Cultivar-specific management for seed production of creeping red fescue

Abstract

Fairey, N. A. 2006. Cultivar-specific management for seed production of creeping red fescue. Can. J. Plant Sci. 86: 1099-1105. A study was conducted in the Peace River region of north-western Canada with three cultivars (Boreal, Jasper, Jasper E) of creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra L. var. rubra) to identify cultivar-specific management practices for seed production. Experimental treatments included four methods of establishment [Broadcast; 30-cm rows; 15-cm rows; 15-cm rows with sulfur (56 kg ha -1 SulFer 0-0-0-95)], 10 nitrogen (N as 34-0-0) fertilizer treatments, and three methods of post-harvest management prior to winter (flail mowing and residue removal; disc mowing and residue removal; short-duration, intensive grazing with sheep) plus crop residue removal at seed harvest. Total seed yield over 2 consecutive production years was greatest with 30-cm rows although a higher first-year yield was realized with 15-cm rows. In the first production year, establishment in rows produced higher seed yield than broadcasting but, in the second, the converse was true. Within-row supplementation with sulfur decreased the total seed yield over 2 yr by 7%. In the first, second and combined production years, Boreal produced 655, 372 and 1027 kg ha -1 , respectively; for the corresponding production years, Jasper produced 56, 65 and 60% of Boreal, while Jasper E produced 58, 76 and 65% of Boreal. The endophyte (Neotyphodium spp. Glenn, Bacon, Price & Hanlin and Epichloe festucae Leuchtm., Schardl, & Siegel) infection of Jasper E had no consistent beneficial or detrimental effects on seed yield. For the year subsequent to the application of the post-harvest treatments, the effects of flail and disc mowing were similar (360 versus 347 kg ha -1 seed, respectively), whereas grazing reduced seed yield to 188 kg ha -1 . Splitting the application of N in fall and spring resulted in similar seed yields to fall-only N. The response to N fertilizer differed for consecutive years of production; in the first production year, seed yield increased linearly over the range 38-114 kg ha -1 N, whereas in the second production year, rates in excess of 76 kg ha -1 N markedly suppressed seed yield. A fall application of 55-80 kg ha -1 N in the establishment year, and again after the seed harvest of the first production year, was sufficient to maximize the total seed yield over 2 consecutive production years. Cultivar-specific responses in seed yield to treatment interactions were too small for agronomic exploitation. Le débroussaillage et le déchaumage ont eu des effets similaires l'année suivant l'application des traitements post-récolte (360 c. 347 kg de semences par hectare, respectivement), mais la paissance à réduit le rendement grainier à 188 kg par hectare. Répartir l'application de N à l'automne et au printemps entraîne un rendement grainier similaire à celui obtenu avec une seule application de N à l'automne. La réaction à l'engrais azoté a varié lors des deux années de culture consécutives. La première, le rendement grainier a progr...

Effects of water and nitrogen on seed production of creeping red fescue

“…Fertile tiller density in the first year was increased by N, regardless of the rate of N applied and, when all the N was applied to the first seed crop, fertile tiller density was almost as high in the second seed crop as it was when all the N had been applied directly to the second seed crop (Table 2). The increase in fertile tiller density by N application agrees with numerous reports (Nordestgaard 1980;Cedell 1986;Rolston et al 1997;Fairey and Lefkovitch 2000;Fairey 2006). Harvest index of the first seed crop was higher for the zero'102 N treatment (51.4%) than for any of the other N treatments (37.3 to 40.2%) (Table 3), the higher value indicating that the plants were diverting assimilates to support the growth of seed rather than vegetative tissues.…”

“…The present results confirm the existence of an optimum amount of N for seed yield of red fescue as found by others (Nordestgaard 1980;Rolston et al 1997;Fairey 2006), but also shows, for the study region, that the prevailing moisture environment influences the effectiveness of N utilization for the realisation of seed yield. The differences observed in seed yield do not appear to be related to the mass of root organic matter as, despite the diverse nature of the 24 experimental treatments, there were no significant differences (P 0 0.05) among the treatments in the mass of root organic matter recovered from the fescue plants after the harvest of the second seed crop; on average, the mass of root organic matter was 642 g m (2 (Table 6).…”

“…(1 N in the establishment year, and again after the seed harvest of the first production year, is sufficient to maximize seed yield of creeping red fescue over 2 consecutive production years (Fairey 2006).…”

“…(1 N in the establishment year, and again after the seed harvest of the first production year, maximised seed yield of creeping red fescue over two consecutive production years (Fairey 2006). In Sweden, Cedell (1986) found that the highest seed yields of red fescue resulted from a combination of early fall (midSeptember) and early spring (mid-March) N, and that the timing of N application was more critical in the fall than in the spring.…”

Effects of Plant Growth Regulators and N Rate on the Morphological Traits of Generative Tillers and Seed Yields of Chewings and Strong Creeping Red Fescue

“…It was also shown that seed yield was the greatest when N was applied at doubleridge stage (BBCH 30-31). According to Fairey [39] in order to maximize the yield from two years of full production of Festuca rubra var. rubra, a rate of 55 to 80 kg N ha −1 is sufficient, to be applied each time during the fall prior to the harvest year.…”