New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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Tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Z.W. Liu + R.R.C. Wang): a neglected resource in Australian pasture

KEVIN F. SMITH

Agriculture Victoria
Pastoral and Veterinary Institute
Private Bag 105
Hamilton, Victoria 3300, Australia

Abstract  Tall wheatgrass, Thinopyrum ponticum, is a perennial grass that is widely sown on saline land for grazing and soil conservation. However, the true potential of the species is seldom realised, because tall wheatgrass is truly a neglected resource. Once sown the grass is often subjected to very poor grazing management, if it is grazed at all. Tall wheatgrass has received little attention from researchers, to the extent that some 40 years after the introduction of the species to Australia, recommendations on the management of tall wheatgrass swards for persistence and productivity are still incomplete. This will remain so until more research into the basic agronomy and animal production potential of tall wheatgrass is completed. This short review summarises changes to the taxonomy of tall wheatgrass, the historical use of tall wheatgrass in Australia, recent agronomic research, and its animal production potential. The review also identifies some priorities for further research.

Keywords  tall wheatgrass; grazing;Thinopyrum; Agropyron; salinity; breeding

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1996, Vol. 39: 623-627

0028-8233/96/3904-0623 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1996

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (382K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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