Timothy and Meadow Fescue: One New Recommendation, One New Candidate

Timothy and meadow fescue are key components of high-performance mixtures for forage production. Agroscope can now recommend one new variety of timothy and earmark a meadow fescue for recommendation based on variety tests conducted from 2021 to 2023.

Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) is an extremely high-yielding forage grass valued for its ability to withstand winter conditions and its excellent palatability. Meadow fescue (Festuca rubra L. subsp. rubra) is slightly less high yielding, but capable of forming a dense sward. The function of both species in high-performance forage mixtures is to protect the crop from fluctuating growing conditions. This calls for high-yielding, competitive and robust varieties with optimum disease resistance as well as winter hardiness.

Twenty-seven varieties tested in the field

From 2021 to 2023 Agroscope tested fifteen new cultivars and seven recommended varieties of timothy as well as two new cultivars and three recommended varieties of meadow fescue for their suitability for cultivation under Swiss conditions at five sites on the Swiss Plateau and two sites at higher altitude. The following parameters were assessed: juvenile development, yield, general impression of the sward canopy, resistance to leaf diseases, winter hardiness, persistence, suitability for cultivation at higher altitudes, and additionally for timothy, forage digestibility.

One new recommendation

The Belgian timothy variety Fjord has been recommended. Of all the varieties of timothy tested, it scored top marks for canopy quality and winter hardiness, came second for persistence and exhibited rapid early growth. It is also worth mentioning that it is highly digestible. Furthermore, it performed equally well or even better than the average of all recommended varieties for all the remaining characteristics tested.

One candidate

Among the new cultivars of meadow fescue tested, FR 1825 exhibited good persistence, solid resistance to leaf diseases and good sward cover, giving it a high enough overall score to earn a place in the updated List of Recommended Varieties of Forage Crop.

However, before this new cultivar can be recommended, it must fulfil further conditions for placing on the market, which are currently being clarified. Once this has been done, there is nothing to stop it being recommended.

One deletion

The previously recommended variety Tiller has had its recommendation withdrawn due to its poor performance. It can still be used as a recommended variety until the end of 2026.

Agroscope recommended varieties

Agroscope regularly tests different forage crop varieties to provide up-to-date, reliable recommendations for Swiss agriculture. The constantly updated ‘List of Recommended Varieties of Forage Plants’ forms the basis for developing the best seed mixtures and is an essential guide for Swiss ley farming.