Timothy grass seeds

Timothy-grass, meadow cat's-tail or common cat's tail / Phleum pratense - a perennial loose-bunch grass. The root system is fibrous. The stems are hollow, cylindrical, erect, geniculate-curved at the bottom. Their height is 100 cm or more. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped panicle of cylindrical or conical shape. The fruit is a grain.

Timothy grass - It is most widespread compared to other cereal grasses. It is grown in pure form and in a mixture with legumes. In field crop rotations, timothy grass mixed with clover is used for up to 3 years, and in meadow-pasture crop rotations - 5-6 years.

The seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 1 - 2 ° C. The beginning of the growing season in spring coincides with the date of transition of the average daily temperature through 5 ° C. The optimal temperature for growth and development is 18 - 19 ° C.

Timothy grass has high winter hardiness, grows well on all types of soils of any acidity, but does not tolerate prolonged drought and high temperatures. Timothy grass is common in the forest-steppe and non-chernozem zones. Timothy grass mixtures with legumes leave a lot of organic matter in the soil, improve the soil structure and are the best predecessors for flax and grain crops.

Agricultural technology of timothy grass. Timothy grass is sown under the cover of winter or spring grain crops. In the first case, it is sown together with a cover crop in the fall. Timothy grass is sown under spring crops. The best is row sowing with grain-grass seeders, and for seeds - wide-row sowing.

Soil cultivation and fertilization are carried out taking into account the cover crop and predecessor. Usually 2 sq. m of organic fertilizers, phosphorus and potassium are applied at 3-5 grams of active substance per 1 m2. Spring and post-cut top dressings are also used. Timothy seeding rate per 1 m2: 5 grams for wide-row sowing, and 10 grams for continuous row sowing. In a mixture with clover, 5 grams are sown per 1 m2. The seeding depth is 1-2 cm. The soil is rolled before sowing.

The best time to harvest a mixture of clover and timothy for hay is the phase of clover budding and the ejection of timothy panicles. Seeds are obtained on grass stands of the second year of use.