Harvesting Ryegrass: Introduction

Harvesting your own ryegrass seed is a great way to save money on establishing improved pastures. There are a few factors to keep in mind to ensure that you achieve a high quality seed. Quality is evaluated in terms of weed seed contamination, germination and purity.

In 2005 I visited Bunbury to talk with farmers that are maximising the productivity of ryegrass in their system. I spoke with Victor Rodwell, one of the leading dairy producers in the area. He is very interested in harvesting ryegrass, as he estimates it saves him $4000 a year in seed costs. This seed is primarily used to re-establish paddocks where plant population numbers are down.

Harvesting ryegrass could also enable you to establish other paddocks that have come out of the cropping rotation at a reduced cost in addition to controlling seed set at the end of the pasture phase.

Harvesting Ryegrass: Weed Seed Contamination

Weed control in pastures is vital prior to sowing as weed competition is a major cause of establishment failure and production loss. If weeds are present at harvest you run the risk of contamination and spreading weeds. To minimise this risk, Victor chooses regeneration paddocks (paddocks cut for hay) where majority of the weeds have been killed. From these paddocks Victor has achieved yields up to 800 kg / ha, saving $1.90 kg, depending on the germination percentage.

Harvesting Ryegrass: Germination

Ryegrass germination is largely influenced by temperature. Seed must be dry at harvest or dried to a safe level before storage, or heat damage from storage fungi and loss of germination can occur in as little as 2 days, with tetraploid varieties being especially vulnerable.
Victor aims to swath his ryegrass 1 week before shedding, targeting a 60% dry matter when harvested. After harvesting he stores his ryegrass seeds in storage baulker bags in a cool and dry location. These bags are great for specialist seeds as it allows them to breathe and not over heat, thus preventing germination losses.

Harvesting Ryegrass: Purity

It can be difficult to ensure that you are harvesting the ryegrass variety that you desire due to its out crossing nature. Establishing what your background ryegrass populations are will enable you to make an informed decision whether or not the paddock is suitable to collect seed from.

Winterstar ryegrass harvested at Gibson in Nov / Dec 06 achieveing 78% germination