Crops
Festuca pratensis Huds. - Meadow-fescue.
Taxonomic position.
Family Poaceae Barnhart., genus Festuca L.Biology and morphology.
2n = 14. Perennial plant, robust, hairless, cespitous. Stems erect, 40 - 115 cm high with thickened nodes. Leaves narrowly linear, scaberulous along margin, 3-6 mm broad 22-30 cm long with at least 16 distinct veins on the upper part. Sheaths of inferior leaves purple red. Ligule short. Auricles well developed. Panicle-like inflorescence, up to 20 cm long, rather 1-sided, contracted. Spikelets 5 - 11 - flowered. The weight of 1000 seeds is 1,6 to 1,8 g (average seeds). Blossoms in June, seed maturity can be expected during July-August. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0,80 to 1,0 g (small seeds). Cross-pollinated by wind.Distribution.
Introduced into culture since the beginning of XX century. Cultivated on large squares in the forest, steppe and mountain areas at 88 regions and republics of former USSR countries. 38 breeding cultivars have the state permission for utilization.Ecology.
Mesophyte. Not resistant to drought. This grass is able to withstand ponding for up to two months, and is tolerant of waterlogged soils. Resists very well to cold. Resistant to late spring frosts (-4..-6°C) and to early autumn frosts (-5..-6°C). Optimum on normally drained to wet soils. Often abundant in wide alluvial valleys. Large range for nutrient availability but absent from very poor soils. Optimum on slighlty acid to neutral soils but frequent also on alkaline soils. Broadly indifferent to soil texture. Well represented on clay soils of the big valleys. Can be abundant on peat soils. Adapted to cool climates as a cool-season turfgrass. Quite heat resistant, but less than Festuca arundinacea or Dactylis glomerata.Utilization and economic value.
A good grazing grass, used to a lesser extent for hay. Valuable for pasture in permanent grassland; grown in areas suitable for timothy. Very palatable and equal to perennial ryegrass for grazing by dairy cattle on suitable soils. Used in pasture mixtures on wetlands and for erosion control in humid northern regions. . Combines well with clovers, Lotus corniculatus, alfalfa and grasses, as Phleum pratense and Dactylis glomerata, producing a large proportion of leafy bottom growth. . Forage mass productivity ranges from 23-31,5 MT/ha, hay productivity ranges 6,1-11,0 MT/ha and seed productivity is 350-500 kg/ha.Literature:
Catalog of state permitted cultivars of agricultural crops. 1969. - M.: Kolos, 489 pp. (in Russian).Catalog of state permitted cultivars of agricultural crops. 1971. - M.: Kolos, 488 pp. (in Russian).
Catalog of state permitted cultivars of agricultural crops. 1974. - M.: Kolos, 480 pp. (in Russian).
Catalog of state permitted cultivars of agricultural crops. 1985. - M.: Kolos, Vol 3. - 489 pp. (in Russian).
Catalog of agricultural crops. cultivars permitted in Byelorussia. 1985. - Minsk: Uradjai, 176 pp. (in Russian).
Golovkin B. N. 1988. Cultigenic plant area. - M.: Nauka, 184 pp. (in Russian).
Medvedev P. F., Smetannikova A. I. The forage crops of European part of the USSR. 1981. - L.: Kolos, 336 pp. (in Russian).
Shashko D. N. Agroclimatic region of the USSR. 1967. - M.: Kolos, 335 pp. (in Russian).
Shashko D. N. Agroclimatic resources of the USSR. 1985. - M.: Kolos, 248 pp. (in Russian).
Soil resources of the USSR (Agricultural regions of areas and republics of USSR). 1990. - M.: - Vol 1. - 260 pp. (in Russian).
State register of Ukrainian plant cultivars. 1992. - Kiev: Urojai, 199 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 1994. - M.: - 218 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 1996. - M.: - 171 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 1999. - M.: - 192 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 2000. - M.: - 232 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 2001. - M.: - 252 pp. (in Russian).
State register of breeding achievements permitted for utilization. Plant cultivars. 2003. - M.: - 236 pp. (in Russian).
The Natural-agricultural regions and utilization of soil resources of the USSR. A. N. Kashtanov (ed.). 1983. - M.: Kolos, 336 pp. (in Russian).
The register of plant cultivars in Ukraine. 1996. - Kiev: Urojai, 259 pp. (in Russian).