‘Grasslands Koha’ pink serradella (Ornithopus sativus Brot.)

Abstract

‘Grasslands Koha’ pink serradella (Ornithopus sativus Brot.) was bred from a seed line introduced from Europe in 1958. It performs well on sandy soils, where its deep rooting system makes it less susceptible to short droughts than subterranean clover. Koha, an annual legume, produces a large amount of palatable forage during winter and spring. It has outyielded most other annual legumes in trials in New Zealand and Australia. It also establishes more easily and rapidly than several others, largely because of its low hard seed content. Koha is an erect bushy plant that bears its flowers on the branch tips. Hence, grazing must be carefully controlled if natural reseeding is required.

Keywords:

• ‘Grasslands Koha’ pink serradella
• Ornithopus sativus
• cultivar
• plant breeding