Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is an exotic, cool-season grass that begins growing early in the year when temperatures are too cold for most other plants to grow. This fact, combined with its ability to form a dense, low-growing mat, which covers the seed bed and prevents other seeds from germinating, allows fescue to quickly establish dominancy. In addition, tall fescue is fairly drought and flood tolerant, grows well on acidic and low fertility soils, and compares somewhat favorably with other cool-season grasses in forage quality. These characteristics, combined with its ability to control erosion and withstand heavy traffic, made KY 31 tall fescue attractive to livestock producers, erosion control specialists, and landscapers. In Indiana, over 1 million acres of pastures, hay fields, field borders, utility right-of-ways, and roadsides have been seeded to tall fescue. Although primarily grown in the southern third of Indiana, tall fescue occurs to some degree in almost every county.Unfortunately, these same characteristics have also made tall fescue one of the greatest enemies of maintaining quality wildlife habitat. It is an aggressive, sod-forming grass that creates a thick, matted condition which severely limits the movement and foraging ability of ground-nesting and ground-feeding wildlife. Tall fescue is also allelopathic. This means it produces compounds that adversely affect the growth or germination of surrounding plants, thus suppressing the establishment of other plants, which are more beneficial to wildlife. As a result, a solid stand (monoculture) of fescue often results. This reduces the ability of wildlife to select a diverse and nutritious diet, and its matting nature leaves little in the way for wildlife concealment against avian predators. The absence of structural and plant diversity within a fescue stand limits its potential to provide quality nesting and foraging habitat for most wildlife species. Fescue also tends to flatten under the weight of snow, reducing its ability to provide protective winter cover, and once established in an area, tall fescue can be tough to completely eradicate.
