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Show New Pasture Grass For Spring Bastion, a new tctraploid perennial ryegrass, will be introduced this spring by Germain's Seeds, a century old western seed firm, located at Fresno, Calif. This ryegrass was developed especially for planting in pasture grass mixtures. -Two of the basic objectives in the breeding blueprint for this new variety included high yield potential and dry matter values. Agronomists refer to Bastion as a tretraplid variety. Ths means the plants have twice the number of chromosomes of regular perennial ryegrasses. This trait provides extremely high yield potential, larger and more succulent leaves and excellent palatability. Additionally, tetraplid perennial ryegrases are highly adaptable to a wide range of growing conditions. Bastion is a true perennial and exhibits winter hardiness practically throughout the Northwest and Intermountain states. The new tetraploid perennial ryegrss exhibits early seedling vigor and extremely strong second year growth. Under proper management Bastion possesses long term persistence. Bastion's broad, dark-toned, succulent leaves have proven very palatable to livestock. The plants have a high degree of tolerance to rust and other comparable disease. And recovery after cutting is quite rapid. |