Cultivation

Silage and haylage — meadow fescue

Festuca pratensis Huds.

Meadow fescue is a suitable crop for forage harvesting, with quality critically dependent on the vegetative stage at the time of mowing. The optimal harvesting period is considered to be before the onset of heading, and wilting of the biomass is necessary to prevent butyric acid fermentation.

In the reference 17 varieties crop Meadow fescue, where this is mentioned in the description.

To obtain high-quality silage or haylage, meadow fescue should be mowed no later than the jointing stage or the onset of heading. At later stages, stems become coarse, which hinders the penetration of lactobacteria to sugars and reduces the overall digestibility of the forage.

With a high crude protein content (more than 14%), the crop can exhibit characteristics of a difficult-to-ensile material. For successful fermentation, the biomass is wilted to 70% moisture, and the use of balers with chopping knives helps to increase the cutting surface area and facilitate the release of sugars.

In agronomic practice, meadow fescue is often combined with legume components in grass mixtures for a protein-carbohydrate balance. The crop features higher drought tolerance compared to timothy grass, making it a stable source of forage feedstock in regions with a risk of summer drought.

General information about the subject — on the page Silage and haylage.

Sources8

Varieties of Meadow fescue mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.