine varieties were ranked on total economic merit with the highest performing variety (Cv111) generating €213 per ha/year compared with Cv201, which was the lowest ranking variety generating −€31 per ha/year. Use of the PPI provides information to end users in relation to the economic merit of one variety over another, facilitating a more informed decision-making process at farm level.

Copyright
Corresponding author
* To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: michael.odonovan@teagasc.ie
References
Hide All
Beard, K. T. (1988). Efficiency of index selection for dairy cattle using economic weights for major milk constituents. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 39, 273284.
Brookes, I. M., McRae, A. F., Gray, D. I. & Cameron, N. (1993). Economics of milk production from perennial ryegrass cultivars with different seasonal growth patterns. In Proceedings of the 17th International Grassland Congress (Eds Baker, M. J., Crush, J. R. & Humphreys, L. R.), pp. 12941295. Palmerstown North, New Zealand: New Zealand Grassland Association.
Burns, G. A., Gilliland, T. J., Grogan, D., Watson, S. & O'Kiely, P. (2013). Assessment of herbage yield and quality traits of perennial ryegrasses from a national variety evaluation scheme. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 151, 331346.
Calderini, D. F., Dreccer, M. F. & Slafer, G. A. (1995). Genetic improvement in wheat yield and associated traits; a re-examination of previous results and the latest trends. Plant Breeding 114, 108112.
Camlin, M. S. & Stewart, R. H. (1976). The assessment of persistence and its application to the evaluation of early perennial ryegrass cultivars. Grass and Forage Science 31, 16.
Camlin, M. S. & Stewart, R. H. (1978). The assessment of persistence and its application to the evaluation of mid-season and late perennial ryegrass cultivars. Grass and Forage Science 33, 275282.
Cashman, P., O'Donovan, M., Gilliland, T. & McEvoy, M. (2014). Quantifying ground score change on perennial ryegrass swards exposed to different grazing regimes. In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Irish Grassland and Animal Production Association (Ed. Diskin, M.), p. 89. Athenry, Co Galway, Ireland: Irish grassland and Animal Production Association.
Cashman, P. A., McEvoy, M., Gilliland, T. J. & O'Donovan, M. (2016). A comparison between cutting and animal grazing for dry matter yield, quality and tiller density of perennial ryegrass cultivars. Grass and Forage Science 71, 112122.
Casler, M. D. (2001). Breeding forage crops for increased nutritional value. Advances in Agronomy 71, 51107.
Chapman, D. F., Bryant, J. R., McMillan, W. H. & Khaembah, E. N. (2012). Economic values for evaluating pasture plant traits. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 74, 209216.
Charles, A. H. & Valentine, J. (1978). A comparison of diploid and tetraploid Lolium perenne L. sown alone and in mixtures with particular reference to the effect of treading. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 91, 487495.
Clark, D. A. (2011). Changes in pastoral farming practices and pasture persistence – a review. In Pasture Persistence Symposium (Ed. Mercer, C. F.), pp. 714. Grassland Research and Practice Series no. 15. Dunedin, New Zealand: New Zealand Grassland Society.
Clouting, G. M. & Hawkins, R. P. (1966). A technique for measuring the persistency of grass varieties. Journal of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany 10, 621627.
Conaghan, P. & Casler, M. D. (2011). A theoretical and practical analysis of the optimum breeding system for perennial ryegrass. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 50, 4763.
Creighton, P., Kennedy, E., Shalloo, L., Boland, T. M. & O'Donovan, M. (2011). A survey analysis of grassland dairy farming in Ireland, investigating grassland management, technology adoption and sward renewal. Grass and Forage Science 66, 251264.
Creighton, P., Gilliland, T. J., Delaby, L., Kenendy, E., Boland, T. M. & O'Donovan, M. (2012). Effect of Lolium perenne sward density on productivity under simulated and actual cattle grazing. Grass and Forage Science 67, 526534.
Department Of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2009). Grass and Clover Recommended List Varieties for Ireland 2009. Maynooth, Ireland: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Department Of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (2010). Food Harvest 2020 – A Vision for Irish Agri-food and Fisheries. Maynooth, Ireland: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Available from: http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/agri-foodindustry/foodharvest2020/2020FoodHarvestEng240810.pdf (verified 10 September 2013).
Department Of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2015). Local Roots Global Reach. Food Wise 2025 – A 10 Year Vision for the Irish Agri-food Industry. Maynooth, Ireland: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine.
Dillon, P., Crosse, S., Stakelum, G. & Flynn, F. (1995). The effect of calving date and stocking rate on the performance of spring-calving dairy cows. Grass and Forage Science 50, 286299.
Doyle, C. J. & Elliott, J. G. (1983). Putting an economic value on increases in grass production. Grass and Forage Science 38, 169177.
Doyle, C. J. & Wilkins, R. J. (1984). Grassland yield: realising the potential. In Money from Grass (Ed. Corrall, A. J.), pp. 924. British Grassland Society Occasional Symposium No. 15. Hurley, UK: British Grassland Society.
Drennan, M. J. & McGee, M. (2009). Performance of spring-calving beef suckler cows and their progeny to slaughter on intensive and extensive grassland management systems. Livestock Science 120, 112.
Fulkerson, W. J. & Doyle, P. T. (2001). The Australian Dairy Industry. Melbourne, Australia: Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
Griffith, V., O'Donovan, M., Geoghegan, A. & Shalloo, L. (2014). PastureBase Ireland – the measurement of grass dry matter production on grassland farms. In Grassland Science in Europe, Vol 19 – EGF at 50, the Future of European Grassland (Eds Hopkins, A., Collins, R. P., Fraser, M. D., King, V. R., Lloyd, D. C., Moorby, J. M. & Robson, P. R. H.), pp. 279281. Gogerddan, UK: IBERS.
Grogan, D. (2013). Evaluating grass varieties: new management protocols for Irish recommended list trials. In Proceedings of the Irish Grassland Association Dairy Conference, Back to Basics (Ed. Lynch, B.), pp. 2736. Dublin, Ireland: University College Dublin.
Grogan, D. & Gilliland, T. J. (2011). A review of perennial ryegrass variety evaluation in Ireland. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 50, 6582.
Ludemann, C. I., Jacobs, J. L. & Smith, K. F. (2015). The economic significance of maintaining pasture production at its peak value. Crop and Pasture Science 66, 205213.
Malcolm, B., Smith, K. F. & Jacobs, J. L. (2014). Perennial pasture persistence: the economic perspective. Crop and Pasture Science 65, 713720.
Marriott, C. A., Fisher, J. M., Hood, K. J. & Smith, M. A. (1997). Persistence and colonization of gaps in sown swards of grass and clover under different sward managements. Grass and Forage Science 52, 156166.
McDonagh, J., McEvoy, M., O'Donovan, M. & Gilliland, T. J. (2014). Genetic gain in yield of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and Hybrid ryegrass (Lolium × boucheanum Kunth) cultivars in Northern Ireland Recommended lists 1972–2013. In Grassland Science in Europe, Vol 19 – EGF at 50, the Future of European Grassland (Eds Hopkins, A., Collins, R. P., Fraser, M. D., King, V. R., Lloyd, D. C., Moorby, J. M. & Robson, P. R. H.), pp. 836839. Gogerddan, UK: IBERS.
McEvoy, M., O'Donovan, M. & Shalloo, L. (2011). Development and application of an economic ranking index for perennial ryegrass cultivars. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 16271639.
O'Donovan, M., Kennedy, E. & Lalor, S. (2013). Growing more grass. In Moorepark ’13. Irish Dairying: Harvesting the Potential (Eds Berry, D., Butler, S. & Dillon, P.), pp. 2528. Fermoy, Ireland: Teagasc Moorepark.
O'Donovan, M., Lewis, E. & O'Kiely, P. (2011). Requirements of future grass-based ruminant production systems in Ireland. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 50, 121.
SAS Institute (2009). SAS User's Guide: Statistics. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.
Shalloo, L. (2009). Pushing the barriers on milk costs/ outputs. In Proceedings of Teagasc National Dairy Conference (Ed. French, P.), pp. 1939. Carlow, Ireland: Teagasc.
Shalloo, L., Dillon, P., Rath, M. & Wallace, M. (2004). Description and validation of the Moorepark Dairy System Model. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 19451959.
Shalloo, L., Creighton, P. & O'Donovan, M. (2011). The economics of reseeding on a dairy farm. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 50, 113122.
Stewart, A. & Hayes, R. (2011). Ryegrass breeding – balancing trait priorities. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research 50, 3146.
Teagasc (2013). Management Data for Farm Planning. Oakpark, Ireland: Teagasc.
Tollenaar, M. (1989). Genetic improvement in grain yield of commercial maize hybrids grown in Ontario from 1959 to 1988. Crop Science 29, 13651371.
VanRaden, P. M. (2002). Selection of dairy cattle for lifetime profit. In Proceedings of the 7th World Congress Applied to Livestock Production, Montpellier, France, 19–23 August 2002, pp. 127130. Paris, France: INRA.
Veerkamp, R. F., Dillon, P., Kelly, E., Cromie, A. R. & Groen, A. F. (2002). Dairy cattle breeding objectives combining yield, survival and calving interval for pasture-based systems in Ireland under different milk quota scenarios. Livestock Production Science 76, 137151.
Wilkins, P. W. & Humphreys, M. O. (2003). Progress in breeding perennial forage grasses for temperate agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 140, 129150.
Wilson, J. W. (1960). Inclined point quadrats. New Phytologist 59, 17.
Wims, C. M., McEvoy, M., Delaby, L., Boland, T. M. & O'Donovan, M. (2013). Effect of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L) cultivars on the milk yield of grazing dairy cows. Animal 7, 410421.
Recommend this journal

Email your librarian or administrator to recommend adding this journal to your organisation's collection.

The Journal of Agricultural Science
  • ISSN: 0021-8596
  • EISSN: 1469-5146
  • URL: /core/journals/journal-of-agricultural-science
Please enter your name
Please enter a valid email address
Who would you like to send this to? *
×

Metrics

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 4
Total number of PDF views: 138 *
Loading metrics...

Abstract views

Total abstract views: 379 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between 7th September 2016 - 12th June 2018. This data will be updated every 24 hours.