Interseeding Teff Into Tall Fescue Swards to Improve Late Summer Forage Production

Tall fescue [Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub] is a widely used and important cool-season forage grass in the eastern United States. Reduced forage production during hot, dry, mid- to late-summer periods and animal toxicities associated with the presence of a fungal-endophtye limit the utility of tall fescue for some producers. We investigated interseeding teff [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter], a warm-season annual grass, into established fescue stands as a means to improve summer forage production and potentially reduce fescue toxicities. Teff established rapidly regardless of seeding method (broadcast or no-till) or seed-coating treatment (with or without a commercial polymer coating), but its abundance varied from year to year. Teff contribution to the swards was twice as great in the warmer season of 2010 (40%) than in the cooler seasons of 2008 and 2009. Significant contributions from teff were associated with greater dry matter yields, lower protein, and higher fiber contents relative to the non-interseeded control plots. Reduced forage quality may be related to rapid reproductive development of teff when other species were vegetative and the high fiber content of warm-season species. Overseeding teff may benefit producers by reducing relative fescue content and increasing dry matter production of fescue-dominated swards during hot summer periods.