Brutus Tall Fescue

Product Description

• Seed Agronomy Table

  Seeding Rate - Dryland (kg/ha)

  15 - 20

  Seeding Rate - High Rainfall/Irrigation (kg/ha)

  30

  Flowering

  Very Late

  Maturity

  Late

  Life Span

  10 + years

• Endophyte

  L.E.

• Enterprises For This Seed

  Beef and Sheep

  Dairy

  Silage and Hay

  Viticulture and Horticulture

• Strengths

  Deep rooted perennial Adapted to a wide range of soil types Tolerant of wet/poorly drained soils Provides good year-round production of quality feed Does not frost off in winter as readily as phalaris and cocksfoot

• Limitations

  Relatively slow to establish Heavy grazing, particularly during late spring/summer may reduce persistence particularly in drier marginal areas Temperate types need significant summer rainfall or irrigation to maintain high production and persistence May cause animal health problem known as ‘Fescue Foot’

• Plant Description
  Plant

  A deep rooted, tufted, largely hairless perennial, with erect, unbranched tillers arising from deep underground rhizomes (horizontal stems). It can grow to 2 metres tall at flowering.

  Leaves

  Numerous dark green basal leaves, 4 to 15 millimetre wide and 10 to 60 centimetres long. Leaves are rolled in bud, becoming flat and tapered at the end. The upper leaf surface is dull and the lower leaf surface is smooth glossy with the leaf edges rough to touch.

  Leaflets

  The seedhead is a loosely branching panicle, 10 to 30 centimetres long.

  Seedhead

  The seedhead is a loosely branching panicle, 10 to 30 centimetres long.

  Seeds

  The seed is about the size and shape of ryegrass, with 420,000 to 500,000 seeds per kilogram.

• Pasture Type And Use

  Tall fescue is principally sown in permanent pastures for cattle and sheep grazing.

• Rainfall

  Greater than 650 millimetres for the spring summer active types preferably with summer rain less than 450 millimetres for summer dormant (winter-active) varieties.

• Soils

  Grows across a wide range of soil types from sandy to heavy clay soils. Tall fescue tolerates wet soils and short periods of flooding, but also has moderate drought tolerance. Tall fescue can tolerate soil acidity below pH Ca 4.8, and moderately high levels of soil aluminium (up to 20 per cent of CEC). However, it is most productive when soil pH Ca is 5.0 to 6.5. On the more acid soils with high levels of exchangeable aluminium liming may be required. It can also tolerate moderately saline soils (greater than 8 dS per metre(ECe).

• Temperature

  Tall fescue is a cool season grass and is suited to areas with mild to warm summers and cool to mild winters. It is more tolerant of frost in early winter than cocksfoot and phalaris.

• Establishment
  Grasses

  Cocksfoot, phalaris, ryegrass

  Grassses and/or Cereals

  Subterranean, red and white clovers, lotus, lucerne.

  Legumes

  3 to 10 kilograms per hectare. If using a more vigorous grass species such as perennial ryegrass a seeding rate of less than 2 kilogram per hectare of ryegrass is preferred.

  Sowing/Planting Rates In Mixtures

  6 to 15 kilograms per hectare.

  Sowing/Planting Rates as Single Species

  The best time to sow tall fescue is in autumn to early winter (March - June) when soil moisture is adequate. In high altitude, high rainfall areas, spring sowing (September) can also be successful.

  Sowing Time

  At sowing, a compound or starter fertiliser (containing nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur) should be used. If applying fertiliser with seed, nitrogen rates should not exceed 20 kilograms N per hectare.

• Management
  Maintenance Fertiliser

  Phosphorus and sulphur are the major nutrients of concern particularly to promote good clover growth, and hence adequate nitrogen for the grass. Annual applications of these nutrients will depend on soil nutrient levels. At moderate stocking rates of 5 to 7 DSE per hectare, a maintenance dressing of 125 kilograms per hectare of single superphosphate is often adequate. If tall fescue is not sown with a legume, nitrogen fertiliser will be required. Deficiencies of molybdenum and other trace elements should be corrected.

  Grazing/Cutting

  Most tall fescue cultivars exhibit poor seedling vigour, resulting in slow establishment. Grazing management during the first 12 months after sowing is particularly important to ensure a satisfactory plant population. Establishing stands of tall fescue should only be grazed when the root system is well developed and will not be pulled out of the ground. Once established, the pasture should be kept within the ‘active growth’ phase to maximise pasture growth rates and feed quality, allow rapid post-grazing recovery, and encourage companion legumes. During autumn and winter (nonreproductive phase) tall fescue should be grazed in the range of 5 to 15 centimetres. In spring (reproductive phase), tall fescue should be grazed in the range of 3 to 10 centimetres (when pasture mass reaches around 2 to 3 tonne DM per hectare) to prevent stem development and optimize palatability. Such intensive grazing means that the grazing rotation needs to be reduced to 12 to 14 days during spring.

  Ability to Spread

  Will regenerate from seed, but has poor seedling vigour. Is able to spread slowly vegetatively by short rhizomes.

  Weed Potential

  Low weed potential.

  Major Pests

  Tall fescue can be attacked by pasture scarabs (but is more tolerant than most other temperate grasses), red legged earth mites, blue oat mites, field crickets, slugs and snails.

  Major Diseases

  Leaf diseases (e.g. rust, blights) occasionally occur on tall fescue, particularly in humid summer conditions.

  Herbicide Susceptibility

  Herbicides are available to selectively control broadleaf weeds. Generally applied after first leaf stage.

• Animal Production
  Feeding Value

  Tall fescue has a high nutritive value comparing favourably to perennial ryegrass and phalaris. Digestibility ranges from 60 to 80 per cent DMD, metabolisble energy from 8.5 to 11.5 megajoules and crude protein from 7.5 to 25 per cent.

  Palatability

  Palatable.

  Production Potential

  Valuable feed for maintenance, growing and finishing livestock provided management maintains pasture in vegetative phase and adequate clover.

  Livestock Disorders/Toxicity

  Sporadic reports of ‘fescue foot’ in stock grazing tall fescue dominant pasture. Symptoms include heat stress, severe lameness, reduced feed intake and poor weight gains. Fescue foot is caused by a toxin ‘ergovaline’ produced by a fungus (endophyte) associated with tall fescue plants. This condition is not common as current cultivars either have no or very low levels of endophyte.

• Establishment Guarantee

  At S&W Seed Company Australia we're so confident about our seed genetics and seed quality, we will replace seed at half the original purchase price if it fails to establish satisfactorily in the first thirty days* Read more