Tall fescue PLUS
Tall fescue PLUS is a hybrid tall fescue developed by crossing Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratense) or Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea) with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) or Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum). There are two types of hybrid grasses; Ryegrass PLUS and Tall fescues PLUS and both types belong to the species festulolium.
When crossing multiple species it enables us to combine the best properties from each grass. The fescues contribute qualities such as high dry matter yield, resistance to cold, drought tolerance and persistence, while ryegrass is contributes with rapid establishment, good spring growth, good digestibility, sugar content and palatability. The individual festulolium varieties contain various combinations of these qualities, but all are substantially better yielding than their parent lines.
Tall fescue-Plus varieties from DLF includes:
Morphologically and in terms of cultivation, these types resemble tall fescue.
They combine tolerance to frost, drought and heat and persistency of tall fescue with the better feed quality and rapid establishment of ryegrass. The result is a high quality “tall fescue” with excellent persistency.
Trials at the DLF research station in the Czech Republic are ongoing already for 15 years without any loss of stand or productivity.
Tall fescue-type festuloliums can be characterized by:
- High seedling vigor
- Earlier spring growth
- High yield
- High quality
- Tendency for heading only in 1st cut
- Very persistent
- Upright growth
- Tolerates drought and periodical flooding
- Good winter hardiness