Winter Survivability and Cold Tolerance

KENTUCKY - SPRING 2009:

The following photos illustrate how Persist compared to some other varieties regarding performance through a very cold winter in Kentucky, including a winter that had a significant ice storm.The performance of Persist has been very good throughout the trial, as reported in "Grazing Data" page. Entering winter, there were multiple varieties that still had decent ground coverage. That number has now been reduced. This past winter was very cold in KY, including an ice storm dubbed "the biggest natural disaster that (Kentucky) has ever experienced in modern history." The stress of grazing combined with the harsh winter simply has gotten the best of them. While Persist lost about 10% of its ground cover, the variety shown to the right of Persist lost FIFTY-FOUR (54%) of its ground cover. Ratings in the Fall of 2009 indicate that those plants never did come back.

Click on any of the following pictures to see a larger image.

**Persist Orchardgrass Winter Survivability - University of Kentucky, April 2009**
Continuous Grazing - Persist on Left	Continuous Grazing - Persist on Left
Continuous Grazing - Persist on Left	Continuous Grazing - Persist on Left

NEW DATA!! Canadian Trials 2007-09 Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island:


In Canada, new forage varieties are required to have a certain amount of years of testing before they are approved for use. Part of the testing is to evaluate whether they are better than the existing varieties available. Persist was entered into such a set of trials in 2007. In January 2010, Persist was given the green light and is now on their list of cultivar selections for the challenging climate of the Maritime Provinces* of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island! Here's some points to note: 1. Persist survived - not all varieties do that! 2. Persist had the HIGHEST second-year Mean Annual Yield** of all the trial entries! 3. Persist was given the HIGHEST score for "2-year Persistence". * Persist was tested at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Fredericton, Nova Scotia; Woodstock, New Brunswick; Truro, Nova Scotia; and Old Barns, Nova Scotia. (information used by permission of agrapoint.ca) ** "Mean Annual Yield is a particular calculation used by agrapoint.ca to compare varieties evaluated over different time periods in order to predict potential yields. Its purpose it attempt to accurately portray a variety's performance potential. A further clarification can be provided by agrapoint.ca.	Eastern Canada Cummulative Summary for Orchardgrasses Seeded From 1990-2007
	Cultivar	2-Yr Mean Annual Yield**
	Persist	7.36
	Kay	7.32
	Baridana	7.29
	Crown Royale	7.23
	Arctic	7.21
	AC Splendor	7.16
	Okay	7.13
	Dactus	7.13
	Glorus	7.07
	Intensiv	7.01
	Niva	6.97
	AC Nordic	6.89
	Okamidori	6.76
	Jay	6.73
	Frode	6.41
	Lidacta	6.11