Rye Grass

rye grass, short-lived perennial, leafy, tufted plant belonging to the family Gramineae (grass family). Two species are grown in the United States—Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), the leading hay grass of Europe, and English, or perennial, rye grass (L. perenne). In parts of the United States where winters are mild, both are sowed, often mixed with other grains, for pasturage. Italian rye grass is much used for lawns in warmer regions of the United States. Perennial rye grass was probably the first of all perennial grasses to be cultivated pure for forage. Poison rye grass, or darnel (L. temulentum), reputed to be poisonous, grows in grain fields and waste places; it is thought to be the tare of the Bible. Rye grass is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliatae, order Cyperales, family Gramineae.

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Rye Grass 

any one of two species of forage grasses of the genus Lolium.

The perennial, or English, rye grass (L. perenne) is a tufted winter grass that ranges in height from 15 to 70 cm. It has leafy culms, and its glabrous leaves are shiny on the underside. The inflorescence is a spike. The spikelets are many-flowered, with the edge turned toward the axis of the spike.

The perennial rye grass is distributed almost throughout Europe and in Asia Minor, Iran, India, and North America. In Great Britain it is the dominant plant of perennial pastures. The grass grows wild in meadows, in weedy places, and along fields. In the USSR it is distributed in the European portion (including the Caucasus), in Western Siberia, and in Middle Asia (on mountain meadows). The grass grows well on moderately moist loam and clay soils that are rich in humus.

The perennial rye grass is one of the best pasture and lawn plants. It grows well after grazing or mowing, and it is eaten by all types of livestock. One hundred kilograms of hay contain 48.2 feed units and 4 kg of digestible protein. The yield of hay is 50–70 quintals per hectare.

The Italian rye grass (L. multiflorum), an annual or biennial, is a leafy plant measuring 20 to 60 cm tall. In the USSR the annual variety—Westerwolds rye grass—is cultivated. This variety, which yields a large amount of forage material, is used as a green feed and hay in mixtures with oats and such leguminous herbs as vetch and field peas. It grows well on dried, decomposed peat, clay, and loam soils. The green mass and hay are eaten by all species of livestock. One hundred kilograms of hay contain 51 feed units and 4 kg of digestible protein.

REFERENCES

Kormovye rasteniia senokosov i pastbishch SSSR, vol. 1. Edited by I. V. Larin. Moscow-Leningrad, 1950.
Shishkin, A. I. “Odnoletnii raigras kak vysokotravianoe rastenie.” Doklady Msesoiuznoi ordena Lenina akademii sel’skokhoziaistvennykh nauk, 1967, no. 1.

N. K. TATARINOVA