Evaluation of meadow fescue grass cultivars seeded with alfalfa in New York state

Alfalfa–grass mixtures sown in the northeastern United States provide high-quality dairy forage, and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) may improve the quality of these mixtures. Our objectives were to evaluate competitiveness and nutritive value of nine meadow fescue (MF) cultivars in New York State at spring harvest. Three farms, two in central New York State and one in northern New York state, were used. Conventional alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was sown (15 lb acre⁻¹) to nine MF cultivars (three tetraploid and six diploid) and one tall fescue Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) ‘Darbysh’ cultivar in a randomized complete block design with four field replicates at each field site at three seeding rates (1, 2, and 3 lb acre⁻¹). Grass proportion in mixtures was estimated visually. Grass samples were collected shortly before first harvest and analyzed for neutral detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD), acid detergent fiber, in vitro digestibility, and crude protein. Most meadow fescue cultivars maintained a grass proportion between 20%–45% across farms and growing seasons when seeded at 1lb acre⁻¹. Seeding rates above 1lb acre⁻¹ resulted in grass proportions above the recommended 20–30% grass proportion rate. Drought in early 2022 resulted in an average drop in grass percentage of 16.9% units for meadow fescue in mixtures, compared to 2021. Nutritive value of cultivars varied among farms and over growing seasons. Meadow fescue cultivars averaged 2.7% units higher NDFD than tall fescue, and cultivars with consistently high NDFD were Hidden Valley, SW Revansch, SW Minto, and Schwetra. Tetraploid cultivars averaged 4.0% units lower NDF compared to diploid cultivars, which is very advantageous for grass in alfalfa–grass mixtures.