Tonic - AusWest Seeds

Tonic for Dairy Systems
Grazing Management
Some of the Standout Points from Current Tonic Plantain Research in Dairy Systems
Tonic is highly palatable and is preferentially grazed. Tonic suits grazing management similar to ryegrass, with potential yields like that
of perennial ryegrass. Ideally a 20-25 day rotation will maintain seedhead palatability through late spring and summer. A grazing rotation
of greater than 40 days can lead to a reduction in palatability, particularly of older leaves. Older leaves do not brown or break down as
fast as grass species, and can stay in the sward for months, becoming more fibrous. Post grazing residuals of 2-4cm are quite sustainable
as long as the pastures are not set stocked at these levels for extended periods.
1. Tonic plantain can produce over 19 tonnes of drymatter per-hectare per year
2. When the metabolisable energy (ME) of ryegrass was moderate (10.5 ME) milk yield was similar from cows fed ryegrass alone
or ryegrass supplemented with Tonic plantain
3. When the ME of ryegrass was poor (9.6 ME) supplementing ryegrass with Tonic plantain increased cow drymatter intake (DM)
by 6% and milksolids (MS) yield by 19%
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except
4. Feeding Tonic plantain at up to 40% of diet did not affect rumen pH, and had no apparent ill effects on rumen health
5. The urinary N content was 28% lower in cows supplemented 40% Tonic plantain which could have important implications
for the environment
Table2. DM Intake, Milk Yield and Milksolids Yield of cows fed indoors with low and moderate ME ryegrass supplemented with 20%
and 40% plantain.
100% ryegrass
20% plantain
80% ryegrass
40% plantain
60% ryegrass
Too low (insufficient dry matter)
Significance
Supplementing
plantain
Amount of plantain
Correct grazing height
Too high (may become unpalatable)
Ryegrass ME= 10.5 (MJ/kg DM)
DMI (kg DM/cow/day)
15.7
14.8
14.5
*
NS
Milk yield (kg cow/day)
12.2
12.3
12.5
NS
NS
Milksolids yield (kg cow/day)
1.01
1.00
1.00
NS
NS
DMI (kg DM/cow/day)
13.5
14.7
14.0
*
NS
Milk yield (kg cow/day)
9.9
11.5
11.7
***
NS
Milksolids yield (kg cow/day)
0.83
1.02
0.96
**
NS
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produ
Ryegrass ME= 9.6 (MJ/kg DM)
*Minnee´ and Lee 2012. Proceedings of the workshop “Plantain for Northland Pastures.” NZ
Distriibutors
Agricom cultivars are available from all quality seed suppliers. For further information and advice contact one of our distributors:
AusWest Seeds Stephen Pasture Seeds
Smyth Seeds
NSW & QLD 1800 224 987
VIC, SA, TAS 03 5335 8055
VIC, STH NSW 03 5762 5288
Seeds for all Seasons
Results will vary depending on all the circumstances. Agricom provides no assurances, guarantees or warranties
other than those that must be provided by law. To the extent permitted by law Agricom excludes all liability, and has no liability, however arising.
www.agricom.com.au
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• Valuable year-round production
• Source of key minerals – calcium, sodium,
copper, selenium
• Degree of drought tolerance due to coarse
deep root system
Tonic can add value in terms of both dry matter and quality to
any farming system. Tonic contributes invaluable dry matter
production, typically at times of the year when ryegrass and
other species, e.g. white clover, are not performing. Tonic has
a deep, coarse, root system, which gives it a degree of drought
tolerance and the ability to respond quickly after summer-dry
conditions. Including tonic in a pasture mix will also improve
summer pasture quality due to tonic’s high quality leaf
production and mineral content. Pure stands of tonic can
be used during lambing to increase lamb and ewe weights
at weaning.
• Strong cool season growth
• Exceptional animal growth rates in late
winter and spring
• Suits a wide range of environments and
soil conditions
Sowing Rate (kg/ha)
2-3 in a perennial pasture mix
4-5 with chicory & clover as a specialist crop
3-4 with prairie grass, chicory & clover as a specialist crop
2-3 in a lucerne stand
3-4 into existing kikuyu
8-10 as a pure stand
Leaf Size
Broad, ribbed
Growth Habit
Erect, leafy
Prime Growing Times
Drought tolerant, strong winter growth
Key Minerals
Calcium, Selenium, Copper, Sodium
• A species for ‘shoulder’ season growth
• A component of a subtropical pasture mix
• As a pure stand for animal performance
during lambing
Tonic can add value, both in terms of dry matter and quality,
in a diverse range of ways in any farming system. The benefits
of Tonic include improved dry matter production and quality
at key times of the year. Tonic also has a positive impact on
animal performance by improving the supply of some
trace elements.
Autumn
Summer
Spring
Sowing date
19/05/11
20 cuts taken
up to 30/07/13
Winter
RangerHercules
Figure 1 shows the significant increased production of Tonic plantain when compared to other plantains Ranger and Hercules.
What distinguishes Tonic from all other plantains on the market is its ability to be highly winter active when other plantains have
limited growth.
Table 1. Liver nutrient analysis
Treatment
Liver Copper
µmol/kg FW
Liver Selenium
nmol/kg FW
Liver B12
nmol/kg FW
Tonic plantain
2250
671
620
Perennial ryegrass
716
380
571
Significance
P<0.01
P<0.01
NS
Source: Moorhead et al. 2002 New Zealand Socitey of Animal Production 62, 171-173.
Tonic’s establishment vigour is rapid, similar to ryegrass,
particularly as Tonic is cool season active. Plantain can be prone
to damage by red legged earthmites and slugs, especially at
establishment. Chemical protection is recommended.
Tonic can be established by:
• Sowing into cultivated ground
• Broadcasting - from ground or air
• Mulch sowing - into summer grass
• Oversowing – drilling into existing
pasture/lucerne
Tara Hawkins, Peter Hawkins and Julian Murray in an
establishing Tonic plantain, phalaris and lucerne pasture.
20,000
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
Tonic
Scientific evidence (Moorhead et al, 2002, Hoskin et al, 2005
and Hoskin et al, 2006) suggests Tonic is effective at transferring
minerals to the grazing animal. Literature reviewed by Stewart
(1996) has identified biologically active compounds in Tonic that
have beneficial medicinal properties for livestock. Copper and
Selenium are essential micro nutrients that can negatively affect
animal health when found in low levels in the diet.
Tonic plantain is a fast-establishing variety, and will be
productive and persistent over a wide range of soils and climatic
conditions. This includes less fertile soils and dryland regions
(minimum average rainfall of 450 mm).
Peter Hawkins who farms near Harrow has found Tonic
plantain to perform well in his farming system for lambing
ewes and finishing lambs. “The Tonic plantain is easy to
establish which created quality feed early for ewes that were
at about to lamb,” said Peter. As well as the bulk of feed it
produced he said the palatability and feed quality made
this a valuable addition to their feed options.
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Figure 1. Tonic plantain compared to other plantains, 2011-2013 plantain trail, Ballarat Victoria
EstaBlishment
Profit lies
in the Pasture
“We decided to draft the ewes on condition with the lighter
mob going onto the Tonic. The better conditioned ewes
were put on phalaris based pastures across the rest of the
farm. At lamb marking the mulesing contractor said that the
lambs that were off the Tonic were a lot heavier compared
to the better conditioned mobs that were across the phalaris
based pastures, which gave us a lot of confidence in Tonic,”
commented Peter. This comment supports research into
Tonic Plantain that has shown increased liveweight gains
as well as regular differences in dag scores from animals
grazing Tonic Plantain compared with other pasture options.
• As a companion species in a pasture
Hercules on the left compared to Tonic, photo taken 13 June 2012 at Ballarat.
animal trial results
Judson et al. 2009 evaluated Tonic plantain in New Zealand as a lactation feed for twin bearing ewes lambing in August. This was a
breakthrough, as no longer was the sole focus of a novel forage species on summer live weight gain potential. The importance of Tonic’s
success in this series of studies was its ability to support a twin-bearing lactating ewe in late winter, and still produce big lambs by weaning.
Tonic had an advantage of between 10 and 34% greater weaning weight than ryegrass over the four studies (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Weaning weight differences of lambs born, grazed
and weaned from perennial ryegrass or Tonic plantain stands
Figure 3. Liveweight changes of ewes grazing perennial ryegrass
or Tonic plantain stands throughout lactation until weaning
45
40
35
30
25
20
+34%
+21%
+10%
+23%
15
10
5
0
Study 1
Study 2
Perennial ryegrass
Tonic
Study 3
Ewe liveweight change
(kg Liveweight per ewe)
The flexible forage herb
Plantains aren’t Tonic Plantain
Cumulative seasonal yield kgDM/ha
Tonic plantain is a mineral-rich perennial grazing herb. It is a valuable pasture for the supply
of minerals and dry matter production, particularly in drier regions and less fertile conditions.
Recommended Roles
Weaning wt (kg Live wt per lamb)
exceptional
animal production
10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
Study 3
Study 2
Study 4
Study 1 Judson 2008 (109 day lactation)
Study 2 Judson et al 2009 (95 day lactation)
Study 3 Judson et al. 2009 (87 day lactation)
Study 4 Judson 2010 unpublished Hogget
lambing (Hogget 90 day lactation)
Study 4