L.EAF~T 75SEPTEMBER 1967
GOAR TALL FESCUE
C. S. HOVELAND, Associate Professor, Dept. of Agronomy and Soils
E LL FESCI1 ( (1L ,itiia a r iti inoe ) is c
the irinit important (1o01 seasoni perennial
grass iii Alabam a. Grow o\X mo07 re0 thaii
4'90.1000 aircs in the State. this giass is
min ni used for winter and pi 171 g graz-
ing. ]n adiditin it is lan~itedl for roadside
ecover dlld turf.
Coar tall feseiie is a nies x di ets in the
Southeast. Whlen properly fertilizedi
Cnai can b~e expectecd to furnishlimore
for1age cliing the critical xinter period
than stancdardc tall f escue vaijeties.
VARIETY DESCRIPTION AND ORIGIN
Coal tall fescue is a deep-rooitecd, long-
liv ed cooiil seasoi pereniinial grass. Iii ap-
pearaiw e it iresembIlles Kentucky .31 s ari
TITLE PHOTO: Goar fescue under grazing
at the Piedmont Substation, Camp Hill.
etx, hut it inatciies seed I to 2 wxeeks
earlier in the spring. Seecdling vigor, leaf-
in ess, and7 cI al at ahil itY are similar to K en -
tuekx 31.
This x aiietx wasi selectecd at the Iin-
pce ial V allex'\r Field Station, El Cenitro,
('aliforiiia, 1)x L. C. Coar. The oriigiinal
pliciit ii)ti odciitioii came I Vorn7 Hungar-N
The (oar x diiet\ xxas released b\ the
(Calif ornia Crop Irlpriisernent Associa-
tin in 1946.
FORAGE YIELDS
Coar has 1)eert tested since 1960 at7
locations hx Athuirn tUnix ersitv AgTi isl-
tiiral Experimc'iit Statin. In these repli-
eatedi tests, fescue xvairieties xxere clipped
3 to 5 times cluriiig autuimn, xxiiiter, and
spincg.
A GR IC U L TU R AL E XP E RIM EN T
F.V.SmtDiecor AUBURN UNIVERSITY
S T ATIO N
Auburn, Alabama
LEAFLET 75
E. V. Smith, Director
NoII Ils XIFAI Si 5N \LAis V\ \ii L OC I 0S961-64
N, i 't tI
Locai.'tionii alit
3  
Soil 1 t ' e 1 r ii U
TI ic scct \ ,Ilh's Stilstatioti, 120)
I )c( ',ill (L11\
Ifeil .5ll i 1(5101 elt1 elE 2
DcI ai ll- I ]i-\ it i ii
Taf it lo i Is tt )iijit I ii iii\ li
Pla~il B I il)J(, I.Xit ilatd o16l 0 i lte
5ilwhssi thel~ oaloiiisilei iIts
get' l';\tvi titieli 1iets lit 
1 
li( Blt Bl
So ll~sttia i. \ t \te\li iLei
thiei Blckt B ItSisaion co5015 li4 \canst sil
liiiisill hut hisser toi ei fril Jansl t
Toi ttl id i'tiis iitf GoI li ii , ha\ c
equ Ini i those tof ieltl.k (o v 'Iti ilt'
ss itt\11 Tab i1. YIitie ldet s :31d aitiall
Nl.c ii u.\\ ii fiter \ jelloil( th ai iittd
(r155 i-tifiie t F 5ies i t Ball Bet
SlibestZ01'i Aotsii the Alx ii iii eafil
lmelt \"ilta ss is 0)1)0 piiidii'tisTaft silt
ites proatdutios oteu is. hu ltn-
\6tu l,\ \t~ll iihim l e tii :3st a't tilo]
loittii sit int sitl i f pt cre5 ti ' b ite-
foi i(,li (tie tlit riefties riwirtie v i ii
itisti. itiItS \Is seatr prodli55t (Liai
ketiuck :3 tsts in a loiettimis but eiitt
ami ii t \ /u 1iii es theit.rpeid
:'I(lii siill5 bet sistet 55 01 o ' iii ic
Ijittis huit\ iss t. NtierBne 13thci scilsllt
Scit it
\\ ititti
Total
\\ iltc
\\Wiit
lit itI
it i,s ill
P I cr 't v i~ . ic'id of itt .itt 5 I
L b. LI1). Lb.
1,316i 11171 1 1168
4J 4t9 5. 6:3 .5,:, 8 6
1,802 94T,17 .51
:3,534 2,75(1 2,927
1,57.3 N 69
.5,: ) 5 1
1,46 1 76()
t
5 39):' 4 7.T5 6
711 2 16 6 15
:3,2 34 3,469 '0 114
69t 1 4 6 .521
3,1 8S ;531 :33,2 1
1i) 2 :37 T 1710
:2,67 t 2,47 2,665
]it.
1 .5
2, 9 -1
5114
:3,366
that frin
Goat ,iiit Altai, bittti It -lo tt ofKtiittiikv
:31 atttt I statss The stialt ploit t'\ptrl
Itictits it i tskegree Expeii ii i t 1 lecld
W55R OH tti titi i di itied soiils. No specifi''
Ioital stt/uti w5its isolated ril tuu ailts ill
thtest tests. Ill ai di titiltv htilisiht field
planting it 'Iiskegee, stitids of (;uar
ss 01 t lii is elfitiilted ss liii tts Kelli
ttiikv :')I 1 itd inl "it oall tosses.
Goor fescue, right, was tailer than Kentucky
31 variety, left, when photographed at the
Alexandria Experiment Field, March 1962.
Dry forage per
acre, pounds
1, Goar fescue
K Ky 31. fescue
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200 G K 
K 
K K 
G K
Oct. 27 Dec. 20 Mar. 16 Apr. 5 Apr. 28
Seasonal forage yield of Goar and Kentucky 31 varieties of fescue is illustrated by this
1966-67 winter production data from the Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee.
FORAGE QUALITY
Forage quality of Goar appears to be
similar to other varieties during autumn
and winter. In spring, however, Goar
quality can be expected to decline faster
because of its earlier maturity. Dry mat-
ter digestibility determinations were
made by placing nylon bags of forage
for 24 hours in steers having a rumen
fistula. Digestibility of Goar was high in
February and March but declined in
April, Table 2. Goar forage digestibility
was slightly lower than Kentucky 81 in
March and April.
TABLE 2. DRY MATTER DIGESTIBILITY OF
TALL FESCUE VARIETIES, PLANT BREEDING
UNIT, TALLASSEE, 1967
Dry matter digestibility
Feb. 23 Mar. 20 Apr. 25
Pct. Pct. Pct.
Ky. 31-------- 73 78 58
Goar ---- 73 71 49
Pastures of Goar have been grazed
with brood cows and calves with satis-
factory results. Potential toxicity or "fes-
cue foot" problems are probably similar
to that of other tall fescue varieties.
ESTABLISHMENT
Successful establishment of tall fescue
calls for planting 10-15 pounds of seed
per acre in September or October on a
well prepared seedbed. Ideally, Regal
ladino clover should be planted with tall
fescue to provide high quality forage for
a longer season. Ladino clover stands
persist longer if tall fescue is planted in
rows 12 to 24 inches apart than if broad-
cast or seeded in narrow drill rows.
Only certified seed of Goar should be
planted to ensure varietal purity.
MANAGEMENT
Heavy grazing should be avoided the
first winter to permit establishment of a
[8]31
TABLE 3. AUTUMN FORAGE PRODUCTION OF
GOAR TALL FESCUE AS AFFECTED BY
SUMMER MANAGEMENT, PLANT BREED-
ING UNIT, TALLASSEE, 1965-1966
Summer treatment'
No cutting
Cut in July
Cut in June .........
Cut in June and July--
Per acre yield of dry
Sforage in autumn
1965 1966
Lb. Lb.
2,359
1,801
2,038
2,090
1,746
1,616
1,141
1,126
1 On all treatments the last spring harvest
was in early May. Forage and residue of all
treatments was cut and discarded in early
September.
good sod. Goar fescue must be rested
during and after seed formation. Cutting
in early June sharply reduced autumn
growth the second year of an experiment
at the Plant Breeding Unit, Table 3. This
is probably because plant food reserves
are stored at that time for rapid autumn
growth. Summer rest is also important in
maintaining fescue stands.
Maximum autumn and winter growth
of Goar fescue can be obtained only with
adequate fertilization - phosphorus, po-
tassium, and lime - according to soil test
and nitrogen at the rate of 50 to 60
pounds per acre in September and again
in February unless clover stands are ade-
quate to supply sufficient nitrogen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author acknowledges the valuable as-
sistance of J. K. Boseck and W. B. Webster,
Tennessee Valley Substation; F. T. Glaze,
Alexandria Experiment Field; J. W. Lang-
ford, Plant Breeding Unit; F. E. Bertram,
Tuskegee Experiment Field; L. A. Smith
and H. W. Grimes, Black Belt Substation;
J. W. Richardson, Monroeville Experiment
Field; Dr. W. B. Anthony and J. P. Cun-
ningham, Animal Science Department; E.
L. Carden and R. F. Berry, Agronomy and
Soils Department.