Bar Tech January 2021

Four exciting new British bred ryegrass varieties will be available in Barforage mixture in 2021. All the varieties were bred in Northern Ireland by the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute of Northern Ireland (AFBI) as part of the programme and partnership with Barenbrug UK, which this year, celebrates its 30^th anniversary.

Glasker is an early diploid perennial ryegrass which features in the Northern Ireland and England and Wales portfolios. It has the highest D Values in the group on the Recommended Grass & Clover List (RGCL) 2020/2021 with a first cut of 77.2D for grazing and a first cut of 73D. A heading date of 18^th May makes it the latest maturing in this limited group of rygerasses. Excellent shoulder growth in spring and autumn, particularly under grazing make Glasker an ideal addition to swards where long seasons of turnout are required but with a total cutting yield of 101% of control, Glasker also a good choice for conservation management too.

Glasker can be found in Long Season & Bar GS4 England & Wales & Northern Ireland

Bannfoot is a hybrid tetraploid ryegrass which has 7/8 perennial parentage making it an exciting new variety for those looking for a yield advantage but retaining some persistency for a medium – long term rotation. Listed on the RGCL 2020/2021 and performing very well in the Northern Irish trials, Bannfoot is producing yields of over 20 t DM/ha in its first year with high quality over both main cuts (>75D).  In the Northern Irish simulated grazing trial, Bannfoot realised 16.84t DM/ha showing how flexible this variety can be. The high perennial parentage gives Bannfoot excellent ground cover and it also has good disease resistance with a heading date of 20^th May. 100% of the Bannfoot seed we will be using in 2021 was produced in the UK.

Bannfoot can be found in Hybrid 4x4 for Northern Ireland & England & Wales and Overseeder and Aftermaize for England & Wales.

Galgorm is a key variety for 2021 as it is the highest yielding intermediate diploid perennial ryegrass on both the Scottish, and the English and Welsh recommended lists as well as performing extremely well in our development trials in Northern Ireland where its total cutting yield exceeded 19.1tDM/ha/annum with a grazing yield of over 17t DM/ha/annum. Galgorm heads on the 22^nd May (RGCL) and has a Relative Easr Emergence (REE) of 36 in Scotland. It has high disease resistance to Crown Rust (7.5) and Mildew (7.4). Quality is exceptional for such an early variety with a grazing score of 78.1D, first cut of 71.6D and second cut of 75.4D and no other intermediate diploid variety on the list produces more ME yield per hectare under grazing management (106% of the mean of all intermediate diploid varieties on the list). Galgorm is very persistent in grazing swards and will be an asset to any perennial sward whether cut, grazed or both. 97% of the Galgorm seed we will be using in 2021 was grown in the UK.

Galgorm can be found in Cut & Graze, Adapt, Highlander and Hybrid Cut & Graze for Scotland. For Northern Ireland, Galgorm can be found in Combi and for England & Wales Galgorm can be found in Combi, Early Cut & Graze, Long Season and Dairy Grazer.

Gracehill is a late tetraploid perennial ryegrass which was only added to the Recommended Lists in 2020. As well as featuring highly on RGCL 2020/2021 and the Scottish Recommended List, Gracehill will appear on the Republic of Ireland List and PPI Index. Gracehill heads on the 1^st June/REE 47 and is one of the highest yielding varieties available for both cutting and grazing at 106% of control and 105% of control respectively on the RGCL. Digestibility, Metabolisable Energy (ME) yield and disease resistance are all high making Gracehill a great variety for livestock production. In Scotland a cutting yield of 102% and grazing yield of 103% make Gracehill a strong performer in this group. In Northern Ireland in 2020, Gracehill topped the late heading group cutting trial with a massive 22.19t DM/ha, 15% over the group average, with a 1^st cut of 7.28t DM/ha which was 30% over the group average. 100% of the Gracehill seed we will be using in 2021 was produced in the UK.

The Gracehill grass variety can be found in Barmix, Supreme, Cut & Graze and Adapt for Scotland, in Combi and Barmix for Northern Ireland and in Permanent, Combi, Barmix, Dairy Grazer and Long Season for England & Wales mixtures.