Awnless bromegrass (Bromus inermis)
Smooth Brome (Bromus inermis) is a valuable grass, which reaches heights up to 150 cm with large number of elongated densely leafy vegetative shoots. Due to that it is well consumed by the animals. It grows back quickly in the spring and provides high yield of green mass( up to 100 centner/he of hay). Mowing before the earing is required otherwise it becomes rough. In one hundred kilogram of pasturable fodder contains 29 k.o and 3 kg of protein; in one hundred kilogram of hay contains 47-52 k.o and 3-3,5 kg of protein. Smooth brome yields two full-fledged mowings. In pastures it withstands 5 grazing cycles and stomping. The productive usage is 6 to 8 or even 10 years. The maximum yield is on the second-third year of vegetation period.
Smooth brome has well developed root system that penetrates to a depth of 2 meters or more; so it’s highly draught resistant plant. It grows and gives high yields of hay in a dry steppe zone with 400 mm of precipitation per year. At the same time it is resistant to flooding, flood meadow forms withstand flood waters up to 45 days and steppe- up to 30 days. The plant maintains spring sediment to 10 cm, but it can not undergo the close occurrence of groundwater. The smooth brome is a winter-hardy plant.
It is not demanding to the climate and soil and grows better in moderately moist, fertile, sandy and loamy soils as well as drained peatlands. It is sown in light dry poorly fertile, calcareous, sandy soils as well. It replaces the other grasses from herbage rapidly. Waterlogged and salinized soils are unsuitable. In the saline soils it’s replaced by couch grass.
Bromus inermis is sown in grass mixtures with cereals and legumes. The sowing with alfalfa and sainfoin is especially recommended. It is sown at the same time with winter crops or in early spring. With usual method of sowing the seeding rate is 18-20 kg/he, in mixtures – 8-10 kg/he. Enfolding depth is from 1, 5-2, 0 cm on heavy soils to 3, 0-4,0 cm – on light ones.