Among the most common cereal crops growing in the territory
Russia, everybody knows from childhood the bushy grass, popularly called "arzhanets", "seedling", "sivuha" or "stick." This is nothing but the grass of the bluegrass family - timothy grass meadow.
Plant description
Timothy stalk grows in height from 25 centimeters to one and a half meters. It is cylindrical, hollow, erect, with rough to the touch, elongated, pointed at the ends, leaf blades of green or gray-green color. The root system is creeping, with short rhizomes. Timothy grass meadow, the photographs of which are presented in the article, has an inflorescence in the form of a complex spike (sultan), which is very similar to a foxtail inflorescence, but more stringent. There are no bristles on it, and anthers, in contrast to yellow foxtail anthers, are purple. Timothy grass meadow is pollinated crosswise, using the wind for this. At the base of the shoot, the plant has another distinguishing feature - bulbs in the form of bulbs. Timothy grass meadow in early summer. The seeds, having crumbled, quickly germinate again, forming a lush carpet under the feet, which is resistant to trampling and retains its green color throughout the summer period and even after the onset of winter cold.
origin of name
Timofeevka meadow spread throughout the non-chernozem territory of Russia. Its use as a cultivated plant sown on burnt plots is described in documents of the Vologda province dated to the end of the XVII-beginning of the XVIII century. Peasants noted the unique features of this cereal plant, which does not require special care; easy harvesting of seeds stored for long periods in inflorescences; love for timothy cattle, which eats not only fresh grass, but also hay harvested for the winter. Thanks to its agro-cultural properties, this cereal became widespread in other territories, and was also exported to another continent. According to one version, an enterprising American farmer Timothy Hanson exported the seeds of this plant to America, where it was also widely used as a feed crop. Advocating its distribution, he achieved commercial success and began to officially import seeds to Europe. Thus, it again returned to the territory of its original growth, but under a new name - Timothy grass, or meadow timothy grass, perpetuating the name of the American.
Landing and care
Timothy grass meadow is a haying plant. It is durable, can grow in one place up to 10 years. Seeds germinate already at a temperature of 1-2 degrees Celsius, and at +5 the first germinated seedlings appear. Timothy grass does not tolerate drought - it is a moisture-loving plant that can survive even flooding. Given that this cereal does not withstand shading well, it is better to plant it on plants whose active growth period is shorter. So, timothy goes along well with legumes and clover.
