Slender wheatgrass

Economic importance

In growth rate, slender wheatgrass is inferior to smooth brome but superior to timothy. It is characterized by poor leafiness and low aftermath regrowth.

It reaches hay maturity at the heading stage in mid-June. The hay is somewhat coarse but of adequate quality. Hay harvested at the tillering stage contains 10.6% protein; at the flowering stage, 9.6%. In digestible nutrient content, it is similar to smooth brome hay. In palatability, it is inferior to almost all grasses.

Pasture maturity, at a sward height of 15–20 cm, occurs at the tillering stage in late May. After grazing, regrowth is satisfactory. In pasture, it is readily grazed by livestock only until heading; after that it quickly becomes coarse.

In semi-arid conditions, it is used mainly in grass mixtures with alfalfa and sainfoin.

It is used mainly for mowing, less often for grazing animals.

100 kg of hay corresponds to 54 feed units and contains 4.5 kg of digestible protein.

The main disadvantage of using slender wheatgrass is the strong similarity in appearance of its seeds and plants to quackgrass. Therefore, its use in grass mixtures on field land can lead to fields being infested with quackgrass.

Cultivation areas

It is grown in the forest-steppe and steppe zones, except dry steppes, in the Far East, in Western and Eastern Siberia, and in the north of Rostov Oblast.

Yield

Hay yield is 3–5 t/ha, seed yield 200–600 kg/ha.

The seed yield obtained at the Karabalyk Agricultural Experimental Station from an area of 87 ha was 570 kg/ha.

Botanical description

Slender wheatgrass, or New England wildrye (Elymus trachycaulus Gould et Shinners), is a perennial (mid-season) late-maturing grass of the tall loose-tufted type.

The root system is fibrous, well developed, and penetrates the soil to a depth of more than 1 m.

Stems are erect, thin, 50–100 cm tall. Well leafed. The clump is dense, with numerous stems.

Leaves are narrow, long, light or dark green; as they grow, they become coarser and stiff.

The inflorescence is a loose spike, 10–20 cm long. Spikelets have 2–3 florets and are appressed to the rachis. Cross-pollinated.

Seeds are oblong-linear, straw-yellow; 1000-seed weight is 2.8–3 g.

Biological characteristics

Winter hardiness and drought resistance are high, somewhat inferior to smooth brome and crested wheatgrass. It is severely damaged by compacted ice crust, which leads to thinning of stands and plant loss.

It is undemanding to soils and can grow on any soils except wet waterlogged ones. Chernozem, chestnut, and gray forest soils are optimal.

Vegetation

In field and forage crop rotations, it is usually sown in mixture with sand sainfoin. Under a cover crop, it reaches full development in the second year of life.

When sown without a cover crop, it can flower and set seed in the year of sowing. It gives its highest productivity in the first two years of use. From the third year it begins to thin out; by the 4th–5th year it almost completely disappears from the stand.

Development type: winter–spring.

Sowing

In mixtures with alfalfa and sainfoin, it is sown under a cover crop of winter and spring cereal crops. Sowing slender wheatgrass under winter crops can be done in autumn or early spring; alfalfa and sainfoin only in spring. Under spring crops, the grass mixture is sown simultaneously with the cover crop using grain-grass seeders.

The seeding rate for solid-row sowing is 13–16 kg/ha; for wide-row sowing, 7–8 kg/ha. Sowing depth is 2–4 cm.

Crop care

Important care practices include harrowing and top dressing of the stand in spring and after mowing.

Harvesting

Hay harvesting begins at the heading stage.

Seed harvesting is carried out at full ripeness by direct combining.

Varieties

Kamalinsky 175.

Marusinsky 996.

Chitinsky local.

Pervomaysky.

Khutel.

Abakan (2000). The variety was developed by the RI of Agrarian Problems of Khakassia (Krasnoyarsk Krai).

Arshan (2000). Developed by the Buryat Research Institute of Agriculture.

The following species are also included in the State Register:

• quackgrass (variety Toybokhoysky);
• blue wildrye (Rostovsky 31, Stavropolsky 1);
• tall wheatgrass (Solonchakovy, Stavropolsky 10);
• Dahurian wildrye (Ingodinsky, Cherga).

References

1. Vavilov P. P., Gritsenko V. V., Kuznetsov V. S., et al. (1986). Crop Production. Edited by Vavilov P. P. 5th ed., revised and enlarged. Moscow: Agropromizdat.
2. Kolomeichenko V. V. (2007). Crop Production/Textbook. Moscow: Agrobiznescentr.
3. Niklyaev V. S. (2000). Fundamentals of Agricultural Production Technology. Agriculture and Crop Production. Moscow: Bylina.