Campfire grass – herbaceous plants for open ground
The fire grass is a perennial cereal that is a forage crop. It is used fresh in agriculture and for making hay.
Area of distribution of herbaceous plants for open ground bonfire – countries of Europe and Asia. It is found everywhere throughout Russia. It grows in meadows like a wild plant, but in some farms it is sown together with fodder crops for forage. In nature, a bonfire forms sod that tightly covers the topsoil.
Campfire grass is used for harvesting for forage
The herb has the following characteristics:
- The leafy stem reaches 100 cm in height at high humidity.
- The top of the stem forms a large panicle-spikelet, up to 35 cm in length.
- It is dark green in summer and pale green in spring and autumn.
- Up to 10 flowers bloom in a spikelet, forming seeds after flowering.
In its structure and method of distribution, the fire is similar to wheatgrass. These herbs often coexist with each other in natural conditions.
It is used in agriculture due to a number of advantages over other crops. The plant is frost and drought resistant. It does not die under the flood and withstands several mowing over the summer.
Growing grass fire for fodder
The plant thrives on all types of soil, except for saline soils. A strong root system allows you to survive a drought for several years.
For the successful cultivation of grass, a number of conditions must be met:
- Seeds are sown in early spring or late autumn.
- Before sowing, the seeds are treated with a special composition against mold and dried well.
- The hay is mowed before the spikelets bloom, otherwise its quality will deteriorate.
- The plant is sown together with wheatgrass or alfalfa – this way hay is better eaten by animals.
- You can mow no more than three times a summer.
- If seeds are to be grown, the grass is sown separately and is not cut until the panicles darken.
Bonfire is an unpretentious plant, does not require special care, but it is afraid of being trampled by cattle. Therefore, it is necessary to give the plants time to recover after mowing and not to release animals to fresh shoots.
Due to the high fodder value of the culture, the fire is popular everywhere in farms. The plant does not die up to 20 years in nature and up to 8 years with regular mowing. Breeding is now being actively carried out in order to improve the properties of the grass and its adaptability to an unfavorable climate.