Scientific name(s)
Thinopyrum ponticum
Strengths
- Well adapted to poorly drained, saline and alkaline soils.
- Provides high quality grass late in the season on moist/flats, late finishing land.
- Drought tolerant
Limitations
- Modest seedling vigour and winter growth
Plant description
Plant: a densely tufted, late maturing perennial tussock grass with a deep fibrous root system
Stems: Up to 2 m high
Leaves: short ligule; prounounced auricle; young leafs rolled in the bud; greyish green, glaucous and stiff; thick veined; glabrous on upper side (much softer if kept closely grazed)
Seedhead: an erect spike 1-30 cm; lower internodes of rachis 1.5-3 cm, upper ones shorter, all flat on side facing the spikelet.
Seeds: Large, long and narrow. ~140,000/kg
Pasture type and use
Used in reclamation of saline soils and for soil conservation; also for pasture in low rainfall, non saline soils.
Where it grows
Rainfall
400-1000 mm/yr in southern Australia. At least 500 mm/yr in northern NSW
Soils
Acid or alkaline soil. Most suited to hard pan soils that alternate winter water logging and summer dry crust. Tolerates salinity up to 40 dS/m; 50% yield loss at 19.4 dS/m. Pucinellia is more suited to highly saline land http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0133/public/01front.pdf
Temperature
Suited to Mediterranean/similar climate. Only fair tolerance to frost.
Establishment
Companion species
Grasses: Puccinellia, tall fescue
Legumes: strawberry clover, Persian clover (ssp resupinatum), balansa clover
Sowing/planting rates as single species
10-12 kg/ha. Use seed <2 years old; seed viability usually declines steeply after 2 years
Spray weeds in spring in the year before sowing. Fence off saline areas and scarify soil (but not along seasonally flowing drainage lines) prior to drilling seed.
Sowing/planting rates in mixtures
6 kg/ha
Sowing time
Early autumn. Sow in spring - early or on a winter fallow - in high rainfall areas
Inoculation
Not applicable
Fertiliser
MAP
Management
Maintenance fertliser
10 kg P/ha. N, K as per common pasture.
Grazing/cutting
Defer grazing until crown is well developed. Very tolerant of grazing once established. Yield and quality relatively good if kept short. Good late growth makes companion legume quite vulnerable to lax grazing. Excellent silage/hay if mown before heading.
Low value old stands of rank growth can be reclaimed by mulching (cut at 10 cm) in early summer, or by burning when fire restrictions permit
Seed production
Flowers in January in southern Victoria; harvested March-April. 250-300 kg/ha http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/content/PAST/GRASS/FN1996_075.HTM
Ability to spread
Poor recruitment of seedlings due to low seedling vigour
Weed potential
Used in Australia for >40 years without on-farm problems. If ungrazed and allowed to grow rank, seed can move with water flow and germinate in bare areas e.g. coastal saltmarsh so avoid use adjacent to sensitive conservation areas.
Major pests
Slugs and crickets may kill seedlings
Major diseases
No information
Herbicide susceptibility
glyphosate
Animal production
Feeding value
High. Late green growth has given animal production returns on reclaimed land that often exceed those on non-saline higher ground
Palatability
High if kept grazed. Low where allowed to grow rank. Varies with cultivar.
Production potential
Relatively good in autumn, spring and summer
Livestock disorders/toxicity
No problems recorded
Cultivars
| Group | Cultivar | Seed source/Information |
| Old | Tyrell | Australian Herbage Plant CultivarsStephen Pasture Seeds |
| New | Dundas | Australian Herbage Plant CultivarsWrightson Seeds |
Tyrell derives from a 1930's Turkish accession into USA which was imported into Australia as cv Largo in the 1950s. Dundas was bred in Australia for improved quality and production in the 1990s
Denotes that this variety is protected by Plant Breeder's Rights Australia
Further information
Establishing and managing tall wheat grass in saline soils for productivity - Victoria DPI
Acknowledgements
DPIs, CSIRO
Author and date
Kevin Reed
October 2008
