A new tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivar, ‘Hugreen’, was developed by the National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea, for use in grazing-based grassland systems. Five superior breeding lines, 17XFa07, 17XFa26, 17XFa29, 17XFa38, and 17XFa64, were selected based on their agronomic characteristics and combined through population crossing in 2018. The resulting breeding population, designated Fa 20ho, was evaluated in preliminary yield trials during 2020–2021, followed by regional adaptation trials at Cheonan, Pyeongchang, Jinju, and Jeju from 2021 to 2023. ‘Hugreen’ is a hexaploid cultivar characterized by dark-green leaves, a semi-erect growth habit, and short plant stature. The mean heading date was May 9, approximately six days later than that of the control cultivar ‘Fawn’. The mean plant height at heading was 52.2 cm, which was 21.1 cm shorter than that of ‘Fawn’. The mean dry matter yield across four locations over three years was 12,093 kg/ha, equivalent to 80% of that of ‘Fawn’ (15,072 kg/ha). In contrast, ‘Hugreen’ showed favorable forage quality, with crude protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and total digestible nutrients of 13.4, 76.9, 56.4, 28.3, and 66.6%, respectively. Seed analysis confirmed that ‘Hugreen’ was free from detectable endophyte infection. These results indicate that ‘Hugreen’ is a distinct short-statured tall fescue cultivar with favorable forage quality, making it potentially suitable for grazing and grassland establishment in Korea.

ABSTRACT
Ⅰ. INTRODUCTION
Ⅱ. MATERIALS AND METHODS
    1. Selection of superior lines and development of thesynthetic population
    2. Evaluation of agronomic characteristics of ‘Hugreen’
    3. Regional adaptability trials
    4. Analysis of forage nutritive value
    5. Detection of endophyte infection
    6. Statistical analysis
Ⅲ. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
    1. Agronomic characteristics of ‘Hugreen’
    2. Heading date and plant height
    3. Dry matter yield performance
    4. Forage nutritive value
    5. Endophyte status of ‘Hugreen’
Ⅳ. CONCLUSION
Ⅵ. REFERENCES

• Ki-Won Lee(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea) Corresponding author
• Chang-Woo Min(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea)
• Bo-Ram Choi(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea)
• Yowook Song(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea)
• Sang-Hoon Lee(Forages Production Systems Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan 31000, Republic of Korea)
• Do Hyung Kim(Department of Animal Science, Gyeongkuk National University, Gyeongbuk 36830, Republic of Korea)