Key Technical Points for Winter Cultivation and Management of Ryegrass
Ryegrass (scientific name: Lolium perenne L.) is a perennial plant of the genus Lolium in the grass family (Poaceae). The culms are 30-90 cm tall, soft in texture, and root at the basal nodes. The ligule is about 2 mm long; the leaf blades are soft, slightly hairy, and sometimes have auricles. The spike-shaped inflorescence is erect or slightly curved; the rachilla is smooth and hairless; the glumes are lanceolate with narrowly membranous margins; the lemma is oblong, herbaceous, smooth, and awnless at the tip; the two keels bear short cilia. The caryopsis is about 3 times as long as wide. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to July.
Morphological Characteristics of Ryegrass
Perennial, with slender rhizomes. Culms tufted, 30-90 cm tall, with 3-4 nodes, soft in texture, rooting at the basal nodes. Ligule about 2 mm long; leaf blades linear, 5-20 cm long, 3-6 mm wide, soft, slightly hairy, sometimes with auricles. The spike-shaped inflorescence is erect or slightly curved, 10-20 cm long, 5-8 mm wide; the rachilla internodes are about 1 mm long, smooth and hairless; the glumes are lanceolate, 1/3 the length of the spikelet, with 5 veins and narrowly membranous margins; the lemma is oblong, herbaceous, 5-9 mm long, with 5 veins, smooth, with a distinct callus, awnless at the tip, or the upper spikelets have short awns, the first lemma about 7 mm long; the palea is equal in length to the lemma, with short cilia on the two keels. The caryopsis is about 3 times as long as wide. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to July.
Winter Cultivation and Management Techniques for Ryegrass
1. Land Selection
Ryegrass is not strict about soil requirements, especially in paddy fields, where the soil is generally well matured and has good drainage and irrigation conditions, making it suitable for ryegrass cultivation. 2. Variety Selection
For the production purpose of obtaining high-yield, high-quality green fodder in the brief winter period, relatively early-maturing varieties should generally be selected. Varieties such as the tetraploid Tetragold, Abede, Ganxuan No. 1, Miaoqi Qingye, and the diploid Yingzaosheng and Zaoshengfeng can be used. 3. Sowing Time
The suitable temperature for ryegrass seed germination is 13-20 degrees C; germination is difficult below 5 degrees C or above 35 degrees C. Therefore, the sowing time should be chosen according to the different sowing methods, and generally sowing from mid-October to late November is preferable. 4. Sowing Methods
The sowing methods for ryegrass can be chosen according to different needs. When labor is scarce, broadcast sowing under the rice canopy can be selected; when grass is needed as early as possible, seedling raising and transplanting can be used. Broadcast sowing under the rice canopy: 20-30 days before the late rice harvest, broadcast the ryegrass seeds onto the soil surface among the late rice population. Before sowing, soak the ryegrass seeds in warm water (around 35 degrees C is suitable) for 5-8 hours, remove and drain them, then mix with fine sand and broadcast. The sowing rate is 1.5-2 kg per mu. When harvesting the rice, cut as low as possible to avoid the rice stubble affecting future ryegrass harvesting. Seedling raising and transplanting: 20-30 days before the late rice harvest, at a sowing rate of 4-5 kg per mu, first raise seedlings on a prepared seedbed, then after the late rice harvest, transplant them into the paddy field, transplanting as they are lifted, with two seedlings per hole and a hole spacing of 20-30 cm. Each mu of seedbed can provide enough seedlings for 8-10 mu of field production (actual seed usage is 0.5 kg per mu). Using seedling raising and transplanting can provide grass earlier, generally supplying green fodder by the end of December or early January. 5. Field Management
Ryegrass likes moisture but fears waterlogging, so drainage and irrigation must be carried out promptly. In addition, ryegrass is sensitive to nitrogen fertilizer; fertilizing combined with irrigation can greatly increase the yield and quality of ryegrass. Before sowing ryegrass, sufficient base fertilizer must be applied, and after emergence, topdressing should be carried out. Topdressing can be done once at the three-leaf stage and once at the tillering stage, each time with 5-10 kg of compound fertilizer. After that, each time it is cut, topdressing should also be applied once, with 10-15 kg of compound fertilizer per mu, preferably 4-6 days after harvesting. To avoid a decline in soil fertility, compound fertilizer should be used, and urea should be avoided as much as possible; the total fertilizer application throughout the cultivation period is 75-100 kg per mu. 6. Harvesting and Utilization
When ryegrass is 40-50 cm tall, the first cutting can begin. After that, according to need, it can be cut once every 15-30 days. Each time, be careful to leave a stubble height of 5 cm to facilitate regrowth. In order not to affect early rice production, the last cutting should generally be carried out about 15 days before early rice transplanting. Immediately after cutting, plow and flood the field. During plowing, 15-20 kg of lime can be broadcast per mu to accelerate the decomposition of ryegrass roots; at the same time, it can also serve as field disinfection and promote rice growth.