Mangere to mainstream – the story of a perennial ryegrass ecotype, a determined farmer, and a progressive seed company

Figures & data

Figure 1. Ellett's Mountain (Maungataketake) and Mangere Aerodrome, Auckland, 1962 (now Auckland International Airport). Boundaries of Trevor Ellett's farm indicated by bold black lines. Aerial photograph taken by Whites Aviation Ltd: Photographs. Ref: WA-58388-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23157965.

Figure 2. Trevor Ellett while on the teaching staff of Massey Agricultural College's dairy team, photographed around 1947. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/85752945/ryegrass-pioneer-and-massey-patron-dies

Figure 3. Trevor Ellett the farmer (taken with permission from New Zealand Grassland Trust section of the New Zealand Grassland Association (NZGA) website (2023).

Table 1. Summary of trials comparing Mangere ryegrass ecotype (or ‘Ellett’) and ‘Grasslands Nui’ relative to ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ (=100) for yield or growth score.

Trial location	Trial description	Mangere relative yield or growth score (%)	‘Grasslands Nui’ relative yield or growth score (%)	Reference
Masterton, Wairarapa	Spaced plant trial; grazed; scored after first summer	285	Not included	Rumball 1969
Flatbush, Auckland	Two paddock sized areas for each cultivar; sown with clover; pasture cages over 3 years; Mangere ryegrass seed had been stored in a shed for over a year	Ryegrass Year 2 – 165 Year 3 – 144 Total sward DM Year 2 – 95 Year 3 – 104	Not included	Cumberland and Honore 1970
Waimate, South Canterbury	Sown plots; mown; annual yield over 3 years	119	Not included	McLeod 1973
Kaikohe, Northland	Sown plots; mown; annual yield over 2 years	105	111	Lancashire et al. 1978
Palmerston North, Manawatū	Spaced plant trial; scored after 3 years	121	151	Lancashire et al. 1978
Tihoi, north-west Taupo	Sown plots; grazed; sown with clovers; monitored over 5 years	258	200	Brown 1980; Percival and Duder 1983
Winchmore, mid-Canterbury	Sown plots; grazed; irrigated; seasonal yields of both grass and clover; monitored over 3 years	Not included	Not irrigated 150 Irrigated 152	Hayman 1980
Rukuhia, Waikato	Sown plots of ‘Ellett’ and ‘Grasslands Nui’; grazed; seasonal yields of both grass and clover	Summer 83 Autumn 139 Winter 270 Spring 106 Annual 106 Annual (grass only) 174	Summer 93 Autumn 141 Winter 238 Spring 105 Annual 109 Annual (grass only) 153	Goold 1982a
Hamilton, Waikato	Two year trial of ‘Ellett’ and ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ on a dairy farm with both cultivars free of Epichloë endophyte	Spring 115 Summer 115	Not included	Thom et al. 1998; Bahmani 1999

New Zealand Grassland Association Website. 2023. [accessed 2023 Jan 23]. https://www.grassland.org.nz/nzgt.php.

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Rumball W. 1969. Pasture species and their performance in the Wairarapa. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 31:35–42. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1969.31.1275.

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Cumberland GLB, Honore EN. 1970. An evaluation of Mangere ryegrass. New Zealand Agricultural Science. 4:21–24.

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McLeod CC. 1973. A comparison of ryegrass cultivars in South Canterbury. 1. Perennial cultivars. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 35:211–218. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1973.35.1381.

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Lancashire JA, Harris AJ, Armstrong CS, Ryan DL. 1978. Perennial ryegrass cultivars. Proceeding of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 40:114–124. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1978.40.1519.

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Brown GA. 1980. Sheep farming on the pumice lands of the Central Plateau. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 41:56–62. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1979.41.1542.

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Percival NS, Duder FR. 1983. A comparison of perennial grasses under sheep grazing on the central plateau. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 44:81–90. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1983.44.1633.

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Hayman JM. 1980. New Zealand perennial ryegrass cultivars in mid-Canterbury. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association. 41:116–122. doi:10.33584/jnzg.1979.41.1538.

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Goold GJ. 1982a. The ‘best’ ryegrass. Proceedings of the Ruakura Farmers’ conference. 61–64.

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Thom ER, Waugh CD, McCabe RJ. 1998. Growth and persistence of perennial and hybrid ryegrasses when grazed by dairy cows in the central Waikato region of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 41:477–486. doi:10.1080/00288233.1998.9513331.

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Bahmani I. 1999. Tiller dynamics and leaf growth processes of the perennial ryegrass cultivars ‘Ellett’ and ‘Grasslands Ruanui’ as influenced by environmental factors. A thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Palmerston: Institute of Natural resources, Massey University North New Zealand; p. 257.

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