‘Grasslands Hakari’ mountain brome (Bromus marginatusNees.)

Abstract

‘Grasslands Hakari’ mountain brome (Bromus marginatus Nees.) was bred to provide the South Island high country with a nutritional and productive grass with a role similar to that played by ‘Grasslands Matua’ prairie grass (B. willdenowii Kunth) for lowland country. It is very similar to Matua in appearance, but is less productive in winter and more productive and leafy in summer. It performs best under the same conditions of high soil fertility and lax grazing pressure. Hakari mountain brome was bred from a United States accession introduced in 1961. The project involved screening and selection from this accession at 5 sites through New Zealand, but the value of Hakari would appear limited to the regions that are too cold for Matua prairie grass.