A new tall fescue with a beneficial endophyte

Researchers from the University of Arkansas, University of Missouri, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service cooperated in an effort to produce a new cultivar of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) containing an endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) which does not produce ergot alkaloids. Our objective was to select and introduce an endophyte which was not toxic to livestock be that retained the beneficial characteristic of enhancing plant drought tolerance. Studies were conducted in Arkansas and Missouri to test the safety and persistence of the cultivar HiMag with a nontoxic endophyte, referred to here as ArkPlus. ArkPlus was shown to produce steer weight gains as high as HiMag fescue without endophyte, and significantly higher than Kentucky-31 fescue with its natural, toxic endophyte. Stand persistence of ArkPlus was as good as toxic Kentucky-31 and better than endophyte-free HiMag in southwest Arkansas. ArkPlus Brand tall fescue is currently being marketed by FFR Cooperative and through its associated cooperatives throughout most states in the southeast