ARS/SCA: Genetic Improvement of Forage Grasses

Continued activities related to tall fescue breeding and tall fescue-endophyte research will be conducted with the goals of improving forage and seed yield, forage quality, palatability, and grazing tolerance in both endophyte-free and novel endophyte tall fescue populations. We will maintain production of high-quality seed of E+ and EF Kentucky 31 and new novel endophyte tall fescue varieties for research use by collaborators. We will conduct field studies to measure heritability of important traits in tall fescue.