Suitability of soft leafed Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) in mixtures under grazing and cutting

摘要

Due to its greater rooting system tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) has the ability to take up water from greater depths than other grasses. Tall fescue may be more suitable for cultivation in areas with temporarily dry conditions. Until now, tall fescue has a low contribution in seed mixtures in Germany, as cattle do not accept it in pasture because of its hard blade. There are new varieties of F. arundinacea with softer leafs, that might be better accepted by grazers. The yield potential is higherif tall fescue arc included in reseeding mixtures. Eighteen variants of single species and commercial mixtures were tested in south Germany from 2012 - 2015 in two different experiments under cutting and grazing. Under grazing, the soft leafed variety oftall fescue had only a slightly better intake than the hard leafed tall fescue or cocksfoot (Dactylisglomerata). While mixtures with tall fescue reached high yields, however, the maximum yield and energy contents were observed in high productive mixtures of Loliumperennt and Trifolium repepens.