Tall Fescue Meadow Fescue | Slide Mouse
While tall fescue has a slight edge on yield meadow fescue has been found to have superior neutral detergent fiber digestibility and is much more palatable as a pasture species.
Tall fescue meadow fescue. Schedonorus pratensis festuca pratensis one of the larger fescues this is a valuable grazing grass which can also be made into hay. Both species tall and meadow fescues contain a naturally occurring fungus that lives inside the plant. It yields slightly less than orchardgrass or tall fescue but has better fiber digestibility. Meadow fescue is a cool season semi bunch type grass.
Seeding depth should be between 0 25 and 0 5 inches or when planted with a legume 0 25 inches is preferred. In addition it appeared to tolerate the cutting intensity of a four cut system. Tall fescue is a coarse textured cool season turfgrass with dark green color and a bunch type growth habit. For lactating cow forage the mixture of alfalfa with meadow fescue and tall fescue resulted in higher yields and higher quality forage compared to alfalfa alone.
Regular mowing and fertilizing are just as important as rotational grazing in maintaining a. Comparing the first cut seeding year forage quality data i have from a local farm last year the 30 hour neutral detergent fiber digestibility of meadow fescue was about 6 percent higher for meadow fescue than tall fescue. However pastures need good management to be able to optimize the potential. Neutral detergent fi ber digestibility ndfd of meadow fescue was 30 to 80 g kg 1neutral detergent fi ber ndf greater than that of tall fescue or orchardgrass at every harvest in all environments.
Meadow fescue will establish faster than tall fescue or orchardgrass but will still benefit from a nurse crop. Meadow fescue cultivars were less persistent than tall fescue aft er 2 yr but were usually equal to or more persistent than orchardgrass. They re versatile and more forgiving to adverse soil and climate conditions than monocultures. Mixes usually provide better nutrition and yield across the growing season.
Relative to other cool season grasses its superior heat and drought tolerance make it adapted for use in north texas where warm season grasses may struggle with winter injury. Using pasture mixes on your farm is a smart move. It also with the exception of reed canarygrass is the best grass for wetter soils. Use a low rate of a small grain or combine with festulolium or ryegrass to help suppress weeds.
Meadow fescue and improved orchardgrass varieties also performed well. Meadow fescue is a semi bunch type cool season european grass that has great winter hardiness. It will yield slightly less than tall fescue and orchardgrass but has better fiber digestibility and palatability for grazing applications. This fungus is called an endophyte endo meaning inside and phyte meaning plant.
The broad leaf types include tall and meadow fescues.