PLUS grasses - better field value
PLUS-grasses from DLF is one of the great success stories of modern grass-breeding science. Depending on the variety and the growing conditions, PLUS-grasses provides from 5% to 25% more forage, and one to two years' more persistency. Depending on the variety, PLUS-grassess withstand colder winter, drought, and disease - it produces a higher output, per hectare and offers a better feed value compared to tall fescue.
Grow greener forage grasses with PLUS grasses from DLF
Higher forage quality. Excellent tolerance. Better yields. There are plenty of great reasons to give the green light to festulolium.
Festulolium might be one of the greatest success stories of modern grass-breeding science. Nothing less. The not-so-secret recipe is crossing fescues with ryegrasses into new and better grasses combining the best from both sides. This mix of genetics creates impressive results, so let’s start growing your knowledge on festulolium.
Do you already know our PLUS grasses?
What exactly is Festulolium?
Before we talk about how and why to use PLUS grasses, it makes sense to coin what festulolium is.
Festulolium is a species of forage grasses bred by crossing fescues with ryegrasses. The various combinations add up a portfolio of all-round grasses each offering unique benefits to meet very specific needs.
To ease the understanding, we divide the festulolium portfolio into two overall grass types with their own unique benefits: Ryegrass PLUS and Tall Fescue PLUS
In recent years, we have really accelerated our focus on developing and harnessing festuloliums by combining the very best from ryegrass and fescues. The result is PLUS grasses, Ryegrass PLUS and Tall Fescue PLUS, giving farmers agricultural advantages.
3 reasons others choose PLUS grasses
PLUS grasses – our varieties of festuloliums – offer a wide range of benefits. Which one is your favourite?
- Produce a much higher yield. PLUS grasses provide up to 25% more forage compared to perennial ryegrass and tall fescue.
- Grow in challenging conditions. PLUS grasses are characterised by high cold and drought tolerance, rapid establishment, and up to two years’ higher persistence than their parent grasses.
- Create the best environment. PLUS grasses work perfectly together with other species. This could be clover, timothy, perennial ryegrass, just to name a few.
The best from both grasses
If we were to describe the state of the seeds business, it is very much about getting more out of less. Farmers must reduce irrigation and the use of fertilisers. At the same time they are expected to increase productivity and output. This is a major challenge that calls for sustainable grasses offering higher tolerance, resilience and yields.
Our PLUS grasses are highly successful crosses between fescues and ryegrasses. As you know, fescues and ryegrass have different characteristics and qualities. When mixing and matching these qualities, you get a result that will make competitors green with envy.
Ryegrass PLUS offers a wide range of fantastic qualities:
- High dry-matter yield
- High drought tolerance with a fast developing root system
- Prominent persistency in cold areas
Fescue PLUS offers a wide range of fantastic qualities:
- Rapid establishment
- Higher digestibility
- Excellent spring growth
Ryegrass PLUS
For many years, people like us have worked to breed new and better grasses. PLUS grasses are our latest addition to this proud tradition.
Ryegrass PLUS is the result of crossing fescues – Meadow fescue or Tall fescue – with perennial or Italian ryegrass. This breeding is very much about taking the best properties from each grass. It is like a 1+1=3 situation.
Choose Ryegrass PLUS if this is what you are looking for:
- Early spring growth makes it possible to harvest up to 60% of the total yield by the middle of June.
- Very high yield enables you to become more self-sufficient
- Strong persistence ensures a great output in dry or stressed environments.
Tall Fescue PLUS
Tall Fescue PLUS is an upgrade compared to ordinary tall fescues. Simply put, you mix the best from tall fescues with ryegrass genes, including higher digestibility and faster establishment.
Go faster, higher, stronger with Tall Fescue PLUS:
- Faster germination ensures an efficient establishment of the grasses. This leaves no room for weed and reduces the need for herbicides.
- Higher digestibility reduces carbon footprint. Here’s how. Better digestibility equals a higher forage intake resulting in greater output. E.g. the cow will produce more milk. It will also produce more methane, but the total emission is reduced per litre of milk.
- Stronger persistence improves forage quality and output in less favourable conditions. This is great news if you farm in areas with drought or flooding.
How to get the best of Festulolium
You can use festulolium in many different growing environments – and don’t be afraid to mix them with other species.
The fantastic thing about festulolium is there is a variety for every usage need. It is – thanks to the genetic qualities – all-round grasses that successively enrich your forage production. But how? Here is some advice:
- Use festulolium in mixtures. Ryegrass PLUS can be used instead of Italian ryegrass, perennial ryegrass or hybrid ryegrass. You should use Tall Fescue PLUS instead of tall fescues. Easy, right?
- Mix festulolium with Alfalfa. This can increase dry matter yield by up to 10% compared to the combinations of Alfalfa/Timothy or Alfalfa/Meadow fescue.
- Produce an excellent synergy in the field. Festuloliums work perfectly in combination with other species, for example clover, annual ryegrass, cocksfoot and brome.
Find the perfect mixture
High milk or meat yields are essential for running a profitable farm. The key to this is to keep your herds well fed with home-grown forage. With best in class ForageMax mixtures you increase the nutritional value of your forage and silage.
HF Seeds has been at the forefront of seed breeding technology for over 60 years. This long and successful pedigree has grown over the years as generations of farming families come to trust the HF Seeds brand as the foremost range of grass mixtures that are available.
We're not just about grass at DLF. We supply a range of other feed and commercial crops that support farm profitability. Your Countryside is our diverse range of species and choice of specialist mixtures, bringing Game Cover, Environmental Stewardship, Root Crops and Cover Crops, together in one comprehensive catalogue.
Contact the forage team
Agricultural & Specialist Seeds Team:
Telephone: 01506 894820
Email: forage@dlf.co.uk