Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association 58: 77–86 (1996) 77 Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) – a potential pasture species A.V. STEWART Pyne Gould Guinness Ltd, PO Box 3100, Christchurch Abstract In the last few years, however, the perennial herb chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) has been shown to be highly Plantago lanceolata L. is a herb species with a productive and capable of giving excellent animal broad distribution in grasslands throughout the performance. This has opened up the possibility that temperate world. The leaf is highly palatable to other perennial herbs could also be valuable as pasture grazing animals, providing a mineral- rich forage. components. The species is rapid to establish, grows on a wide The ready acceptance of Plantago lanceolata by range of agricultural soils and is tolerant of drought livestock and its widespread and successful adaptation and of many common diseases and pests. Two to grassland communities throughout the temperate productive upright cultivars of plantain have been world makes it an obvious candidate for further study. bred, Grasslands Lancelot and the more erect winter The development of a productive cultivar of Plantago active Ceres Tonic. Plantain contains a range of lanceolata was recognised by Dr W. Rumball (pers. biologically active compounds, often in large comm.) as a prerequisite to using this species in New quantities. The antimicrobial compounds present Zealand agriculture and Grasslands Lancelot was can inhibit rumen fermentation and change the released. The release of a second cultivars, Ceres Tonic, volatile fatty acid composition of the rumen. These now provides good opportunity to research this species changes have potential to affect bloat, animal and utilise any benefits it can provide. performance and milk composition. The per- formance of animals grazing plantain has varied The cultivars Grasslands Lancelot and Ceres from excellent in mixed pastures to poor on Tonic nitrogen-fertilised pure swards. Animals grazing plantain have been observed to have a reduced The cultivar Grasslands Lancelot was selected by incidence of scouring and dags in some trials, but AgResearch Grasslands from collections from despite a mild anthelmintic effect detected in the productive North Island pastures. This cultivar was laboratory, field trials have failed to detect any selected for bushy growth habit and the ability to tiller significant reduction in worm burdens. The most strongly under close sheep grazing (W. Rumball pers. likely use of plantain on farms is as a component of comm.). mixed pasture swards. Its contribution is likely to The cultivar Ceres Tonic was selected by the author be greatest where grass growth is less vigorous and from germplasm believed to have originated from where there are gaps in the sward. These conditions northern Portugal, a region with warmer winters than are likely to be found in low fertility dryland most of New Zealand. This cultivar was selected for a pastures. It is unlikely to be the dominant species very erect habit and very large leaves. Tonic remains and could be expected to contribute less than 20% erect under a wide range of conditions while Lancelot of the sward, except where the grass or legume has the plasticity to become prostrate under close growth is poor. grazing. The two cultivars are quite different in morphology Keywords: perennial forage herbs, Plantago and seasonal productivity, both from one another and lanceolata, plantain from the common flatweed type as follows: Introduction Grasslands Ceres Common Lancelot Tonic flatweed type Plantago lanceolata L., known as narrow leaf plantain growth habit semi-erect very-erect prostrate or ribgrass, occurs naturally in many pastures and has leaf size med-large very large small-med had a long history of use as a minor forage plant in tiller number high medium med-high Europe (Foster 1988). However, modern agriculture winter growth low high very low has not valued the perennial herb component of pastures. summer growth high high low 78 Establishment of plantain from deeper soil layers, and in mixtures plantain has been found to develop a greater proportion of roots at Plantain emergence is very rapid approaching that of depth than in monocultures. This niche differentiation perennial ryegrass (Blom 1978) and faster from autumn can provide a yield advantage to mixtures of up to 1.5 sowing than many common grasses (Table 1). Despite times that of the monocultures (Newbery & Newman this however, the proportion establishing can be limited 1978; Berendse 1981, 1982, 1983; Troelstra & Berendse by strong competition from other species commencing 1982). Where there is competition for nutrients the some weeks after sowing (Hildebrandt & Schulz 1987). surface application of fertiliser favours shallow-rooted Successful establishment in mixtures is dependent on grasses over the deeper rooted plantain (Berendse 1982). reducing competition and is more successful where However, under high fertility the ability to explore slower establishing grasses are used (Sagar 1962; Tiley greater soil depth is of little competitive advantage to & France 1990). plantain (Berendse 1981). Under these conditions competition for light becomes of greater importance Soil requirements than nutrient uptake parameters in determining the competitiveness of the species. The leaf morphology of Plantain occurs naturally over a wide range of soil acidity grasses then provides them with a competitive advantage (pH 4.2–7.8) (Troelstra & Brouwer 1992) and grows for light over plantain (Stulen et al. 1992). well in soils suited to ryegrass and white clover (Voisin 1960). It is found over a wide range of soil textures and Drought tolerance organic matter levels, but not on extremely saline or swampy soils (Sawada et al. 1983; Mook et al. 1989; Plantain has drought tolerance more akin to cocksfoot Troelstra & Brouwer 1992). than perennial ryegrass (Malden 1924; Ivins 1952; Mook Plantain will tolerate a moderate amount of treading et al. 1989) with the proportion increasing in mixed and soil compaction but is considerably less tolerant swards during drought (Lambert 1963). Plantain also than perennial ryegrass (Voisin 1960; Chappell et al. has considerable summer heat tolerance, as indicated 1971; Blom 1976; Montacchini & Siniscalco 1979; by its distribution in sub-tropical grasslands (Sagar & Noee & Blom 1982) or broad leaf plantain (Plantago Harper 1964). The summer yields in Table 1 reflect the major). drought tolerance. Soil fertility Pests and diseases In natural grasslands plantain is a common constituent Of the many insects noted on plantain the most under conditions of low fertility (Klapp 1949; Olff & important leaf feeders are the weevils, the gallmidges Bakker 1991) owing to its excellent adaptation to low- and the flea beetles (Sagar & Harper 1964; de Nooij nutrient environments (Troelstra & Brouwer 1992). In and Mook 1992). Plantain weevil (Gymnetron particular plantain is very common on soils low in pascuorum Gyllenhall) has reached very high levels in phosphorus or potassium (Watson & Nash 1960; Kruijne local seed crops and may require controlling. Plantain et al. 1967; Hoveland et al. 1976). has a low acceptability to many slugs and snails (de Plantain is responsive to nitrogen applications, Nooij & Mook 1992; Hulme 1996), with chemical promoting leaf number, shoot growth and total biomass extracts deterring the slugs Arion ater, Deroceras but with a more limited effect on root growth (Lambers reticulatum and Cepaea nemoralis but not Arion rufus et al. 1981; Freijsen & Otten 1987; Blacquiere & or the snail Helix pomatia (Grime et al. 1968; Molgaard Koetsier 1988; Hirose et al. 1988). However, nitrogen 1992). A range of nematodes has been recorded on fertiliser applied to mixed grassland swards consistently plantain (de Nooij & Mook 1992). Plantain has good increases the proportion of grasses and decreases the tolerance to New Zealand grass grub (Costelytra proportion of plantain and other herbs (Kasper 1976; zealandica) and in pastures severely damaged by grass Romero & Demanet 1989), and phosphorus or potassium grub it often becomes an important component fertiliser has little immediate direct effect on the (Cockayne 1920). proportion of plantain (Norman 1956; Voison 1960; Internationally a wide range of fungal and bacterial Kasper 1976). diseases has been recorded on plantain (Thornberry & The competitive ability of plantain with grasses Anderson 1937; de Nooij & Mook 1992). Locally the depends greatly on fertility. Where fertility is low leaf diseases Aschochyta leaf spot, Phoma sp. and plantain can have a competitive advantage over shallow- Stemphylium sp. have been noted on older leaves and rooted grasses. Plantain is capable of utilising nutrients Rhizoctonia sp. Root rot has also been noted on 79 occasional plants in second year seed crops (M. many other factors. Higher proportions of plantain are Braithwaite pers. comm.). usually found under low fertility (Klapp 1949; Olff & Bakker 1991); in swards subject to long grazing or Forage productivity cutting intervals rather than continuous grazing (Tamm 1956; Voisin 1960; Elsasser & Kunz 1988); under A number of studies have compared the annual and dryland conditions (Lambert 1963) and in swards seasonal yield of plantain with other forage species. containing “less aggressive” and slower-establishing The results show clearly that under certain conditions companion species (Tiley & France 1990). plantain can yield up to 20 000 kg/ha per year and is