Publication Date

1989

Description

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and other perennial grasses cannot be used profitably in the typical Mediterranean environments of Italy because of the inability of the existing varieties to survive the severe summer droughts. Nonetheless their utilization for pasture establishment is highly required because of their ability to extend and regularize the grazing season with respect to the currently used annual species, which concentrate most of their production in spring. A selection program aimed at developing varieties adapted to long summer Mediterranean environments from local ecotypes was activated in the late 1970's. Besides summer survival, other main objectives of the program were improve­ment of the winter yield and palatability.

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Breeding New Varieties of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea schreb.) Adapted to Mediterranean Environments

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and other perennial grasses cannot be used profitably in the typical Mediterranean environments of Italy because of the inability of the existing varieties to survive the severe summer droughts. Nonetheless their utilization for pasture establishment is highly required because of their ability to extend and regularize the grazing season with respect to the currently used annual species, which concentrate most of their production in spring. A selection program aimed at developing varieties adapted to long summer Mediterranean environments from local ecotypes was activated in the late 1970's. Besides summer survival, other main objectives of the program were improve­ment of the winter yield and palatability.