There are four new perennial ryegrass varieties on the 2014 grass variety recommended list, while five varieties have been removed from the list and are now classified as “outclassed”.

Northern Ireland breeder AFBI provides two of the new grass varieties – a late-heading diploid named Clanrye, and an intermediate heading tetraploid variety named Seagoe.

Welsh breeder IBERS provides a late-heading tetraploid named AberPlentiful, while Danish breeder DLF-Trifolium provides a late-heading tetraploid named Aspect (see Table 1).

There is one new clover, with Irish breeder Teagasc providing the new white clover variety named Iona.

This year, for the first time, provisional performance data based on the recently introduced frequent cutting system (eight to 10 cuts per year) is provided for some of the perennial ryegrass varieties in the intermediate and late heading groups (see Table 2).

It supplements the usual data based on a general purpose system (six cuts per year, including two silage cuts), which is available for all those varieties.

Over the next few years, performance information from the frequent cutting trial system will become available for all varieties in those groups.

Outclassed grass varieties removed from the list are Premium, AberStar, Malone, Cancan, and Orion. The outclassed white clover variety removed from the list is Aran.

Each year, DAFM tests over 100 varieties of grass and clover in replicated trials at five locations throughout the country.

All new candidate varieties are tested against existing commercial recommended list varieties over a minimum of two sowing years with each sowing harvested for two years, giving a total of four harvest years.

Trials are grown on good quality soils in a manner conducive to selection of varieties most suited to good commercial farming practices.

Farmers who want to carry out reseeding and buy a grass seed mix from their local merchant or co-op should make sure the varieties in the bag are on either the most recent southern or northern list.

Some farmers will try to buy just one variety rather than a mix. This is risky if the variety is unproven and unknown in Ireland but otherwise it is possible.

Why pick off the list? You can clearly see the characteristics of the grass you are buying.

The Department will have carried out extensive trials on the varieties listed. Unlisted varieties will not have been proven to the same extent in Ireland but there could well be good young varieties on the way onto the list.

Early perennial ryegrass:

Moyola: Good annual yield and autumn growth.

Genesis: Excellent spring growth.

Intermediate perennial ryegrass: diploids

Boyne: Highest total yield and very good spring growth. Very good ground cover score.

Solomon: Total yield is good. Spring growth is excellent.

Rosetta: Very good total yield. Spring growth is excellent.

Rodrigo: Very good ground cover score. Good spring growth.

AberMagic: Good annual yield and very good autumn growth. Ground cover and dry matter digestibility are very good. Late heading date.

Intermediate perennial ryegrass: tetraploids

Giant: Spring growth and ground cover are very good.

Magician: Spring growth is very good.

Carraig: Good total yield combined with excellent spring growth and ground cover.

Trend: Its total yield and spring growth are good. The variety is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Seagoe: A new variety with good total yield combined with very good spring yield. Dry matter digestibility is good.

Dunluce: Dry matter digestibility is exceptionally good. Its autumn growth is the best of the tetraploids. Latest heading in class.

Late perennial ryegrass: diploids

Stefani: Good annual and spring yield and good ground cover.

Majestic: Good annual, spring and autumn yield. Good ground cover.

Glenveagh: Good annual yield. Its ground cover is excellent. Spring growth is moderate.

Denver: Spring and autumn growth are moderate. Good ground cover. The variety is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Piccadilly: Good annual yield and spring growth and ground cover.

Soriento: Ground cover is very good. Spring and autumn growth are moderate but is being outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Tyrella: Its spring growth is excellent and is much better than that of other late diploid varieties.

Clanrye: A new variety with very good annual yield and ground cover.

Portstewart: Spring growth is moderate. It is the oldest grass variety on the recommended list and is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Mezquita: Its ground cover is very good. Autumn growth is moderate. The variety is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Drumbo: Spring growth is very good. Autumn growth is good. Dry matter digestibility is very good.

AberChoice: Annual yield and autumn yield are very good. Ground cover is good. Dry matter digestibility is excellent, being the highest in the group.

Malambo: Good annual yield and autumn growth. Ground cover is good. The variety is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Late perennial ryegrass: tetraploids

Delphin: Annual yield and spring growth are good. Dry matter digestibility is very good.

Glencar: Good annual yield.

AberCraigs: Annual yield and spring growth are good. Dry matter digestibility is very good. The variety is becoming outclassed by newer, improved varieties.

Aspect: A new variety with good annual yield and spring yield. Ground cover is the best of the late tetraploids. Dry matter digestibility is very good.

Navan: Good annual yield. Spring growth is moderate. Autumn growth and dry matter digestibility are very good.

AberGain: Highest annual yield. Spring growth is exceptional, being considerably better than other varieties. Dry matter digestibility is excellent.

Twymax: Ground cover is one of the highest of the tetraploids. Spring growth is moderate. Very good dry matter digestibility.

Kintyre: Annual yield, autumn growth and dry matter digestibility are all very good.

AberPlentiful: A new variety with very good annual yield. Spring growth is good and autumn growth is very good. Dry matter digestibility is very good.

New frequent cutting table

For the first time this year, a new table ranking varieties on a frequent cutting system is displayed for perennial ryegrasses.

Following sowing in May each year, the trials are then assessed over the following two-year period under two different systems – a six-cut system and an eight- to 10-cut system, using a trial plot harvesting machine. Individual trials remain on one system for the two-year period.

The six-cut system is referred as the general-purpose system and involves one spring grazing cut, followed by two silage cuts and then three grazing cuts.

The eight- to 10-cut system is referred to as the frequent cutting system and involves that number of cuts taken at periods corresponding to normal commercial rotational grazing practice. This system was introduced by DAFM in its 2010 sowings.

Its purpose is to provide variety performance data suitable for situations where grass is grazed throughout the growing season. Provisional results from this one sowing (two harvest years) are presented in Table 2.

The number of recommended list varieties having this information will increase in coming years. Also, the dependability of this information will increase in coming years as the data for more varieties will be based on four or more harvest years.