Lofa festulolium grass seed, bred by DLF Trifolium and marketed as Advanced Hybrid Ryegrass, will be available for autumn re-seeding, after stocks ran out last year.
This ryegrass, the result of crossing and back crossing tall fescue plants with Italian and hybrid ryegrasses, combines the best features of all its parents. High yields and quality feeding characteristics come from the ryegrass side, while the tall fescue contributes additional persistence and stress tolerance.
Lofa is particularly useful when added to medium-term seed mixtures. It is suitable for cutting and dual-purpose, and re-grows rapidly after defoliation.
Early spring growth, winter hardiness and its ability to perform in both dry and wet conditions, has made it popular with grassland farmers over the past three years.
“Festuloliums are not new – we have been breeding them for 40 years, and trialling them on UK farms for the past eight,” says DLF-Trifolium agricultural sales director Tim Kerridge.
“We have developed different types for different field and farm situations, but Lofa is one of the most accommodating as it is longer-lived, so is good for using in medium term mixtures which are the most popular in the UK.
“It produces exceptional yields of high quality, palatable grass – with high sugar, ME and digestible fibre content.
“However, it is the way it performs in stressful conditions that farmers really appreciate. In the cold wet spring this year, Lofa was quick to start growing, and much more productive than conventional species.”
Lofa is available in mixtures in DLF-Trifolium’s ForageMax and HF Seeds ranges, and some of those marketed by Oliver Seeds, as well as selected own-brand grass seed mixtures.
