Drought Tolerant Over-Seeding Mixture 4-5 Year
Ref: mixosdt
The requirement for drought tolerant mixtures in recent years has increased dramatically. Ryegrasses alone can suffer to meet production needs on drier soils so we must look to deep rooting species to supplement this shortfall. By mixing hybrid ryegrass with cocksfoot and red clover this 4-5 year mixture will be largely self sufficient due to the clover content and produce far more in drier years than a ryegrass only mixture.
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| Contents per Acre | % | kg | |
 | certified DONATA cocksfoot | 27.8 | 2.500 |
| certified ELODIE tall fescue | 16.7 | 1.500 |
| certified ABEREDGE hybrid ryegrass | 44.4 | 4.000 |
| certified Red Clover blend (Secretariat/Global/Avisto) | 5.6 | 0.500 |
| certified BUDDY white clover | 5.6 | 0.500 |
Cocksfoot
A densely tufted, bluish green species, it can grow up to 1 metre in height and can create tussocks. The dense one sided panicle is said to resemble the shape of a cocks foot.
Hybrid Ryegrass
This form of ryegrass is perhaps one of the best grasses available to the intensive farmer. The hybrid ryegrass is a cross between the Italian and perennial forms of ryegrass and shares characteristics of both. The dominant parent determines how the variety performs in the field. Most hybrid varieties are dominant with Italian genes and the best cultivars provide the same or similar high yields as Italian ryegrass. But as they also contain some of the persistent genes of the perennial ryegrass parent they last longer. This longer lasting and high yielding silage grass has one further advantage: the genes of the perennial ryegrass parent produces a plant with more tillers and more leaf which gives increased ground cover, making them better for aftermath grazing.
Medium Leaved White Clover
White clover is one of the most common legumes in the UK. This species can be recognised by its creeping growth habit. Its creeping stolons help to fill in gaps in the sward, putting down roots at each node. White clover varieties can be categorised into small, medium and large leaf sizes. Generally the smaller the leaf size, the more persistent and prostrate the plant will be, the small leaf type will tolerate closer grazing from sheep and tends to sit lower at the base of the sward, the small and medium leaf varieties are used for grazing mixtures. Using mixtures of white clover varieties helps to ensure that at least one can tolerate and contribute to what ever management regime is being imposed at a given time. The medium leaf varieties are very adaptable, generally they can be used for both grazing and cutting mixtures. They combine a good tolerance to cattle or sheep grazing and can contribute to cutting yields, while still being more persistent than the large leaf varieties. There are also variations, which can be classed as small to medium in terms of leaf size. Common medium leaf varieties are aberherald & aberdai, while the variety aberpearl is classed as small to medium leaf in terms of size.
Medium Leaved White Clover Species Guide 
Buy Medium Leaved White Clover Straight 
Red Clover
Red clover is one of the most popularly used true clovers in the UK. Once established it’s capable of rapid growth and shows reasonably good persistence up to three years, although ongoing breeding work is being carried out to increase plant persistence. The highest yielding strains of red clover are called 'double cut' varieties, normally providing quick regrowth after cutting and several flushes or cuts per season. The 'single cut' strains of red clover, notably the variety altaswede provide one large cut per season, flowering approximately 2-3 weeks later than the 'double cut' strains.
Tall Fescue
Tall fescue is found throughout the UK, it has similar features to meadow fescue, however it is distinguished by being taller, and coarser, with a rough upper leaf and margins. The well developed root system means it is tolerant of drought, damp and frost, which has created interest among plant breeders, looking to cross highly productive ryegrass and resilient fescue species as festuloliums. Recent thinking has altered the Latin so that the flat leaved fescues (meadow fescue and tall fescue) have been given their own genus, separate from the finer leaved fescues.
Cotswold Grass Seeds, Cotswold Business Village, London Rd, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0JQ
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