NSW agriculture scientist's research leads to disease-resistant kikuyu grass for commercial export
A last-minute rescue of seedlings from a dumpster has led to the development of a disease-resistant commercial grass variety, set to be exported around the world.
Key points:
Kikuyu grass is prone to fungal diseases and has sensitivity to the herbicide glyphosate
Farmers say the new variety has the potential to be a game-changer for the tropical dairy farming industry
A commercial seed company has purchased the crops plant breeder rights for the variety
For retired agricultural research scientist 78-year-old Bill Fulkerson, who was offered the plants nine years ago, the new variant has been almost a decade in the making.
"Somebody rang up and said they were going to dump 1,600 kikuyu lines down at the tip unless I wanted them," he said.
That kicked off a research program in 2014 trying to invigorate and replace substandard commercial grasses used for tropical agriculture, particularly the dairy industry."
Kikuyu grass was first imported to Australia in 1919 from the Belgian Congo as cuttings and used in tropical agricultural regions.
It is widely used across NSW's Northern Rivers region and parts of south-east Queensland for feeding cattle. But the grass has its own set of problems, including fungal diseases and sensitivity to the widely used herbicide glyphosate.
Dr Fulkerson was motivated to produce a kikuyu variety that was resistant to what's known as 'kikuyu yellow' and also black spot on the leaf, both of which the cattle refuse to eat.
Export opportunities
Commercial seed producer, Nick Eykamp, said his company had purchased the Fulkerson variety's plant breeder rights, which gives the holder exclusive marketing rights for a set period.
"A line with superior benefits than the older kikuyu was worth getting hold of and trying to get the seed produced and out into the market," he said.
Mr Eykamp said the seed had real export opportunities, mainly for Europe.
"Everyone's been planting the same variety for 30 years and something that has disease resistance is a benefit for everyone," he said.
Mr Fulkerson said the Dairy Industry Group helped support the project by planting seeds in the paddock and testing if laboratory results could be replicated in the real world.
"We wouldn't have achieved it without the farmers," he said.
Dairy farmers buoyed by opportunity
Ken Bryant, who milks 250 cows at Bexhill, near Lismore, was involved in the trials.
In autumn, he planted 20 acres of the new variety. "The increase in yield is 24 per cent, which on top of the disease resistance, is such a bonus," he said.
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Source: Bronwyn Herbert, ABC North Coast, 17 June 2023