Future farming with profitable perennialsTM
Productive, Persistent Tropical Grasses Project (P1 FP07)
This includes the selection and release of a new Panicum maximum variety following evaluation under grazing in two key target environments. The variety release will be accompanied by regionally targeted information on issues such as establishment and grazing management. Agronomic packages for tropical grasses including suitable legume options, establishment techniques, and management requirements will be developed and promoted in WA and northern NSW. Objective:
ActivitiesProject team members have successfully established grazing trials at three sites to evaluate the persistence and productivity of the new grass lines. These sites are located in northern NSW are at the Tamworth Agricultural Institute and at ‘Mitiamo’ located about 25 km west of Bingara. In WA, the Panicum grazing trial has been successfully established within a 10 ha paddock on Badgingarra Research Station with grazing and pasture measurements underway. A range of the field experiments have been successfully established in both northern NSW and WA in 2009 to address the issue of a companion legume to improve the feed nutritive characteristics and to provide the soil nitrogen to drive the productivity. For further information about this project, email project leader, Geoff Moore.
Tropical perennial grasses guidesResearch from this project has been used to produce a series of guides that promotes the use and management of tropical-grass based pasture mixes in the summer-rain dominant region of New South Wales. Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 1: Planning ahead Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 2: Weed control Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 3: Seed quality Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 4: Sowing rates Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 5: Sowing machinery Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 6: Sowing time and depth Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 7: Fertilisers Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 8: Grazing management Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 9: Pasture quality Tropical Perennial Grasses Guide 10: Root depths
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The Productive, Persistent Tropical Grasses project will develop and commercially release new tropical grass varieties for the south coast and the northern agricultural areas of WA and northern NSW. 
