| Description: |
a long-lived perennial sod forming grass deep fibrous roots grows in clumps and spreads by short scaly rhizomes to form a sod has a dense cover of long, wide, light green, basal leaves stem is 60 to 240 cm high with a tight panicle-type head, seeds, brown to gray-black and ripen from the top of the plant down, seeds resemble flax but those of flax are more oblong, smooth and oily |
| Uses: |
in older varieties there are anti-quality compounds (alkaloids) in the forage which can reduce palatability and limit intake and gains can be used for hay, although it has a reputation for being low in quality and having poor palatability, however if it is harvested just as it is heading it will yield a good quality, palatable forage starts to grow early in the spring and has good regrowth throughout the growing season, giving a high total yield for pasture should be fenced separately and stocked when the grass reaches 25 cm high and grazed down to 10 cm for proper grazing utilization normally grown in pure stands adequate fertility levels must be maintained to obtain high yields |
| Areas of Adaptation: |
adapted to the wet areas of the Dark Brown, Black and Gray Wooded Soil zones (Areas 2, 3, 4 and 5) will withstand flooding for up to two months and is very tolerant of water logged soils and moist conditions very winter hardy tolerates acid and some alkaline conditions will not grow on saline soils seed availability is a problem because the seed shatters as it ripens and has a short viable life (3 to 4 years) compared to other grasses can be hard to establish because in most of the areas where it is planted excessive moisture makes it hard to prepare a proper seedbed and plant the seed at the correct time reed canarygrass is normally grown in areas where flooding and excessive moisture is a problem, however it will do well on well drained sites which receive abundant precipitation or are sub-irrigated |
| Reed Canarygrass Distributor(s): |
| Performance: |
2008 Reed Canarygrass | | Yield comparison as % of Venture | | Area 3 | Area 4 | | Variety | Lacombe | Olds | Vegreville | Area Mean | Fort Kent | Lac La Biche | Westlock | Area Mean | | Bellevue | 115 | - | 94 | 105 | 114 | - | 103 | 108 | | Palaton | 112 | 104 | 98 | 103 | 99 | 107 | 99 | 101 | | Rival | 106 | 92 | 88 | 93 | 90 | 84 | 93 | 90 | | Venture | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | | Yield of Venture | | lb/ac | 7700 | 6450 | 9175 | 8125 | 1990 | 2755 | 3455 | 2635 | | kg/ha | 8625 | 7225 | 10275 | 9100 | 2225 | 3085 | 3870 | 2950 |
Adapted to Areas - 2, 3, 4 & 5. Select varieties with low levels of the alkaloid tryptamine, best adapted to wet areas. |
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