Intensive rotational grazing is gaining popularity among livestock producers. Present varieties of forage species are not well adapted to intensive grazing. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and Festulolium (Festulolium braunfi K. A.) a ryegrass X meadow fescue (Festuca pratense Hude.) cross, have exhibited superior characteristics, in high nutrition, palatability, and animal performance. The only major drawback is their lack of winterhardiness. Our proposal addresses development of winterhardy varieties through natural directed selection of Festulolium pastures that have demonstrated the ability to withstand upper midwest winters. Phase I research will develop winterhardy germplasm through cold-temperature tolerance testing. Phase II will evaluate the new varieties at selected sites in Upper Midwest and Northeast, to develop a grazing management system. Phase III will domestically produce seed for sale.Applications:All varieties of forage perennial ryegrasses and festuloliums are currently produced in Europe. Domestically exceptional winterhardy varieties will be developed for sustainable farmers. Within the next eight years. contracts will expire on approximately 14.3 million hectares of land now enrolled in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Rather than being returned to row crops, this highly erodible land would benefit by being seeded to a pasture grass. The superior varieties from this proposed research would provide the double benefits of erosion control while supplying forages designed for low-input rotational grazing systems.
