UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

 DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 44, 



Contxibution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 



(Forage-Crop Investigations). 



WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief. 



ITALIAN RYE-GRASS (Lolium multiflorum). 



Few grasses have been more exploited than Italian rye-grass. It 

 is closely related to perennial rye-grass and much resembles it in 

 general appearance. It grows to a height of from IJ to 3 feet. In 

 the moist climate of England it has been very popular as a hay plant 

 and is said to yield four to eight cuttings there when watered with 

 liquid manure. The under surface of the long, narrow leaves has a 

 bright, glossy color, which makes it an attractive lawn grass. Ital- 

 ian rye-grass is an annual plant; yet it sometimes lives more than 

 one year, though seldom more than two 3^ears. 



VALUE. 



The chief value of Italian rye-grass is for an annual hay "crop, for 

 temporary lawns, and for winter grazing in the South. The seed 

 usually germinates well, and the grass makes a vigorous growth. 

 This is one of the few^ grasses that will produce a crop of hay the 

 same season it is sown. It is especially useful to produce a turf 

 quickly and often forms a prominent part of lawn mixtures. Italian 

 rye-grass is more drought resistant than perermial rye-grass and has 

 been used to some extent under dry-land conditions, especially in 

 California. 



USES. 



This grass is used to some extent in the South to produce winter 

 grazing on Bermuda-grass sod. As an annual hay plant it does not 

 yield the quantity that millet or Sudan grass will produce and so is 

 not commonly grown for hay. It is an excellent grass to include in 

 mixtures for both pastures and lawns. The rye-grass will make an 

 early growth and then give way to the slower growing perennials. 

 The increased yield the first season will usually more than pay for 

 the extra expense of seeding. If seeded early in the fall in the 

 South Atlantic States it will produce a crop of hay the following 

 spring in time to allow the seeding of a crop of soy beans or cowpeas 

 on the same land. 



120371°-19 



