Latest Aber High Sugar Grass Announced at Royal Welsh Grassland Event
PRESS RELEASE
LATEST ABER® HIGH SUGAR GRASS ANNOUNCED AT ROYAL WELSH GRASSLAND EVENT
The Aber High Sugar Grass AberZeus, an intermediate diploid perennial ryegrass, was a highlight at Royal Welsh Grassland, announced as the latest variety from the award-winning IBERS Aberystwyth University breeding programme to enter the independent Recommended Grass and Clover Lists (England and Wales).
Marketed by Germinal, AberZeus excels under grazing management, with an overall dry matter yield of 106% against control varieties and a D-value of 77.5. This combination of production and quality gives AberZeus an unrivalled ME yield of 107% of controls.
It is also a strong performer both early and late in the grass growing season, with spring production at 116% of controls and autumn production at 114% of controls. AberZeus has been bred for improved ground cover and persistency, alongside production and quality, and has good resistance to the common diseases of grassland.
“AberZeus is a top-ranking intermediate heading perennial ryegrass across the spectrum of criteria covered by the Recommended List,” says Ben Wixey, national agricultural sales manager for Germinal GB. “IBERS’ grass breeders have used their distinctive half sibling recurrent selection methodology to build on the strengths of earlier varieties, like AberWolf, to improve traits that we know are as important to farmers as production and quality – in this case ground cover and persistency.
“The variety is one of the highest on the list for resistance to Crown Rust and, whilst sufficient data is as yet not available for an official ranking, it is performing well against Drechslera also.
“AberZeus is the latest variety to emerge from the long term breeding programme at IBERS that is focused on quality traits (most notably higher water soluble carbohydrate) alongside continued dry matter yield and strong agronomic performance.
“We expect AberZeus to feature strongly in Germinal’s Aber High Sugar Grass mixtures from spring 2017.”
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Picture supplied: The grass breeding programme at IBERS Aberystwyth University, funded by Germinal since 1986, has produced the latest high ranking Aber High Sugar Grass, the intermediate diploid perennial ryegrass AberZeus.
Notes to editors:
Information relating to the 2016/17 Recommended List is embargoed until 30th May 2016.
Aber® High Sugar Grass varieties are proven performers in terms of dry matter yield, D-value and ME yield, boosting production from forage as well as the livestock industry’s environmental credentials.
This technological breakthrough has been recognised with a string of prestigious awards, beginning in 2003 when the first Aber High Sugar Grass, AberDart HSG, became the first grass variety to win the NIAB Variety Cup. In subsequent years, other awards have been gained as the innovation delivered by Aber High Sugar Grass impacts increasingly on the sustainability of livestock farming, with AberGreen most recently becoming the second grass variety to win the NIAB Cup.
Industry awards for grass breeding (Aber HSG) at IBERS Aberystwyth University:
2003- NIAB Cup (AberDart)
2007- Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) Award for Technology and
Innovation
2009- The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education
2011- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research CouncilExcellence with
Impact Award
2011- British Grassland Society Innovation Award
2013- Times Higher Education Awards Outstanding Contribution to Innovation
and Technology
2015- NIAB Cup (AberGreen)
® Aber is a Registered Trademark of Germinal Holdings Ltd
9 June 2016
Further information:Ben Wixey
Germinal GB Limited
Tel: 0117 982 3691
Follow @wearegerminal for regular and topical information from trial plots, farm and field, on all things relating to forage.
Issued by Matt Mellor, Agribusiness Communications Ltd
Tel: 01694 731777E-mail:
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