High molecular weight fructans are the main class of water-soluble carbohydrate used for energy storage in many temperate grass species including perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). As well as being important readily mobilisable energy reserves for the plant, fructans are also involved in stress tolerance. Fructans are also readily digested by grazing ruminants and hence are a valuable sour...

"Ryegrass staggers" is a neurological condition of unknown mechanism that impairs motor function in livestock. It is caused by infection of perennial ryegrass pastures by an endophytic fungus that produces neurotoxins, predominantly the indole-diterpenoid compound lolitrem B. Animals grazing on such pastures develop uncontrollable tremors and become uncoordinated in their movement. Lolitrem B a...

To prevent the 7 to 11 million metric tons of waste foundry sand (WFS) produced annually in the USA from entering landfills, current research is focused on the reuse of WFSs as soil amendments. The effects of different WFS-containing amendments on turfgrass growth and nutrient content were tested by planting perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and tall fescue (Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Hol...

Cold acclimation dramatically increases freezing tolerance in many temperate plant species. An understanding of cold acclimation is important for extending adaptation areas of perennial ryegrass. Freezing tolerance is greatly increased in perennial ryegrass cv. 'Caddyshack' after cold acclimation. Genes differentially regulated during cold acclimation were identified by analyzing the abundance ...

Selenium (Se) is able to defend human and animal cells against UV(B) stress. Higher plants are generally considered not to require Se but to have a low tolerance to it. However, recently it has been demonstrated that Se is able to protect also plants against UV-induced oxidative stress and even to promote the growth of plants subjected to high-energy light. In the present study the effects of S...

The effect of feeding two different supplements (perennial ryegrass or plantain baleage) on urinary nitrogen (N) excretion from dairy heifers (8 months old, 180 kg liveweight (LW)) grazing kale was examined in two successive winters. Heifers (n=90 and 80 in Years 1 and 2, respectively) were offered 2.5 kg DM kale/100 kg LW/day and approximately 3 kg DM/heifer/day of either perennial ryegrass or...

One IO-day experiment in autumn 1994 then four lo-day experiments throughout the 1994195 lactation in a complete Latin square investigated the effect of pasture species on yield, composition and total colour of milk from dairy cows. Treatments were Grasslands Kopu white clover (Trifolium repens L.), Yatsyn1 perennial ryegrass (L&urn perenne L.), Grasslands Kahu timothy (Phfeum pratense L.) and ...

The fructans found as storage carbohydrates in temperate forage grasses have a physiological role in regrowth and stress tolerance. They are also important for the nutritional value of fresh and preserved livestock feeds, and are potentially useful as feedstocks for biorefining. Seasonal variation in fructan content and the capacity for de novo fructan synthesis have been examined in a Festulol...

Crossbred steers (n = 72) were selected to study forage-based finishing systems using winter annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) with varying levels of grain supplementation. In December, cattle were allotted to 1 of 6 treatments consisting of ryegrass pasture (1 ha) with whole shell corn supplemented at 0.0% (0.0), 0.5% (0.5), 1.0% (1.0), 1.5% (1.5), and 2.0% (2.0) of BW, or an ad libitu...

Nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions are subject to intra- and interannual variation due to changes in weather and management. This creates significant uncertainties when quantifying estimates of annual N2 O emissions from grazed grasslands. Despite these uncertainties, the majority of studies are short-term in nature (<1 year) and as a consequence, there is a lack of data on interannual variation in...