The role of C 4 grasses in New Zealand pastoral systems

As agricultural scientists in temperate regions search for the next revolution in pasture productivity, C 4 grasses often appear in the literature as “having potential” to push through the ceiling of production. This potential has yet to be realised in high producing pastures in New Zealand, despite investigations in the 1970s, and ongoing suggestions (a) that research would enable the full value to be exploited and (b) that the advent of genetic technologies could provide the answer. This paper reviews the New Zealand and Australian literature on C 4 grasses, identifies the difficulties with incorporating them into high producing temperate grazing systems, and makes suggestions for their use in the future.