New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Invited paper
The role of C4 grasses in New Zealand pastoral systems
J. R. Crush
AgResearch Ruakura
Private Bag 3123
Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
jim.crush@agresearch.co.nz
J. S. Rowarth*
The University of Melbourne
Parkville
Vic 3010, Australia
*Present address: Massey University, Private Bag 11222,
Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Abstract As agricultural scientists in temperate
regions search for the next revolution in pasture productivity, C4
grasses often appear in the literature as "having potential" to push
through the ceiling of production. This potential has yet to be
realised in high producing pastures in New Zealand, despite
investigations in the 1970s, and ongoing suggestions (a) that research
would enable the full value to be exploited and (b) that the advent of
genetic technologies could provide the answer. This paper reviews the
New Zealand and Australian literature on C4 grasses,
identifies the difficulties with incorporating them into high producing
temperate grazing systems, and makes suggestions for their use in the
future.
Keywords carbon dioxide; C4 grass;
cold tolerance; digestibility; quality
A06058; Online publication date 20 April 2007; Received 16
October 2006; accepted 13 March 2007
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2007, Vol. 50:
125—137
0028—8233/07/5002—0125 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2007
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