OverseerFM was updated to capture the diuretic response in animals as a result of consuming plantain. When plantain is entered as a part of a pasture mix in OverseerFM the model will derive the proportion of the diet plantain makes up for the enterprise and apply the response. At present, OverseerFM does not reflect the potential effects of plantain’s bioactive compounds on soil processes, further research is planned to better understand these effects on nitrogen processes in the soil such as nitrification. For more information on the implementation of Plantain in OverseerFM see our Knowledge base article here.
Our guidance in OverseerFM, when entering Plantain as a pasture, states: Plantain pastures should be selected if it is a variety that causes a (1) diuretic response in animals and (2) partitions nitrogen away from urine in the animal.
Most New Zealand research on plantain used the cultivars ‘Ceres Tonic’ (Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching) and AgriTonic (Greener Pastures). DairyNZ has developed a testing protocol (DairyNZ Plantain Cultivar Evaluation System) that seed companies can use to assess the effectiveness of their cultivars for these N cycling effects. Cultivars are assessed against a positive (benchmark) control (Agritonic plantain) and a negative control (perennial ryegrass).
DairyNZ recommends that cultivars of plantain should meet the Effective standards of the Evaluation System, before being recommended for N leaching reduction. As of July 2022, the following cultivars are classed as Effective by the Evaluation System Assessment Group:
- Ceres Tonic
- Agritonic
Note: Ceres Tonic and Agritonic cultivars are marketed as a blended product, EcotainTM. Certified Ceres Tonic is no longer available outside of EcotainTM
Overseer does not verify any product claims. Users will need to verify any product claims independently until such time as the industry has appropriate product labelling.