Athos Orchardgrass

Product Description

ATHOS is one of the latest maturing varieties available on the market, with a heading date that is usually one week later than Pennlate. Most of the late maturing orchardgrasses originate in Europe, and Athos is no exception. Although this variety is new to the US, it has performed well in Europe. Athos ranked number one in yield in the official NIAB forage grazing trials in the UK. In addition to high yield, Athos is noted for having good fall growth, which translates to an even yield distribution over the entire growing season. Athos is noted for its exceptionally good disease resistance.

• Late heading
• Good drought tolerance
• Excellent yields
• Very dense
• Excellent in grazing trials
• Good fall growth
• Good disease resistance
• Good winterhardiness

Orchardgrass

Athos Orchardgrass is a perennial, cool-season bunchgrass best suited for fertile, light to medium soils with good drainage. It can persist on moderately poor drained soils. Athos Orchardgrass has good winterhardiness, tolerance to shade and moderate tolerance to drought. It is an excellent choice for pasture, hay, greenchop or silage and is well adapted to grow with legumes such as clover and alfalfa. There is typically a 10 to 20 day spread in heading date between early and late maturing varieties. Use a later heading variety as a companion to alfalfa.

Establishment

Athos Orchardgrass can be planted either in early spring or late summer depending on area of country being grown. Athos Orchardgrass is suited for light to medium soils with good drainage. Seeding depth is generally .25 to .50 inches in a firm seed bed. Rolling or using a cultipacker after seeding ensures even germination and emergence.

Management

Athos Orchardgrass is very responsive to fertilizer and aftermath production can be excellent with proper fertility and split N applications. For optimum 1st harvest yield and quality, athos orchardgrass should be harvested in early-mid boot stage at a cutting height of 3 to 4 inches so it can recover quickly and persistence can be maintained. For grazing, excellent grazing management is required to maintain  persistence and productivity. Graze to 3 to 4 inches and rest 28 days in between rotations.

Certified Organic Athos Orchardgrass Seed Available Here!

Athos Tech Sheet