4 LEAFLET 19 6, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The main use for perennial ryegrass in this country is for permanent 

 pasture seedings. It starts quickly and furnishes early grazing while 

 other longer lived grasses are becoming established. The hot, dry 

 weather of July and August affects the growth; and if the drought 

 continues very long into September, the recovery is slow. 



Common Ryegrass 2 



Domestic ryegrass, Oregon ryegrass, western ryegrass, 3 native 

 ryegrass, and Pacific ryegrass are names used to designate com- 

 mon ryegrass seed grown in the United States. Seed sold as pure 

 Italian ryegrass may be just that, but more often it is a mixture with 

 common ryegrass predominating. 



Common ryegrass is also often referred to as the South American 

 type of Italian ryegrass. In its conglomerate make-up, numerous 

 types are present and the type prevailing in South American seed 

 sometimes appears in varying amounts. There are many intermedi- 

 ate types resulting mostly from field crossing. 



Common ryegrass is rapidly increasing in importance as a forage, 

 lawn, and seed crop in the United States. In plant and seed charac- 

 teristics it resembles Italian ryegrass very closely, although usually 

 it does not grow so tall, the stems are somewhat stiffer and heavier, 

 and the seeds are more hispid and plump with shorter and weaker 

 awns. 



Common ryegrass grows from 2 to 3 feet tall, is leafy and tender, 

 and when used as pasturage is very palatable to all classes of live- 

 stock. Since it furnishes early grazing and acts as a nurse crop to the 

 more permanent grasses that are generally slow in becoming estab- 

 lished, it makes an excellent addition to a permanent pasture mixture. 



It also gives very good fall, winter, and early spring grazing when 

 seeded alone. It is a heavy yielder and when properly handled gives 

 a high grade of very palatable hay. 



For lawns and putting greens in the Southern States it is very 

 satisfactory, producing a rapid growth from seeding and making 

 possible green lawns during periods when the southern permanent 

 grasses are dormant or are frosted and brown. Used in this manner, 

 it generally dies out in late spring or early summer as the permanent 

 lawn grasses become vigorous. 



Climatic and Soil Adaptations 



Ryegrasses are not so winter-hardy as many other grasses, including 

 timothy and orchard grass, and in the United States they are grown 

 principally in the Pacific Coast States west of the Sierra Nevada and 

 Cascade Mountains and in the southern humid States, although in 

 many cases they are used much farther north. They are grown to 

 some extent east of the Cascade Mountains in the Northwest, where 

 ample moisture is available, and in other sections in the United 

 States where climatic conditions are not too severe. 



2 In this publication the term "common ryegrass" is used to designate domestically grown ryegrass, 

 usually a mechanical or genetic mixture of Italian ryegrass and perennial ryegrass. 



3 This term is also commonly used in Minnesota and the Dakotas, as well as in Canada, to designate 

 slender wheatgrass {Agropyron pauciflorum (Schwein.) Hitch.) 



