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ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION GALE A. BUCHANAN, DIRECTOR AUBURN UNIVERSITY AUBURN UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA

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A New Winter-Productive Tall Fescue V~ariety
CIRCULAR 260 JULY 1982

CONTENTS
Page
DEVELOPMENT OF TRIUMPH TALL FESCUE.................. CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIUMPH TALL FESCUE................

3

4
4 5 6 6 6 6 8
8

Winter Forage

Production.......................

Response to Cutting ........................... Cold Tolerance ............................... Associated Clovers............................. Forage Quality ...............................
Animal Performance............................

Seed.........................................
SUMMARY.

..........................................

FIRST PRINTING 5M, JULY 1982

Information contained herein is available to all persons without regard to race, color, sex, or national origin.

TRIUMPH-A New WinterProductive Tall Fescue Variety
C.S. HOVELAND, R.L. HAALAND, C.D. BERRY, J.F. PEDERSEN, S.P. SCHMIDT, and R.R. HARRIS'

TALL

FESCUE (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is the most important cultivated pasture grass in the United States, being grown on 30 to 35 million acres. In Alabama, tall fescue is grown on more than 800,000 acres, mainly in the northern two-thirds of the State. Its main advantages are: (1)ease ofestablishment, (2)tolerance to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions, to soil acidity, and to low fertility, (3) tolerance to pests, (4) a long productive season, and (5) excellent persistence under a wide variety of grazing regimes. The variety Kentucky 31, which is grown on nearly all the U.S. acreage of tall fescue, has several disadvantages. Since this variety is of northern origin, it has considerable winter dormancy. Consequently, forage production is low in winter when climatic conditions in the Lower South are often favorable for growth. In addition, the highly competitive nature of Kentucky 31 tall fescue makes it difficult to maintain legumes in association with the grass, or to reestablish clover in pastures where stands have declined. Because of the wide range of tall fescue germplasm available from the Mediterranean area, it was thought that a winter-productive variety could be developed. To that end, screening of tall fescue germplasm for improved winter forage production was started in 1974 by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

DEVELOPMENT OF TRIUMPH TALL FESCUE Triumph, originally designated AF-5, was developed by a combination of mass and recurrent selection. Its parentage originates from germplasm obtained through the USDA Plant Introduction Station at Experiment, Georgia. Spaced plants grown from tall fescue
'Respectively, Professor (resigned), Associate Professor (resigned), Assistant Professor (resigned), andAssistant Professor, Department ofAgronomy and Soils; and Assistant Professor and Professor, Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

plant introductions were evaluated for vigor, winter growth, regrowth potential, and disease resistance. An open-pollinated progeny trial, grown and harvested for 3 years, was used to evaluate forage yield distribution. Clonal selections were made from the following plant introductions: 231560 (Morocco), 231561 (Morocco), 231562 (Morocco), 234719 (France), 251823 (Italy), 297903 (Australia), and 331557 (Morocco). Open-pollinated seed were collected from the selected clones and planted in rows. Seed were collected from selected early maturing plants in this nursery in the spring of 1976 and planted for increase as breeders seed. CHARACTERISTICS OF TRIUMPH TALL FESCUE Winter Forage Production Replicated small-plot trials were conducted at six locations in Alabama over 2 to 3 years. Winter forage yields of Triumph averaged 80 percent more than Kentucky 31, and differences were even greater at some locations, table 1. Additional forage during winter is especially valuable since it reduces the need for hay to maintain livestock. The value of this additional winter forage will likely be even more important in the future if high energy prices continue to escalate the cost of hay harvesting, storing, and feeding. Autumn forage production of Triumph is equal to or greater than that of Kentucky 31. Triumph is less productive in spring, the time when forage is normally abundant on farms. Triumph matures seed about 2 weeks earlier, and it is more dormant in summer than
TABLE 1. WINTER FORAGE PRODUCTION OF TRIUMPH AND KENTUCKY 31 TALL FESCUE AT Six LOCATIONS IN ALABAMA

Location

Winter growth period

Dry forage yield per acre Total Winter Triumph Ky. 31 Triumph Ky. 31

Lb. Tennessee Valley Substation, Late Feb.-early Apr. Belle Mina ................ Piedmont Substation, Late Feb.-early Apr. Camp Hill ................... Prattville Experiment Field, Feb.-mid Mar. Prattville ................... Plant Breeding Unit, Jan.-mid Mar. Tallassee ................... Black Belt Substation, Late Feb.-early Apr. Marion Junction ............. Gulf Coast Substation, Jan.-mid-Mar. Fairhope ................... Average 2,320 2,060 1,460 1,730 1,550 2,710 1,970

Lb. 1,300 1,380 700 810 1,020 1,340 1,090

Lb. 6,690 4,130 8,280 9,160 5,250 5,800 6,550

Lb. 6,260 4,220 6,990 8,170 5,120 3,580 5,720

'Prattville Experiment Field test was 3 years; all others were 2 years. [41]

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consecutive year of cutting fescue for hay at the Black Belt Substation, Triumph outyielded Kentucky 31 tall fescue. Cold Tolerance Triumph has not survived winters as well as Kentucky 31 in Kentucky (unpublished data from Dr. T.H. Taylor, University of Kentucky). When Triumph has been seeded in September in northern Alabama and become well established prior to the onset of cold weather, winter survival has been good; however, late-seeded Triumph has not survived as well as Kentucky 31. In northern Alabama, winter survival of Triumph has been excellent after the establishment year. Establishment and winter survival have not been a problem in central and southern Alabama. Associated Clovers Triumph has a more open sod and is more dormant in summer than Kentucky 31, thus furnishing less competition to associated clovers. In trials at three locations, forage composition during the third year showed a higher average content ofclover when grown with Triumph than in Kentucky 31-clover mixtures, table 3.
TABLE 3. SEASONALAVERAGE PERCENTAGE CLOVER IN TRIUMPH AND KENTUCKY31 TALL FESCUE FORAGE DURING THE THIRD YEAR AFTER PLANTING

Location

Tennessee Valley Substation .... Prattville Experiment Field ..... Black Belt Substation...........

Clover composition of forage mixture Regal ladino clover Redland red clover Triumph Ky. 31 Ky. 31 Triumph Pct. Pct. Pct. Pct. 36 60 40 45 25 40 18 25 43 60 26 38

Forage Quality In-vitro dry matter digestibility of Triumph was similar to that of Kentucky 31, table 4. Limited crude protein analyses also indicate that the two varieties are similar in this regard. Animal Performance The superior winter forage production of Triumph increased steer carrying capacity at the Black Belt Substation, thus producing 13
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figure ? . Stcer aveCrage (dily wains on Trium iph :31 tall fescu111 pastuiCxre simliilar the first N ar, bu 1 peren hi H1 ni(1l h second Car. Tefun gal (Iiphl to .1 i('? iUln (U'ph)iaUlulti ecl associated xxith fesceh to\1co sis, xxas ab st in Tiumph1)1, xxwea liiCS nlticl :31 had a26 percent iiifection lex el. Ix '11n this loxx' lx (1 otftiiiglI iiitestationi ini ke1tticks
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FIG. 2. Triumph tall fescue had greater carrying capacity and produced more beef per acrethan Kentucky 31 in grazing trials at the Black Belt Substation in central Alabama. Photo made March 30, 1981.

TABLE 5. BEEF STEER PERFORMANCE ON TRIUMPH AND KENTUCKY 31 TALL FESCUE PASTURES AT BLACK BELT SUBSTATION DURING 2 YEARS

Variety and year Triumph 1980-81 .......... 1981-82 .......... Average .......... Kentucky 31 1980-81 .......... 1981-82 .......... Average ..........

Calendar days No. 148 187 162 148 187 162

Steers per acre No. 1.59 1.46 1.53 1.38 1.37 1.38

Average daily gain Lb. 2.08 1.92 2.00 2.11 1.27 1.69

Gain per acre Lb. 489 525 507 431 325 378

TABLE 6. BEEF STEER PERFORMANCE ON PASTURES OF TRIUMPH AND KENTUCKY 31 TALL FESCUE IN ASSOCIATION WITH AT-P BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL AT TENNESSEE VALLEY SUBSTATION DURING 2 YEARS'

Performance measure Days grazed .................................... Gain per acre, lb...............................336 Stocking rate, steers per acre ..................... Average daily gain per steer, lb...................2.54

1981 1980 Triumph Ky. 31 Triumph Ky. 31 842 1.49 842 307 1.46 2.30 1313 414 1.40 2.46 1313 365 1.25 2.43

'Planted September 1979; no nitrogen fertilizer applied. 'March 26-June 18. 3March 17-July 26.

fungus Acremonium coenophialum was absent in Triumph and at a

low level in Kentucky 31, which contributed to the high average daily
gains. Severe summer droughts sharply reduced the grazing season. Seed

Certified seed of Triumph tall fescue are being produced and marketed by International Seeds, Halsey, Oregon. Seed should be available to farmers in 1983.
SUMMARY Triumph tall fescue offers two advantages over the commonly

grown Kentucky 31 tall fescue: (1) Substantially higher winter forage production without sacrificing total season production, and (2) more open sod, offering less competition to associated legumes. Triumph should be well adapted to the Lower South and is a suitable replacement for Kentucky 31 tall fescue where winter survival is not a problem.