Seeding the green future

Agriculture and landscapes are highly exposed to climate changes, as farming activities and green areas directly depend on climatic conditions. For more than 30 years, DLF breeding and product development has optimized grass varieties ideal to local climatic and environmental conditions. 

By increasing  resilience to changing factors such as disease pressure, severe drought and flooding situations, DLF has managed to meet the requirements for future production. Through dedicated plant breeding, our breeders are delivering solutions for more sustainable land use across the world’s temperate climate zones.

Constant improvements to top-quality varieties of grass, clover and alfalfa help our customers increase their outputs and playing hours, reduce their inputs, and simplify the management of their green spaces. These are sustainable solutions. 

Why is grass a suitable crop?

Perennial grass and grassland legumes are productive, multipurpose and adapted to various conditions. 

• Grass absorbs more CO2 than any other agricultural crop due to a longer growing season that lasts from early spring to late autumn, and all year round in climate zones with mild winters.
• Effective absorption of solar energy through the long growing season allows for more CO2 sequestration than other crops, such as cereals and maize that are harvested during late summer and leave the ground uncovered.
• Roots store carbon, reduce the N2O emission and prevent nitrogen leaching to the ground water. 
• Grass pastures accumulate organic matter and soil nitrogen, and improve soil structure.
• Grass-clover pastures can fix 300-500 kg N per ha from the air using rhizobium microbes meaning less need for mineral fertilizer. The aftermath effect on the following crop is >100 kg N per ha.

How much CO2 does grass absorb?

• Ground research shows carbon sequestration of up to 1 t C/ha in 0-25 cm and 0,6 t C/ha in 25-50 cm soil depth under perennial grass (corresponds to 3,6 t CO2/ha). Carbon is also stored in the crown and above ground plant parts.

What are the environmental benefits from grass?

• Pastures for grazing or silage production have little need for herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Due to their fast growth rate, grasses usually out-compete weeds, and because grass consists of similar, but not identical genetics, they are less prone to fungal attack.
• Against insects, grass can have its own natural weapon; a fungus, called an ‘endophyte’. The endophyte lives in symbiosis with the grass and produce insect repellent compounds.
• Clover-grass pastures can symbiotically fix 300-500 kg N per ha from atmospheric nitrogen. This means less need for fertilisers. Agricultural inputs, nitrogen in particular, consume energy to produce and thereby C02. 1% of global CO2 emissions are from the agrochemical synthesis of nitrogen (Hauber-Bosch process) used as fertiliser.
• Grassland can help to reduce erosion and delay or avoid flooding. 

For more information contact us https://www.dlfseeds.ie/contact-us