Growing Meadow Fescue for seed is quite a profitable business. The cost of labour is small, as heavy crops can be taken from the same field for at least three years. 'Besides the value of the seed secured, there is an additional income from the second growth, as it can be pastured without injuring the seed crop the following year, provided the pasturing is not too close or continued too late in the fall. The crop should be cut when the panicles begin to turn brown and the whole field looks like ripening grain. The seed easily shatters out if cut too late, and this tendency makes it necessary to handle the crop very carefully after cutting. What has been said about curing and threshing Orchard Grass seed applies also to Meadow Fescue.
Quality of seed:
Good commercial seed is of a rather dull greyish brown colour. It keeps its vitality for only a comparatively short time; it is not advisable to use seed more than three years old. When sown for seed, ten to fifteen pounds should be used to the acre. The weight per bushel varies from twelve to twenty-six pounds.
Diseases:
Meadow Fescue is sometimes affected by rust. This does not usually appear until the crop is cut for seed, when it may damage the aftermath to such an extent as to spoil not only the pasture but the next year's seed crop, by weakening the plants and preventing them from coming through the winter in good condition.
