Toward a Standard Test for Summer Dormancy in Tall Fescue

Abstract

Tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) is a broadly adapted forage grass that tolerates diverse biotic stresses. Summer dormant tall fescue persists in hotter and drier environments than summer active tall fescue, but productivity of summer dormant cultivars lags behind both summer active cultivars and alternative crops for dryland regions. Therefore, yield improvement of summer dormant cultivars is a breeding target. We have made hybrids between summer dormant and summer active genotypes in an effort to transfer the summer dormant trait into a summer active genetic background. Limiting our progress is the lack of a standard test to assess summer dormancy. In this paper, we propose a standard test and highlight the need for assessing the depth and length of the dormancy period.