Festuca pratensis

Year of inclusion in the State Register of Breeding Achievements – 1967.
Regions of admission – 4 (Volgo-Vyatka), 7 (Middle Volga), 9 (Ural), 10 (West Siberian), 12 (Far East).
GOST R 52325-2005.
A high-yielding variety with good forage and seed productivity. The yield of green mass is 13.4-20.4 t / ha, the yield of dry matter is 4.5-6.0 t / ha, the seed yield is about 0.65 t / ha. The maximum yield of green mass is up to 35.6 t / ha, dry matter up to 11.1 t / ha, seeds up to 0.8 t / ha.
Perennial winter-hardy drought-resistant culture. Mowing ripeness occurs a week earlier than that of timothy, simultaneously with two-cut clover, therefore it is sown in a mixture with just such varieties of clover. After meadow timothy, the most widespread bluegrass crop in the Non-Chernozem and forest-steppe zones. By the time the panicle is swept out, the roots penetrate into the soil to a depth of 0.8 m, and by the end of the second year of life – up to 1.6 m. The stems are erect, well leafy. The leaves are shiny on the underside. Plant height reaches 1.4 m. Inflorescence is a panicle. Fruits are scarious, light gray in color. The mass of 1000 seeds is about 2 g.
It is moisture-loving, although it surpasses timothy grass in terms of drought resistance, it can withstand flooding with hollow spring waters. Winter hardiness is high, although somewhat lower than that of timothy. The beginning of the growing season in the middle zone of the European part of Russia usually falls in the third decade of April, in the forest-steppe – in the second decade and, in some years, in the first decade of April. The period from the beginning of the growing season to the emergence of inflorescences is, depending on the soil and climatic conditions and the variety, 39-67 days, before flowering – 54-77. Mass flowering takes place in the morning and lasts 6-8 days. Seed stands are prone to lodging. In the middle lane, the seeds of meadow fescue ripen in mid-July, in the forest-steppe – in early July.
Meadow fescue is widely used in grass mixtures when creating hayfields and long-term pastures on different types of soils (except for sandy soils) of forest and forest-steppe zones. It grows well on loose, moderately moist, fertile, loamy, clayey, marly soils, cultivated peatlands, lowland and floodplain meadows. In terms of longevity, it is close to the timothy meadow. Its grass stands during fodder use last for an average of 7-8 years, but they are most productive on dry meadows and field lands for 4-5 years. Seeds are used for 3-4 years. The maximum yield of forage mass and seeds (with clean sowing) gives in the second or third years of life.