Perennial ryegrass (perennial). Lawn grass ryegrass (or ryegrass) perennial ryegrass characteristics

Creating a decorative corner with a luxurious well-groomed lawn is an activity that requires effort, a lot of patience and time. Not every owner of the site can cope with such a task. You should choose the right kind of lawn grass, then there is every chance to get a beautiful outwardly and unpretentious lawn in care.

It is necessary to decide on the purpose of the lawn (what function it will perform) before proceeding with sowing. It can serve as a decorative element of a common garden plot, a green recreation area, act as a natural lawn or become a playground for active games.

Ryegrass perennial description for the lawn

Trampling-resistant perennial ryegrass, which is an integral part of lawn mixtures marked "sport", is suitable for creating any type of lawn. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Cereal family. It forms numerous short shoots covered with glossy deep green leaves.

  • Thanks to a well-developed root system, it grows quickly. Presentable appearance remains until late autumn.
  • It has a high regrowth rate after mowing.
  • High-quality herbage without renewal will delight for 4-6 years.
  • The most important advantage of lawn grass perennial perennial ryegrass is its resistance to trampling.
  • Perennial ryegrass has low resistance to flooding: it does not tolerate long-term stagnation of flood waters and close occurrence of groundwater.
  • Frost resistance is low: without shelter and snow cover, it tolerates frosts down to -18 ° C.

Perennial ryegrass (lat. Lolium perenne) has a number of names: perennial chaff, English or pasture ryegrass.

In the natural environment, it is distributed in Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, and is found in some regions of eastern Asia (up to western Siberia).

Planting lawn grass perennial perennial ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass is planted. In advance, they carefully cultivate the site from perennial weeds, plow and level the ground, remove all stones and large roots, allow the ground to settle, and compact the soil immediately before sowing. To obtain a beautiful lawn, the surface must be perfectly flat, and slope differences should not exceed 30 °, inclined surfaces are reinforced with a special mesh so that there is no slipping.

Start processing the site in advance. Apply potassium-phosphorus fertilizers before plowing in the fall, and feed the soil with nitrogen in early spring.

  • Sow perennial ryegrass in early spring - seeds germinate at an air temperature of 2-4 °C. If it is possible to carry out watering, perennial ryegrass can be sown until the end of summer.
  • The seeding depth is 2-3 cm.
  • It is enough just to evenly scatter the seeds on the surface of the earth and close up with a rake.
  • Depending on weather conditions, shoots will appear in 7-10 days.

With steady heat, water the lawn periodically so that the perennial ryegrass quickly grows and forms a dense, thick turf. You should have at least two mowings per season before preparing your lawn for wintering.

Perennial ryegrass seeding rate per 1 ha

Seeding rates for perennial perennial ryegrass vary depending on the type of mixture. If you sow ryegrass in its pure form, the consumption per 1 ha will be 12-14 kg. When sowing grass mixture - 8-10 kg.

Already in the first year of life, a thick coating will form. Mow with a lawn mower. Shoots grow again and again, covering the area with a fluffy carpet.

As for mixed grass, a mixed lawn looks attractive, but individual grasses can be more demanding than ryegrass.

Seed material is purchased at specialized points of sale. If you already have ryegrass growing, try harvesting the seeds yourself. To do this, leave part of the crops uncut to get flowering. Spikelets ripen in July - when they turn yellow, cut, dry and remove the seeds.

Site selection and soil for ryegrass

The plant does not tolerate dampness - lowlands and flooded areas are not suitable.

The composition of the soil is unpretentious. Grows best in nutritious, loamy, well-drained soils. Avoid soils with high acidity.

How to care for perennial perennial ryegrass grass

Basic care comes down to constant moderate watering. It categorically does not tolerate drought, and excessive moisture provokes rotting of the root system.

Be sure to fertilize the soil before sowing. During active growth, apply biocompost fertilizer.

Do not be afraid to mow and cut the ryegrass often - it recovers quickly even after strong mechanical stress.

Resistant to diseases and pests.

Ryegrass is resistant to many grass diseases. During the entire period of growth, the grass is very rarely sick.

Winter hardiness of lawn grass perennial ryegrass

Low temperatures adversely affect the plant. Ryegrass does not tolerate snowless winters; during severe frosts, up to 30% of vegetation can be lost. Young seedlings are sensitive to late spring frosts. In the spring, carefully inspect the lawn and, if necessary, fill in the gaps with overseeding.

Grows best in mild climates. Without snow cover, it will withstand temperatures down to -18 ° C, but with an impressive layer of snow, viability increases.

Perennial perennial ryegrass in landscape design

Being high-yielding, perennial ryegrass is perfect for creating a decorative lawn on the site, planted in the park area, used for landscaping sports fields.

In grass mixtures it goes well with alfalfa, pink clover, lollipop.

Against its background of a ryegrass lawn, such cereals as meadow bluegrass, fescue, and comb grass look appropriate.

plant benefits

Perennial ryegrass is cultivated in agriculture.

Grass begins to grow actively from April, and May is suitable for pastures. Due to the high stable yield and nutritional value of greens (not inferior to meadow fescue and timothy) it is used for feeding cattle, horses, sheep and goats.

Speaking in numbers, pasture ryegrass gives 400 centners of green mass from 1 ha of area. From the same area, 90-100 centners of hay are received per season.

The culture improves the structure of the soil (prevents erosion), increases its fertility.

Varieties of lawn grass perennial ryegrass

Many artificial surfaces have been created for sports fields, but still natural grassy is highly valued. Lawns for recreation and sports are sown with a monoculture or a mixture of grasses.

Such ryegrass as Greenfield van, Henrietta, Roadrunner are most often included in grass mixtures marked "Sport".

Frost-resistant varieties of perennial ryegrass of domestic selection:

  • Leningradsky (bushes with upright shoots, light green leaves, recommended for cultivation in the North-West region);
  • Phoenix (in the first year of growth, creeping shoots, grows well in the conditions of the Central and North-West region);
  • Cinderella (the variety is highly resistant to frost and drought, but grows back rather slowly after mowing);
  • Voronezh (after mowing or cutting, it recovers quickly).

ryegrass cultivation

ryegrass(chaff) - one of the main components of grass mixtures in the laying of perennial and short-term fodder lands.

In meadows of lowlands in the forest-steppe, steppe and mountainous regions, cereal grasses dominate, which make up 60-70% of the total herbage. Perennial grasses have a high fodder value and produce high yields of hay and pasture fodder. Among them, chaff (ryegrass), a perennial and many-flowered crop, is of great interest.
One of the most common grassland grasses in cultivated pastures is perennial ryegrass (or perennial ryegrass English ryegrass). Against other such crops, it develops rapidly and already in the year of sowing forms a good sod with many vegetative and generative shoots. Due to its high yield and nutritional value, ryegrass quickly spread throughout the European continent. It is one of the main components of grass mixtures in the establishment of perennial and short-term pastures.
The high leafiness of perennial ryegrass gives good fodder productivity. 100 kg of hay contains 55.2 k.u. and 4.4 kg of digestible protein. In 1 kg of dry matter there are 7.9 g of calcium, and this cereal is 2-3 times higher than other types of herbs in terms of sodium content. The leaves of vegetative shoots contain a large amount of sucrose, much more than the leaves of generative ones.
Ryegrass (chaff) multi-flowered is an unpretentious fodder crop that is usually grown in the same field as, or legumes. This is done in order to reduce the cost of buying seeds, as well as to prepare a plentiful and high-quality hay crop. The advantage of the plant is that young shoots germinate in early spring, when the soil temperature barely reaches 1 ° C, which is very important for the northern regions with short summers. Frost-resistant varieties contain a large amount of nutrients, increasing their nutritional value in animal husbandry. The economic benefits of growing grass are achieved through abundant seedlings, the ability to carry out several slopes per season and the endurance of the shoots even in the most adverse weather conditions.


Technology nuances
Ryegrass in the generative phase is very sensitive to environmental factors, especially heat, moisture and light. Therefore, the best predecessors for ryegrass are winter cereals, spring cereals and row crops.
The main tillage is carried out according to the semi-fallow type. On littered areas, continuous action should be applied along the vegetative ones. Ryegrass requires quality soil preparation before sowing. In the pre-sowing tillage system, moisture is closed, the soil surface is necessarily leveled and compacted. This creates a finely cloddy soil structure and helps to retain moisture and create a compacted layer at the seeding depth, which is an important condition for obtaining friendly seedlings. To do this, use combined units that perform all soil preparation operations in one pass.
Under the main treatment, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are applied at a dose of 45-60 kg of active ingredient. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied fractionally in the spring, depending on the purpose of cultivation: for green mass - N 60 during the growing season; N 30 - when trumpeting and N 15 - during flowering; for seeds - N 60 during the restoration of vegetation and N 30 - during piping.
Before sowing, the seeds are treated with a drug with the active ingredient Benomyl (500 g/kg) to protect against diseases and improve germination energy. Sowing is carried out in spring - mainly under the cover of vetch - oatmeal and other mixtures for green fodder or in summer. For spring crops, ryegrass is sown at the same time or no later than 7 days after sowing the cover crop. The seeding rate of the cover crop is reduced by 25%. Summer sowing is carried out from mid-June to mid-August, for example, until September 1. It is sown with precision seeders, vegetable seeders and grass grains are also used.
For growing ryegrass for seeds in conditions of sufficient moisture, the optimal seeding rate is 14 kg/ha. The best sowing method is inter-row, with row-spacings 30 cm wide.
To grow ryegrass for green mass, one should follow the row sowing method with a row spacing of 15 cm and a seeding rate of 16-18 kg/ha. For laying pastures - up to 20 kg/ha.
Crop care provides for a set of measures to protect against weeds, pests, diseases and the creation of optimal water-air and nutritional regimes for ryegrass. In the first year of vegetation, care consists in spraying the cover crop against weeds with the recommended preparations during its tillering phase, as well as in the timely collection of the cover crop and its nutrient residues. After harvesting the cover crop, for a good overwintering of grass crops, they must be fed in the fall with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers at the rate of P 45 K 45 a.i.
To control weeds on ryegrass seed plants, herbicides approved for cereals are used.
Ryegrass seeds are harvested from the first cut mainly by direct combining, with a threshing drum rotation frequency of 150-800 rpm. -8 years.



Collection and density of herbage

The yield and especially the nutritional value of the feed largely depend on the timely mowing and harvesting of perennial grasses. The decrease in the protein content in plants is due to the fact that in the process of aging, intensive formation of fiber occurs in them. And although in cereal grasses the decrease in protein content in the phases of plant development is not as intense as in legumes, they also need to be collected on time.
For animal husbandry, the organization of a long period of receipt of green mass and feeding it to animals in the summer is essential. An important indicator in grass sowing is its density, since the yield of green mass depends mainly on the density and height of the herbage.
The herbage density is determined, first of all, by the intensity of shoot formation, due to which plants form a more developed root system and more fully use soil nutrients, accumulate vegetative mass. The nature of the influence of species in agrocenoses also depends on the density of herbage.
Two periods of intensive formation of shoots have been established: spring - after the resumption of vegetation, and summer-autumn - from the second half of summer to the end of the growing season. For most species, the summer-autumn formation of pagons is of the greatest importance. The absence of intensive formation of pagons in the phase of heading and flowering of cereal perennial grasses is explained by the fact that the formation of generative shoots occurs with a large expenditure of energy resources, nitrogen and other elements of mineral nutrition.
The green mass of cereals is collected during the earing period, but not later than their flowering, since later the cereal tubes coarsen, the protein content in them decreases and the nutritional value decreases. Determining the effective harvesting time, the logical features of the plants should also be taken into account. Not all types and varieties of grasses form high yields in the second and subsequent slopes. Therefore, with early mowing in the first slope, a significant amount of forage can be missed. You should choose a mowing period that, in addition to a high yield of vegetative mass, would ensure the maximum collection of feed units and digestible protein per unit area.
When growing ryegrass for seed, it should be remembered that during ripening it crumbles easily, so this process must be constantly monitored. If, after squeezing the panicle, there are ripe seeds in the palm of your hand, it's time to harvest.


Post-harvest seed treatment
The heap coming from the harvester must be immediately cleaned on wind machines. After that, drying is carried out in the sun or in floor dryers. Shaft and drum dryers are of little use, as the seeds form lumps and can catch fire. Drying mode: 30 min. blown with unheated air, then for one hour - heated to 40 ° C. So on duty several times, and bring to 14% humidity.
The final cleaning of the seeds is carried out on the machines "Pektus-Gigant (K-531)", "Pektus-selectra (K-218)". Seeds are stored in bags.

In order for the lawn to be of high quality and to be hardy, a combination of ryegrass (or ryegrass), bluegrass and fescue grasses is used.

What is ryegrass?

Ryegrass is a semi-upper, pasture, loose-grass cereal. In the first year after planting the seeds, a beautiful, dense lawn is formed. The root system of the cereal is quite powerful, highly branched, quickly penetrates the soil and forms a good turf. Grass stems are articulated ascending or erect, in the lower part it has a sufficient number of leaves. Ryegrass is beneficial in that it forms numerous shoots with abundant foliage. Most of the leaves are located on vegetative shoots at a height of 10-18 cm from the ground, which is very beneficial for creating a lawn.

The leaves of ryegrass are dark green in color, shiny, bright, their length is 8-17 cm, and their width is 1-5 mm, the plant blooms in June. After a month, the seeds can be collected for subsequent planting. The main advantage of ryegrass is the ability to form a thick, beautiful cover 1-1.5 months after planting the seeds. After mowing, the grass grows quickly and retains its attractive appearance until late autumn, so the cover turns green under the snow.

Ryegrass grows both in sunny areas and in moderate shade, tolerates soil compaction and trampling. Since its root system is quite powerful, it quickly recovers and grows back after mechanical damage. However, this plant is sensitive to early frost and late frost in spring. If there is little snow in winter, it can also freeze slightly, as a result, bald spots appear on the lawn. The average lifespan of lawn grass is 5 years. Due to the fact that ryegrass develops very quickly in the first year of life, it is considered one of the best lawn grasses after bluegrass, fescue. However, in terms of sod strength, ryegrass is ahead of Fescue and bluegrass, so many people try with the addition of all these herbs.

Where and how is ryegrass used?

Ryegrass has proven itself to be the best for lawns, both in garden plots and large areas, especially for sports fields, these are tennis courts, football, volleyball fields and golf courses. In the world of sports, natural green surfaces are especially valued, as they have a lot of advantages over artificial ones. Usually for sports fields and lawns for recreation, a mixture of lawn grasses or monocultures is sown. Ryegrass is included in many grass mixtures that are labeled as "sport". The seed content of this herb is 20-60% in such mixtures:

  • Grass fix - 60%.
  • Scanshine - 30%;
  • Grass fix - 60%;
  • Sports - 45%;
  • Golf master - 20%;

Domestic selection of herbs is also widely used, for example:

  • Phoenix, grows well in the Central and North-West region of Russia, in the first year after planting forms lush semi-spreading bushes;
  • Grade Leningradsky, suitable for the North-West region, the leaf of grass is light green, the bush itself is semi-erect;
  • Voronezh, resistant to mowing and shearing, forms a large number of shoots;
  • Cinderella, characterized by low bushes, excellent frost resistance, hardy to drought, grows back slowly after mowing.

If it is with the addition of ryegrass, then it is suitable for all areas of the country. In case of freezing, it can be sown in the spring.

Meadow grass meadow as landscaping

One of the criteria by which one or another type of lawn grass can be evaluated is trampling, this is especially important for sports and decorative lawns, and it has a high degree of trampling. Regarding the density of its cover, it depends on the type of soil. For example, on loose soil, bluegrass is very dense and strong.

Further advantages of this lawn grass are resistance to freezing and drought, and also tolerates a high content of melt water. In lawns, bluegrass is grown along with fescue, as it gets along well with other varieties of cereals. If it is necessary to plant greenery on the slope, then bluegrass can be used with ryegrass, such a mixture of herbs grows in any conditions, with the exception of stagnant water. Such mixtures are suitable for ennobling lawns, sports grounds, meadows, parterres, summer cottages. The fastest way to landscaping a site is from ryegrass and bluegrass with the right proportion. To create the perfect cover on the site, it is enough to spread the rolls. However, before that, it is necessary to prepare the soil, that is, remove the top layer from it, fertilize and water well.

Why is it worth buying a lawn from Gorgazon?

The Gorgazon company has been working in the field of natural gardening of sites of any complexity for many years. Her products are of high quality and always in stock. And low, and delivery is fast and free. The company offers a lawn of 100% bluegrass, which is suitable for all regions of Russia. The company's specialists advise each client on all issues of interest, so each buyer will find a solution to their problems. In the Gorgazon company, you can purchase ready-made lawn rolls, and if necessary, order their laying, which is performed at a professional level.

perennial ryegrass(perennial chaff) (Lolium perenne) - perennial, fast-growing, semi-top, loose-grass with numerous short above-ground shoots and many leaves, concentrated mainly in the lower part of the stem.

Needs irrigation in dry years

Shoots appear on the 5-13th day, depending on the time of sowing and the climatic zone.
In the 1st year of life, shortly after spring sowing, as a rule, it forms a continuous and dense grass cover. However, already in the 2nd year or in the 3rd year, the herbage thins out, the shoots of perennial ryegrass are distributed over the soil surface only in the form of individual rosettes.

Forms a fragile, brittle turf.

In the spring it starts growing early - in Moscow in the 3rd decade of April. With autumn crops for the next year, all phases of development go through. The study of the processes of shoot formation showed that under the conditions of Moscow, this plant intensively forms new shoots only in the 1st year of vegetation, mainly in spring. From the 2nd year of vegetation, the processes of dying off shoots increase significantly. In tillering shoots of higher orders, a decrease in the intensity of vegetative renewal is sharply expressed.

Winter hardiness of perennial ryegrass is low. Ryegrass does not tolerate late autumn frosts and spring frosts with ice crust formation.

In Moscow, in the first winter, perennial ryegrass freezes out by more than half, and in some years up to 90%.

The source of information:
(Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Council of Botanical Gardens of the USSR. Main Botanical Garden. LAWNS. Publishing house "Nauka", Moscow, 1977)

perennial ryegrass highly valued. Grows well even with frequent mowing, grows back quickly, but requires abundant fertilization. When sown in grass mixtures with slow-growing grasses such as bluegrass, it suppresses them.

The resistance of ryegrass to trampling is average. Shading does not tolerate well. Under these conditions, shoot formation almost stops, generative shoots are practically absent.

To create a decorative corner with a beautiful and well-groomed lawn, you will have to spend a lot of energy, patience and time. Not every owner of a plot of land is able to cope with such a task. In order to look beautiful on the outside and at the same time be undemanding in care, you need to choose the right kind of lawn grass.

Before you start sowing a lawn, you should decide on its purpose and what function it will carry in the future. It can be just a decorative element of a common garden area, a green area for relaxation, a natural lawn or a playground for active games.

For all types of lawns, a variety of lawn grass is well suited - perennial ryegrass. It develops short shoots with bright green foliage that forms a dense grass cover. From the seeds of this unique variety, a low, uniform herbage of a beautiful and quite presentable appearance is obtained.

Caring for perennial ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass from the cereal family, it is also known as English ryegrass or pasture ryegrass. It is considered a valuable variety, as it creates a dense growth and retains a lively appearance until late autumn. The herbage in good condition is preserved for 5-7 years.

Ryegrass is an amazing plant that has a high vitality. It grows on any soil, except for very wet. The main care of the plant is reduced to watering in the dry summer-autumn period. Ryegrass does not tolerate drought at all, but excessive moisture also affects grass growth negatively. The roots begin to rot and the plants die.

Feed ryegrass only during planting. It does not require additional feeding, but responds well to biocompost feeding during intensive growth.

Ryegrass prefers a mild climate, but can grow at a temperature of 16-18 degrees below zero without snow cover. In the presence of an impressive layer of snow, it can painlessly endure even lower temperatures.

Perennial ryegrass can be trimmed and mowed frequently. Thanks to a powerful root formation system, it quickly recovers, even after strong mechanical stress.

Ryegrass seeds can be harvested by yourself. For this, part of the crops is left uncut, and in July, when they ripen, the spikelets are cut and the seeds are harvested.

What is the purpose of growing ryegrass?

Perennial ryegrass is a high-yielding crop and therefore is used not only for creating decorative lawns, decorating park areas and sports grounds, but also for cultivation in agriculture.

Due to its nutritional value and the formation of stable high yields, ryegrass is used as a fodder cereal for pastures. It is widely used for feeding cattle, goats, sheep and horses.

Ryegrass is one of the important components of grass mixtures; it goes well with red and pink clover, alfalfa, horned bird and other perennial cereal crops.

In early spring, in April, the grass begins to grow actively, and in May it is already suitable for grazing. Ryegrass forms multi-cut herbage, which makes it possible to provide farms with green raw materials.

Under favorable conditions, ryegrass forms a good sod and can grow in one place for several years. In terms of its nutritional properties, it is not inferior to timothy grass and meadow fescue, and therefore it perfectly improves the structure and fertility of the soil.

Perennial ryegrass is the best option for getting a dense herbage and decorating a personal plot. Everyone can create a green "paradise" corner in their garden by sowing perennial ryegrass grass. But you need to be patient so that a chic softly creeping “carpet” of ornamental grass turns out from a simple plot of land.