Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Lexington, Kentucky » Forage-animal Production Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #257204

Title: Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century

Author
item BUSH, LOWELL - University Of Kentucky
item FANNIN, F - University Of Kentucky

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Monograph Series
Publication Type: Monograph
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2010
Publication Date: 1/1/2010
Citation: Bush, L., Fannin, F.F. 2010. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century, (eds) H.A. Fribourg, D.B. Hannaway, and C.P. West. American Society of Agronomy Monograph Series 53. pp. 229-249.

Interpretive Summary: Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century is a comprehensive monograph by experts from around the world about the science of tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. = Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort., formerly Fes¬tuca arundinacea Schreb. var. arundinacea] and its applications. Tall fescue is the most important cultivated pasture grass in the United States, and it is increas¬ingly important in other humid temperate regions in the world. Its agronomic characteristics make it the primary choice of many managers who desire a forage suitable for a variety of animals under diverse and challenging climatic and soil conditions, or who want a perennial plant for functional or aesthetic soil cover in many situations. This publication was started some years ago as the Tall Fescue Online Monograph to meet the information needs of many people through the com-munication tools of the internet age. The warm reception accorded this earlier effort justified the preparation of a new publication with an expanded roster of contributors and a more thorough coverage of important subjects. Topics covered include the origin, history, and classification of tall fescue; its ecologi¬cal suitability and adaptation; methods for establishment and management; its pests and control methods; its utilization, quality, and anti-quality factors; genetic improvement; seed production and marketing; and turf and conserva¬tion uses. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century updates and supplants the 1979 Agronomy Monograph 20, Tall Fescue, and complements the 1996 Agronomy Monograph 34, Cool-Season Forage Grasses. It will be available in two versions: this hard-copy version published by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America and the Tall Fescue Online Monograph for the Twenty-first Century, available at http://forages.oregonstate. edu/tall_fescue/tfol2lc/, representing the collective efforts of the contributing authors and a multidisciplinary team of information technology specialists. Such a dual presentation has the advantage of constant availability and possi¬bility of timely revisions. The book also includes a CD with the complete set of illustrations in color, as well as a brief biographies of the contributors. All participants in this endeavor hope that Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Cen¬tury will be a valuable source of basic scientific knowledge and its applications for a diverse world-wide readership of not only students, producers, and managers interested in principles of forage production, management, and utilization, but also investigators and teachers. Every chapter was reviewed by two or more anonymous peer reviewers who helped authors improve, clarify, and augment their submissions by their comments; these selfless individuals are acknowledged here as a group and are recognized by name in a subsequent section. Compliments and appreciation are expressed to Nathaniel France, Ben Greenwalt, Daniel James, Christina Larson, Tracy Mitzel, Sara Griffith Monk, Dawn Seigel, Patti Sohn, Rand Taylor, and Cynthia Walker for their. assistance with the preparation, design, implementation, reviews, and revisios of the manuscripts and the web-based version. Review and counsel by Stephen Darbyshire regarding the Latin nomenclature for tall fes-cue,is gratefully acknowledged.

Technical Abstract: Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century is a comprehensive monograph by experts from around the world about the science of tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. = Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort., formerly Fes¬tuca arundinacea Schreb. var. arundinacea] and its applications. Tall fescue is the most important cultivated pasture grass in the United States, and it is increas¬ingly important in other humid temperate regions in the world. Its agronomic characteristics make it the primary choice of many managers who desire a forage suitable for a variety of animals under diverse and challenging climatic and soil conditions, or who want a perennial plant for functional or aesthetic soil cover in many situations. This publication was started some years ago as the Tall Fescue Online Monograph to meet the information needs of many people through the com-munication tools of the internet age. The warm reception accorded this earlier effort justified the preparation of a new publication with an expanded roster of contributors and a more thorough coverage of important subjects. Topics covered include the origin, history, and classification of tall fescue; its ecologi¬cal suitability and adaptation; methods for establishment and management; its pests and control methods; its utilization, quality, and anti-quality factors; genetic improvement; seed production and marketing; and turf and conserva¬tion uses. Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Century updates and supplants the 1979 Agronomy Monograph 20, Tall Fescue, and complements the 1996 Agronomy Monograph 34, Cool-Season Forage Grasses. It will be available in two versions: this hard-copy version published by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America and the Tall Fescue Online Monograph for the Twenty-first Century, available at http://forages.oregonstate. edu/tall_fescue/tfol2lc/, representing the collective efforts of the contributing authors and a multidisciplinary team of information technology specialists. Such a dual presentation has the advantage of constant availability and possi¬bility of timely revisions. The book also includes a CD with the complete set of illustrations in color, as well as a brief biographies of the contributors. All participants in this endeavor hope that Tall Fescue for the Twenty-first Cen¬tury will be a valuable source of basic scientific knowledge and its applications for a diverse world-wide readership of not only students, producers, and managers interested in principles of forage production, management, and utilization, but also investigators and teachers. Every chapter was reviewed by two or more anonymous peer reviewers who helped authors improve, clarify, and augment their submissions by their comments; these selfless individuals are acknowledged here as a group and are recognized by name in a subsequent section. Compliments and appreciation are expressed to Nathaniel France, Ben Greenwalt, Daniel James, Christina Larson, Tracy Mitzel, Sara Griffith Monk, Dawn Seigel, Patti Sohn, Rand Taylor, and Cynthia Walker for their. assistance with the preparation, design, implementation, reviews, and revisios of the manuscripts and the web-based version. Review and counsel by Stephen Darbyshire regarding the Latin nomenclature for tall fes-cue,is gratefully acknowledged.