Description
Jeta is developed to combine strengths of perennial & Italian ryegrasses, particularly increased cool season growth and increased nutritive value (eg water soluble carbohydrates).
Plant Description
Hybrid Plant: Intermediate between perennial and Italian ryegrass species. Characteristics between cultivars depend on perennial : Italian parentage percentage.
Stems: 30-90 cm.
Leaves: Fine (~7 mm), dark green, hairless, under surface shiny, blade folded about mid-rib in young shoot, leaf-base usually dark red.
Seedhead: Spike ~20 cm, spikelet usually <10 florets/spikelet; awnless lemma.
Seeds: fawn, flat, awnless, ~6mm long. Approx 300,000/kg (tetraploid cvv) Tetraploid cvv: these have double the number of chromosomes, larger cells, leaves and seed.
Pasture type and use: Grazing and fodder conservation. Most widely sown pasture grass in temperate regions.
Where it grows:
Rainfall: > 700mm+.
Soils: Medium-heavy, moderate-high fertility (eg Olsen P >12, 0-10 cm). Tolerates slight salinity.
Temperature: Cold and frost tolerant, growth constrained by high temperature.
Establishment:
Companion species:
Grasses: Perennial ryegrass.
Legumes: white clover, medics and sub clover.
Sowing/planting rates as single species: 10-25 kg/ha.
Sowing/planting rates in mixtures: 5-10 kg/ha.
Sowing time: Autumn and spring.
Fertiliser: P & possibly N at sowing.
Management:
Maintenance fertiliser: requires fertile soil to persist. ~10 kg P/ha. Monitor S, K, Cu especially. Supply N by clover/fertiliser.
Grazing/cutting: Tolerates close, continuous grazing except if drought-stressed. Graze at 2.5-3 leaf stage to optimise yield under rotational grazing.
Ability to spread: Will spread if allowed to seed.
Weed potential: Low unless allowed to set seed.
Major pests: Red and black-headed cockchafer, black field cricket, white-fringed weevil, African black beetle, corbies, underground grass caterpillar.
Major diseases: Crown rust, stem rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, ryegrass mosaic virus.
Herbicide susceptibility: In choosing selective herbicides consider the stage of growth of the ryegrass and what non-target companion species are present.
Animal production:
Feeding value: High nutritive value.
Palatability: Palatable.
Production potential: High yields; highly responsive to fertiliser and irrigation.
Livestock disorders/toxicity: Cultivars with wild endophyte can cause perennial ryegrass toxicosis and ill-thrift. Bacterial infection of seedhead can occasionally occur and result in ergot poisoning.