Growth Regulation Improves Yield of Grass Seed Crop – New Harvest

The application of growth regulation in the cultivation of perennial ryegrass and fescue fescue is an insurance premium for higher seed yield. The condition is that the treatment is carried out on a growing culture.

This is the result of a study by the Grass Seeds and Turf Working Group which was carried out from 2018 to 2020 on plots close to the Rusthoeve experimental farm in Colijnsplaat, Zeeland. The goal of research on three types of perennial ryegrass and reed fescue is to determine what growth regulation does with the position of the crop, with the blend of the crop and the ultimate yields.

Unlike, for example, New Zealand and Denmark, grass seed growers in the Netherlands are often concerned that treatment with a growth regulator could cause leaf blight and loss of yield. However, in countries where growth regulation is standard, growers apply this approach for higher yield.

Delayed alloy

In the three-year study of perennial ryegrass, untreated objects gave by far the least yield. The growth regulation results in a lighter harvest, but this is not to the detriment of seed yield. The alloy of the crop is also slowed down after treatment.

The researchers conclude that growth regulation is an insurance premium for a higher yield of grass seeds and therefore for a higher yield in cultivation. The condition is that the application is carried out on a growing crop. In the three dry years of the study, not once was growth regulation a negative effect in terms of established yield.

The best stage of cultivation to apply growth regulation is between the construction of the first and second node. Grass seed growers have Trimaxx and Moddus resources at their disposal for application.

Relationship with nitrogen addition

In sugarcane fescue, the nitrogen content in relation to growth regulation was also examined. This shows that shared administration at high nitrogen content provides the highest yield. Applying Moddus once or twice then increases the possibilities of achieving more production.

The Grass Seeds and Turf Working Group operates under the auspices of Plantum and BO Akkerbouw and aims to support the cultivation of grass seeds in the Netherlands. Grass seed producers pay a contribution per hectare for this.