RESEARCH WRAP RESILIENT PASTURES
How resilient are New Zealand pastures?
Improved plant breeding and other innovations to help pastures cope with global warming were discussed recently at the NZ Grassland Association Resilient Pastures Symposium. Sheryl Haitana reports.
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esilient pastures are defined by having the capacity to survive and recover quickly from periods of stress. At the recent NZ Grassland Association Resilient Pastures Symposium held at Karapiro in May, scientists and rural professionals amalgamated to discuss research findings and predictions on how to make NZ pastures more resilient in the future - from improved plant breeding, different farm systems such as deferred grazing, using diverse species like ‘sexy cocksfoot’ for regions like Northland, or even planting multiple species together. The future of pastures in NZ is that these will have to cope with climate change along with increasing environmental 80
regulation that will see restricted inputs, Grasslands chief executive John Caradus said. “Providing resilient pastures is what plant breeders are seeking to AgResearch senior scientist achieve. Plant Sarah Mansfield. breeding has traditionally sought to improve onfarm productivity and profitability through increasing drymatter production, feed quality and increased persistence.” Increasing environmental regulation, however, adds an extra layer of complexity and plant breeders also need to consider
climate change and the effect this will have on plant performance such as the potential of new pests, he said.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON PEST ECOLOGY
As it gets warmer insect pests will be able to squeeze more generations into a year, which will cause more issues to pasture resilience, AgResearch senior scientist Sarah Mansfield said. “Just one extra generation over a season might not seem like much, but they’ll arrive earlier in a crop, which will naturally bring more challenges.” Black beetles are already responding to climate change and from 2040-2060 there is expected to be substantial expansion, including in parts of the South Island.
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | June 2021
