Grassland Society of Victoria – Pasture Species and Cultivars Database
The database has been developed jointly by the Grassland Society of Victoria and the University of Melbourne.
It’s main purpose is to provide a comprehensive, up to date source of information on all species and cultivars currently available for use in pastures in south-east Australia. It is confined to temperate species: cultivars of sub-tropical or tropical species are not currently included.
The database is designed to provide:
In situations where users search the database to find suitable species and cultivars for their property, the database serves as a kind of decision support tool. However, it is important to note that it does not produce recommended seed mixtures. The final formulation of the sowing mixture must be made by the user perhaps in consultation with specialist advisers or agricultural retailers – the database is a tool for narrowing the options and listing the possible choices.
Information in the database is organised at two levels: species level and cultivar level. At the species level, information is available for 36 grass, legume and herb species. This information is then divided into about 30 ‘fields’. These fields give descriptive data, plus relevant information on the key adaptive and agronomic characteristics of pasture plants that applies at the species level.
At the cultivar level, information on the features of the cultivar and where it might be used is presented in a single field called ‘Guide to Use’. The Guide to Use includes cultivar-specific information about features such as flowering date, seed characteristics, disease resistance, responses to climate and soil conditions, growth potential, seasonal distribution of growth, management requirements, suitability for different animal enterprises, and associated animal health issues (eg endophyte and ergovaline / lolitrem contents in perennial ryegrass), where these differ from the general description provided at the species level.
If you are simply looking for straight forward information about a particular species or cultivar, a full listing of species and cultivars can be found by clicking the ‘Show’ button on the database interface. You can then scroll down the list of species or cultivars that is displayed, click on the name, and bring up the fields of information.
If you want to interrogate the information, the database includes a search function which enables you to search against a set of criteria, or ‘search factors’. This is accessed by clicking on the button ‘Search’, which brings up a screen where you can select a range or category for each search factor that corresponds to the use you have in mind for the pasture to be sown, and the climate and soil conditions under which it will be expected to grow.
The search factors available at the species level are described in the Table below.
Table 1. Search factors and categories for species
|
Search factor |
Categories |
|
Group Minimum rainfall Tolerance of soil acidity Life cycle |
grass, legume, forage herb < 400, 400, 525, 650mm/yr moderate-high (pH <5.5), slight (pH 5.5 – 7), not tolerant (pH > 7) annual / short rotation, hybrid, perennial |
Simply use the ‘drop-down’ windows to select the level of each factor that you want to search against. It isn’t necessary to select a level for all factors, but you must select in at least one factor for the search function to work.
The program will display the species that meet you search criteria. You can then click on the species common name to get more information about the species, including a list of cultivars for the species which is ’hot-linked’ to the cultivar database so you can find out more about the cultivars that are currently available.
If you already know what species are likely to be suitable for your situation but are unsure which cultivars to use, you can go straight to the cultivar database to find more information.
Cultivar searches are available for nine species:
These species have the largest range of cultivars available – for example, there are around 30 perennial ryegrass cultivars and 25 Italian ryegrass currently included in the database. The more cultivars available, the greater the problem of deciding which ones to use, and the greater the utility of a search function. Other species have a much smaller range of cultivars (some have only one) and therefore there is less need for a search function.
When you click on the ‘Search’ button, you will first be asked to select the species common name that you want to search against. If your species is not one of the nine listed above, then all of the cultivars available for that species will be displayed on the results screen. If you select one of the nine species, you will then see another screen where you can search against the factors shown in the Table below. The search factors differ depending on species, and have been selected to differentiate between cultivars according to the major features of minimum rainfall, seasonality of growth, suitability for different animal enterprises, suitability for different soil types (sub clover) and leaf size (white clover). ‘Drop down’ windows are available for each of these factors in the same style as the species database, and you can simply select the appropriate category or level in the same way as for the species database search.
You can click on the name of any of the cultivars listed on the results page to see the Guide to Use information, which can then be printed and referred to later for formulating the seed mixture and ordering seed. You may need to check the availability of seed with the seed company or your supplier before ordering.
Table 2. Search factors and categories for cultivars
| Species | Search factor | Categories / levels |
| Perennial ryegrass | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth Flowering time |
beef, sheep, dairy 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700mm/yr winter, spring, summer / autumn early, mid, late |
| Italian ryegrass | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth Life cycle |
beef, sheep, dairy 450,500,550,600,650,700mm/yr winter, spring, summer/autumn annual, short rotational |
| Hybrid ryegrass | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth Type |
beef, sheep, dairy 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700mm/yr winter, spring, summer/autumn Italian type, perennial type |
| Phalaris | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth |
beef, sheep, dairy 400, 425, 450, 500, 550mm/yr autumn, winter, spring, summer |
| Cocksfoot | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth |
beef, sheep, dairy 350, 400, 425, 450, 500mm/yr autumn, winter, spring, summer |
| Tall fescue | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth |
beef, sheep, dairy 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700mm/yr winter active, summer active, summer dormant |
| Sub clover | Soil suitability Minimum rainfall Seasonal growth |
neutral/alkaline, acidic/well drained, |
| White clover | Animal enterprise Minimum rainfall Leaf size |
beef, sheep, dairy 550, 600, 650, 700mm/yr small, medium, large |
| Lucerne | Seasonal growth |
winter dormant, semi-winter dormant, winter active, highly winter active |
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