Savvy
LIFTING DRYLAND PRODUCTION.
- Heading Date Mid
- Perenniality Perennial
- Grazing Seasons Autumn, Spring, Summer, Winter
Savvy cocksfoot is a high yielding and very productive cocksfoot. It is characterised not only by its soft leaves, but also its potential to have very long leaves.
Savvy is an indiscriminate seeder which means that under grazing many Savvy plants may not produce any seed head at all. As well as having less seed head than traditional cocksfoot’s. Savvy has exceptionally low aftermath heading (the period of seed head development is very short), therefore it’s relatively easy to manage, particularly with cattle.
- Rapid establishment for a cocksfoot
- High autumn and winter production
- High quality and leafy in summer
- Excellent disease tolerance
Savvy has been bred to lift the seasonal growth over Kara cocksfoot, while holding pasture quality. Savvy is particularly strong for drymatter production in late spring and summer while maintaining high growth rate potential in autumn and winter.
Savvy fits the traditional cocksfoot role in low fertility dryland pastures where it may be mixed with Samson AR37 and sown with species such as Nomad white clover, Coolamon sub clover, Viper balansa and in some conditions Relish red clover. In some farm systems there may be value in Savvy being sown with Torlesse lucerne.
Due to the high quality and highly productive nature of Savvy its response under centre pivot irrigation and nitrogen has been outstanding. In such situations Savvy has been utilised as a Savvy/legume pasture for intensive cattle grazing.
Key Tips
- Consistent grazing in early to mid-spring will reduce seed head production in late spring
- Key times for nitrogen use are:
Late spring to maintain protein levels over early summer
Late summer to improve total autumn production
Mid-autumn to maximise winter production and help maintain winter pasture quality
- To maintain summer legume content sow Savvy with tap rooted legumes such as lucerne or Relish red clover. Annual, sub and balansa clovers are important for winter and spring legume content
- When sowing in an intensive sheep breeding system it is better to use a low sowing rate of perennial ryegrass as a cover crop for the Savvy to enable early spring set stocking, while the Savvy gets fully established
Sowing & Establishment
- Sowing Rate 3 mixed sward, 6-8 pure sward (with dryland clovers)
Performance Data
Savvy has been bred to lift the seasonal growth over Kara, with the ability to hold quality through the summer and winter periods. Savvy has been successfully managed as the sold grass species in areas where perennial ryegrass has failed to persist. It will provide important drymatter production during dry periods and in cooler months.
Seasonal Cocksfoot and Total Cocksfoot Yield (kg DM/ha), mean of 3 years. (2007 - 2010 Lincoln, Canterbury Trial).
Savvy will provide important drymatter production during dry periods and in cooler months (Table 1). This high yield potential in enhanced through irrigation and the application of nitrogen.
| Cultivar | Winter | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savvy | 1495 | 4150 | 4303 | 2496 | 12445 |
| Vision | 1413 | 3602 | 3945 | 2219 | 11180 |
| Ella | 1231 | 3043 | 3571 | 1898 | 9742 |
| Kara | 1464 | 3076 | 3215 | 1912 | 9667 |
| LSD 5% | 251 | 472 | 542 | 372 | 1416 |
| Trial Mean (kg DM/ha) | 1391 | 3619 | 3827 | 2155 | 10991 |
Figure 1 demonstrates the seasonal growth difference between Savvy cocksfoot and perennial ryegrass in a hot, dryland environment. With these obvious seasonal advantages it is important
to note that cocksfoot is much slower than ryegrass to establish and its establishment speed is highly influenced by soil temperature. Cool or reducing soil temperatures really check establishment speed of cocksfoot and it may take six months to be established enough to demonstrate the growth advantages demonstrated in Figure 1.
Suggested Mixes
Dryland Dairy Pasture Example Mix
| Rate (kg/ha) | |
|---|---|
| Prospect AR37 or AR1 perennial ryegrass | 18 |
| Savvy cocksfoot | 3 |
| Mainstay white clover | 2 |
| Tribute white clover | 3 |
| Choice chicory | 2 |
| TOTAL | 28 |
Intensive Beef Pasture Example Mix
| Rate (kg/ha) | |
|---|---|
| Savvy cocksfoot | 12-14 |
| Tribute white clover | 3-5 |
| Relish red clover | 4-6 |
| TOTAL | 19-25 |
Dryland Sheep & Beef Pasture Example Mix
| Rate (kg/ha) | |
|---|---|
| Samson AR37 or AR1 perennial ryegrass | 12 |
| Savvy cocksfoot | 6 |
| Nomad white clover | 3 |
| Coolamon sub clover | 6 |
| Ecotain environmental plantain or AgriTonic plantain | 2 |
| TOTAL | 29 |
Rotation Products
Read a case study
Agricom Case Studies