Problems of amenity grass seed production in New Zealand

The problems of seed production of amenity grasses in New Zealand are considered from two aspects - (a) increasing seed potential by breeding; (b) achieving that potential by good management as practised in the Netherlands, (a) In terms of breeding, the strategies to increase seed yield depended to some degree on the species concerned. With browntop it was necessary to discard about two-thirds of the most promising genotypes because of poor heading, but the remaining genotypes flowered freely and in unison, and gave good seed yields. With fescue even the best original plants were sparsely heading, so direct selection for prolificacy has been needed. This was also carried out for perennial ryegrass, as well as selection of early-heading genotypes to avoid infection by stem rust. (b) It is suggested that areas for seed of amenity grasses in New Zealand should be used for seed production only rather than for both forage and seed as is the usual practice. Techniques used in the Netherlands could serve as guidelines to procedures. The implications of low seeding rates, good weed control, high fertilizer applications and minimum cutting or grazing in promoting strong individual plants capable of high seed yields are discussed. Keywords: Amenity grass, seed production, New Zealand, breeding, management, Netherlands, Agrostis tenuis, Festuca rubra, Lolium perenne