A novel grass hybrid to reduce flood generation in temperate regions

MacLeod, Christopher Kit J.A. and Humphreys, Mike W. and Whalley, W. Richard and Turner, Lesley and Binley, Andrew and Watts, Chris W. and Skøt, Leif and Joynes, Adrian and Hawkins, Sarah and King, Ian P. and O'Donovan, Sally and Haygarth, Phil M. (2013) A novel grass hybrid to reduce flood generation in temperate regions. Scientific Reports, 3: 1683. ISSN 2045-2322

Abstract

We report on the evaluation of a novel grass hybrid that provides efficient forage production and could help mitigate flooding. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is the grass species of choice for most farmers, but lacks resilience against extremes of climate. We hybridised L. perenne onto a closely related and more stress-resistant grass species, meadow fescue Festuca pratensis. We demonstrate that the L. perenne × F. pratensis cultivar can reduce runoff during the events by 51% compared to a leading UK nationally recommended L. perenne cultivar and by 43% compared to F. pratensis over a two year field experiment. We present evidence that the reduced runoff from this Festulolium cultivar was due to intense initial root growth followed by rapid senescence, especially at depth. Hybrid grasses of this type show potential for reducing the likelihood of flooding, whilst providing food production under conditions of changing climate.