ABSTRACT
Summary Obtaining more than 34 machine-dressed seeds from every 100 florets in trials at Lincoln, New Zealand, was uncommon. In ryegrass (Lolium sp.), Grasslands Matua prairie grass (Bromus catharticus Vahl), and G17 cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) crops, the larger the floret population, the lower the number of seeds obtained from every 100 florets. Nitrogen (N) improved the return, and in prairie grass the return increased as the rate of N increased beyond 20 kg N/ha. In prairie grass, floret populations decreased as row spacings increased. With this seed, recovery was highest at wide row spacings, but in cocks foot the reverse was true. For crops with similar floret populations, seed recovery was greater in crops with fewer but larger seed heads. Research aimed at inhibiting reduction of or increasing seed recovery offers a promising approach for increasing the efficiency of grassseed production.
