b'FESCUE TO THE RESCUEWHY EUROPES SEED SECTOR IS INVESTING IN A GRASS THAT THRIVES IN DROUGHT, FEEDS LIVESTOCK, AND IS REDEFINING PROFESSIONAL TURF.BY: TREENA HEIN, SEED WORLD CONTRIBUTORWHY IT MATTERS I f you look out over a pasture or a professionalEtienne Abelard, DLFs fescue breeder in sports field today, you may well be seeing a cut- France, notes a growing interest over the past five to Fescue is anting-edge variety of fescue. This grass is in highseven years in using hard and sheep fescue on sports outstandingdemand across Europe, the U.S., Australia, Newfields due to their resilience and tolerance to low-in-grass reliedZealand, South America, and beyond. Commercialput management. We already see tall fescue being upon for criticalvarieties already combine durabilitywithstandingtaken up by turf professionals in northern European livestock grazing,continuous grazing or close mowingwith droughtcountries, where perennial ryegrass is otherwise the but it is alsotolerance and resistance to crown rust. For livestockpreferred turf species, he says. With warmer and gaining groundsystems, modern fescue is more digestible, palatable,drier climates, there will be an increased need for on professionaland higher yielding than ever before. fescue turfs as well as forages.sports fields,Yet improvement does not stop here. To exploreDSV breeder Yannick Quitt agrees, empha-already edging outtodays breeding progress and tomorrows potential,sising that tall fescue has gained importance in ryegrass in someSeed World Europe spoke with several breeders atNorthern Europe because of increasingly dry condi-parts of Europe.leading international companies. We discussed thetions. In these environments, tall fescue outperforms Here is a progresschallenges of producing better varieties, how newperennial ryegrass and other species. DSVs turf port-report on breedingtechnologies are being integrated, germplasm avail- folio includes tall fescue, red fescues (both slender effortswith aability, and much more. creeping and creeping types), chewing fescue (a red surprising twist stillfescue subspecies), hard fescue, and sheep fescue. to come. FESCUE SPECIES AND BREEDINGMeadow fescue grows better than other species, even FOCUS at low temperatures, Quitt says. It tolerates cutting While the Festuca genus contains hundreds of speciesbetter than grazing and is ideal for combining withperhaps as many as 640only a handful are theforage legumes.focus of active breeding programmes. Tall fescue, by contrast, is highly adaptable to At DLF, forage breeding concentrates on F.both wet and dry conditions, making it suitable for pratensis (meadow fescue), while turf breeding targetssites that experience seasonal variability.mainly three species: F. rubra (red fescue), F. ovinaIts deep rooting system allows it to access water (sheep fescue), and F. trachyphylla (hard fescue). Inreserves deeper in the soil, enabling survival through addition, F. arundinacea (tall fescue) is bred for bothdry periods, Quitt explains. It is also characterised forage and turf applications. by good winter hardiness and vigour. Climate adapta-32ISEED WORLD EUROPEISEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | SEPTEMBER 2025'