Re: [RC] Pasture - Bette Lamore
Hi Lisa
We have fescue in one of our pastures and were told that it carries a
mold which causes miscarriages in the last trimester and can cause
founder. I had one mare reabsorb last year so I had the pastures tested.
Fortunately we had our pregnant mares in the back pasture which was free
of fescue (had two foals) but now I am wondering which type of fescue
causes this and is there some way to avoid the mold? IS that the
endophyte infested type you are talking about, and if so, why would
anyone want to plant this type if it can have these potential bad side
effects?
Bette
Lisa Redmond wrote:
Hold it a minute:
Endophyte-free tall fescue isn't as drought-tolerant as the
endophyte-infested. One of the benefits that the endophyte provides to
the fescue is drought tolerance. Unless they've finally developed a
drought-tolerant cultivar of endophyte-free tall fescue, you're going to
have problems with any endophyte-free cultivar of Festuca arundinacea
(Shreb.) staying well-established, particularly if you have heavy
grazing pressure or insect problems along with the drought. It also
doesn't do any good to have an endophyte-free pasture if you rotate
animals straight off an infested one. If they've been grazing seed
heads in the infested pasture they can shed viable seed in their manure,
and infest the "clean" pasture, because the endophyte is transmitted in
the seed. Other species of fescue don't have the endophyte associated
with fescue toxicosis.
Fescues are cool season perennials, so if you're looking for a summer
grass, you'll have to go with a Bermuda or some other warm season
perennial for this time of year anyway. Fescues grow between February
and June, then go dormant with the summer heat. They start back up
growing in September and continue into November or December, depending
on how far north they're planted.
Lisa (can still recite passages of fescue articles in her sleep!)
--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of 16.2h TLA Halynov
who lives on through his legacy
Hal's Riverdance!
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com
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- Replies
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- RE: [RC] Pasture, Snodgrass, Bonnie
- Re: [RC] Pasture, Lisa Redmond
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