What question did this study set out to answer?

To register and evaluate the performance of the ‘Driftless’ meadow fescue cultivar for U.S. agriculture.

March 19, 2026Journal of Plant Registrations0 citationsOpen Access

Registration of ‘Driftless’ meadow fescue

MCM. D. CaslerUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison DSDevesh Pratap SinghOregon Research Institute RLRobin LampOregon Research Institute

Key Points

To register and evaluate the performance of the ‘Driftless’ meadow fescue cultivar for U.S. agriculture.
Developed from seven parent lines to create a synthetic cultivar.
Evaluated for biomass, digestibility, and seed yield across several northern U.S. regions.
Comparison made with existing cultivars like ‘Pradel’.
Forage yield is approximately 5% lower than ‘Pradel’.
Lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF) compared to other cultivars.
Higher NDF digestibility than existing meadow fescue cultivars.

Abstract

Abstract ‘Driftless’ (Reg. no. CV‐103, PI 700120) meadow fescue Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh.; syn. Festuca pratensis Huds.; syn. is a synthetic cultivar obtained from seven parents. It has been selected for high biomass, digestibility, and seed yield in several regions of the northern United States. Driftless’ forage yield is ∼5% lower than that of ‘Pradel’, a commercially available meadow fescue cultivar of European origin. Its neutral detergent fiber (NDF) is consistently lower and its NDF digestibility higher relative to other existing meadow fescue cultivars. As the first meadow fescue cultivar developed from germplasm locally adapted within the United States and owing to its superior forage quality, Driftless is expected to better support the needs of U.S. livestock producers than imported cultivars. Driftless is adapted to USDA plant hardiness zones 3–6. It was released by the USDA‐ARS in 2020, and its Plant Variety Protection was approved in 2023.

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