Timothy grass

Economic importance

Timothy grass (Phleum pratense) is one of the widespread species of grasses in Russia. It can be cultivated in pure stands (rarely) or in grass mixtures, in particular with meadow clover, in field or forage crop rotations.

In field crop rotations, in mixture with clover, timothy is usually used for 2–3 years; in hay-pasture rotations, for 5–6 years. It is readily eaten by animals in hay and on pasture. Aftermath regrowth is weak compared with other pasture crops.

100 kg of timothy hay harvested during flowering contains 40.5 feed units and 3.1–4.1 kg of digestible protein. 100 kg of fresh grass — 28.8 feed units and 1.7 kg of digestible protein.

History of cultivation

It was first introduced into cultivation in Vologda Governorate at the end of the 17th – beginning of the 18th centuries (possibly earlier).

Cultivation areas

Timothy grass is widely cultivated in field and meadow grass sowing in the Non-Chernozem zone and the north of the Forest-Steppe zone, as well as in the Far North and North Caucasus.

Yield

Yields of grass mixtures are usually higher than those of pure stands. For example, the yield of a mixture of timothy grass and red clover averaged over two years was 20% higher than that of a pure stand of clover (VNII of Feeds).

Depending on soil and climatic conditions, hay yield varies from 3 to 8 t/ha, and seed yield from 300 to 800 kg/ha.

The hay yield of a clover-timothy mixture under favorable cultivation conditions reaches 3.5–5 t/ha.

Botanical description

The genus Phleum includes 11 species. In production, timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) is used — a perennial (mid-season) loose-tufted plant.

The root system is fibrous, located mainly in the upper soil layers, and penetrates to a depth of 70–90 cm.

Stems are hollow, cylindrical, erect, well-leafed, in the lower part geniculate-curved, 60–130 cm high. They form a powerful bush.

Leaves are linear or lanceolate, from light green to dark green.

The inflorescence is a spike-like panicle, or false spike (sultan), cylindrical or cone-shaped, up to 10–20 cm long. Flowers are small.

Seeds are small caryopses, round-oval, dull-shiny in husks, and yellow-brown without husks. The weight of 1000 seeds is 0.3–0.5 g.

Biological features

Plant nutrition

With high hay or seed yields, timothy grass consumes large amounts of nutrients from the soil, primarily nitrogen and potassium. For the formation of 1 t of hay, 13–14 kg N, 6–8 kg P₂O₅, and 19–20 kg K₂O are removed from the soil. For the formation of 100 kg of seeds in seed culture and the corresponding amount of aboveground mass, 22.7 kg N, 6.3 kg P₂O₅, and 25.6 kg K₂O are removed from the soil.

Maximum nutrient uptake occurs during tillering and stem elongation.

Vegetation

In the first year of life, timothy grass develops slowly and reaches full development in the 2nd–3rd year. It produces the highest hay and seed yields from the 3rd year. It persists in stands for 3–4 years, and under favorable conditions for 6–8 years.

When grown for hay, it produces 2 cuts; on pasture it can provide 3–4 grazings, but is quickly displaced by other, more pasture-tolerant grasses.

It is characterized by intensive initial tillering, which decreases with age.

Each timothy bush (plant) has three types of shoots:

• shortened vegetative shoots, consisting of a bunch of leaves;
• elongated vegetative shoots, having developed stems without inflorescences;
• generative shoots, including a stem and inflorescences.

At the base of developed shoots there are bulb-like thickenings that serve as reservoirs of reserve nutrients. The number of shoots in one bush varies from 6 to 280.

Tillering of timothy grass begins in spring and continues in the summer-autumn period. Shoots die after passing through the generative phase; thus, one shoot usually lives for one year. Therefore, with long-term use of timothy grass, it is mowed no lower than 4 cm from the soil surface so that the remaining vegetative shoots of the lower tier grow well and produce a full bush the following year.

The development type is spring or winter-spring.

Crop rotation

In field husbandry, timothy grass is usually sown in mixture with red clover, alfalfa, or other perennial legumes. In pure form, it is sown for seed purposes; in this case, the stands are placed in special crop rotations after root crops or potatoes fertilized with manure.

In crop rotation, it serves as a good predecessor for flax, spring and winter wheat, and other grain crops.

Fertilizer

To reduce weediness of the timothy grass stand, manure is applied under the preceding crop at 30–40 t/ha.

This crop responds well to the application of nitrogen fertilizers and increased rates of liquid manure.

The seed yield of timothy grass without manure averaged over 3 years was 209 kg/ha, whereas with the application of 40 t/ha of manure it was 1082 kg/ha, and with the application of 90 kg/ha of nitrogen — 520 kg/ha (VNII of Feeds). Recommended rates of fertilizer application on seed stands: N_45-60P_30-45.

When sowing a grass mixture under the cover of winter grain crops, 20–30 t/ha of organic fertilizers and P_30-45K_30-45 are applied. The same fertilizer rates are used when sowing in mixture with clover under the cover of spring grain crops or annual grasses.

Soil tillage

Soil tillage corresponds to tillage for the cover crop.

Soil tillage when sowing timothy grass in pure form for seed should ensure good soil preparation, a loose structure of the arable layer, leveling of the surface, and freedom of the stands from weeds. These requirements are due to the very small seeds of timothy and the slow development of plants at the beginning of growth in the first year of life. For this purpose, in autumn stubble disking and plowing are carried out. In early spring, harrowing, cultivation, and leveling of the soil surface with a special implement are carried out, after which timothy is sown under the cover of spring grain crops. Summer coverless sowings of seed stands of grass crops are also used. In this case, pre-sowing rolling is carried out.

Sowing

Mixtures of timothy with clover are usually sown in spring under the cover of annual grasses or grain crops. Under winter crops, timothy is undersown in autumn simultaneously with the cover crop, and clover in spring over winter crops. Under spring crops, clover and timothy are sown simultaneously with the cover crop, usually by inter-row sowing with grain-grass seeders.

The seeding rate in double grass mixtures is 6–8 kg/ha, in triple and in mixture with clover — 4–6 kg/ha. Seed placement depth is 1–2 cm.

When growing timothy for seed purposes, wide-row sowing is used. The seed sowing rate is 4–5 kg/ha. The usual row method with a seeding rate of 8–10 kg/ha may also be used.

Crop care

After sowing, rolling the soil is recommended.

Seed stands of timothy grass are very sensitive to weed infestation, especially in the first 1.5–2 months after sowing. On wide-row and coverless sowings, the first inter-row cultivation is carried out after emergence to a shallow depth, when rows become visible. The second cultivation is carried out when new weed seedlings appear. If necessary, a third inter-row cultivation is done. For inter-row cultivations, the same machines are used as for row crops.

In years of using the stand for seed purposes, fertilizers are applied in spring, after which harrowing in two passes is carried out. Herbicides may be used against weeds, for example, 2,4-D butyl ester at a rate of 0.4–0.8 kg/ha when 2–3 leaves appear and before stem elongation.

Harvesting

The optimal time for harvesting a mixture of clover and timothy is the budding of clover and heading of timothy.

Timothy grass for seed is harvested at full ripeness by direct combining or at wax ripeness by separate harvesting. Grass seeds harvested by combine often contain a large number of weed seeds and have increased moisture. Therefore, the combine heap is spread in a thin layer on the threshing floor and periodically mixed. Drying units may also be used. After drying, the seeds are cleaned on sorting machines and placed in storage. Moisture content should be no more than 15%.

Varieties

Moskovskaya 5. The variety is distinguished by high winter hardiness and tillering. Mid-season. Resistant to lodging. Zoned in some regions of the Central Chernozem zone and Chuvashia.

Marusinskaya 297. Winter-hardy variety, capable of withstanding prolonged spring flooding, resistant to lodging. Mid-season.

Belorusskaya 1308. Winter-hardy, resistant to temporary excessive moisture in spring. Mid-season. Zoned in Belarus.

Zyryanovskaya 297.

Yaroslavskaya 11.

Kazanskaya.

Leningradskaya 204 (1949).

Kamalinskaya 96 (1957).

VIK 9 (1973).

Vita 1 (1995).

Karabikha (1997). Developed by the Penza Research Institute of Agriculture.

Utro (2000). Developed by the Narym Breeding Station.

Vega (2001, Denmark).

Tuukka (2001, Finland).

References

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