Timothy - the plant and its use on New Zealand farms

Abstract

Timothy is an important pasture species in many cool-temperate regions of the world, particularly those with cold winters and moist summers. In New Zealand, this perennial grass has been used traditionally for mixed pasture in cool moist areas of the southern South Island. It is valued for hay as it retains good feed quality even when seedheads are present. Timothy's flowering and tillering response is different from perennial ryegrass, leading to a high tiller turnover in summer and making it vulnerable to mismanagement, pests and drought. Timothy's inherent digestibility and quality is no greater than perennial ryegrass but because of its late flowering nature, its quality is retained longer in pastures. This, combined with its lack of endophyte and higher clover content, commonly allows a greater animal performance from pastures. This paper reviews timothy's features and onfarm performance, explains how its features produce its characteristic performance, and considers its potential in current New Zealand grazing systems in different regions. Keywords: grazing, pasture, seeds mixtures, timothy