Perennial Ryegrass

Perennial ryegrass is a cool season grass used in cool, temperate climates throughout the world. It has many worthy attributes and has been considered the best overall pasture grass for many areas. The inflorescence is a spike with alternately arranged spikelet’s attached edgewise directly to the central axis. Leaves of perennial ryegrass are folded in the bud. Blades are bright green, prominently ridged on the upper surface, and sharply taper-pointed. Lower surfaces are smooth, glossy, and hairless. Leaf margins are slightly rough to the touch. Ryegrasses, in general, grow best on fertile, well-drained soils but perennial ryegrass can tolerate wet soils better than many other grasses. Generally, it does not tolerate drought or extended periods of extreme temperatures well. Perennial ryegrass does well in fertile summer-irrigated or sub-irrigated soils. It is not very persistent or productive on lower fertility summer-dry soils. Perennial ryegrass establishes rapidly, has a long growing season, is high yielding under good environmental conditions and proper fertilization, contains high quality nutrients, recovers well after grazing, tolerates traffic, and is valuable as hay, silage, and pasture. It is often used in mixtures with white and red clover. Perennial ryegrass is highly digestible for all types of ruminant animals.