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Reference · Crops

Grasses

Grasses (Latin: Poaceae) form one of the most important plant families in agriculture, encompassing vital cereal crops like wheat, rice, maize, barley, and oats. These monocotyledonous plants are the foundation of global food security, providing essential grains for human consumption, livestock feed, and diverse industrial raw materials such as biofuel and textiles.

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Fescue31 Foxtail millet10 Feather grass8 Foxtail5 Finger millet2 Feather grass1 Filgueirasia1 Fingerhuthia1
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What the section contains

Feather fingergrass Chloris flagellifera Feather grass Stipa 8 items Feather grass Stipa calamagrostis Feather grass Stipa capillata Feather grass Celtica 1 item Feather lovegrass Eragrostis tenella Feather-leaved wheatgrass Pseudoroegneria stipifolia Ferat bluegrass Poa feratiana Fescue Festuca L. 31 item Festuca acuminata Festuca acuminata Festuca airoides Festuca airoides Festuca ampla Festuca ampla Festuca brevis Festuca brevis Festuca dimorpha Festuca dimorpha Festuca heteromalla Festuca heteromalla Festuca hieronymi Festuca hieronymi Festuca hystrix Festuca hystrix Festuca indigesta Festuca indigesta Festuca jubata Festuca jubata Festuca marginata Festuca marginata Festuca membranacea Festuca membranacea Festuca muralis Festuca muralis Festuca panciciana Festuca panciciana Festuca pulchella Festuca pulchella Festuca pulchra Festuca pulchra Festuca punctoria Festuca punctoria Festuca scariosa Festuca scariosa Festuca spectabilis Festuca spectabilis Festuca vaginata Festuca vaginata Festuca varia Festuca varia Festuca xanthina Festuca xanthina Festulolium Lolium elongatum Festulolium Festuca hybrids Filgueirasia Filgueirasia 1 item Fine-leaved fescue Festuca microphylla Finger millet Eleusine 2 items Fingergrass Leptochloa digitata Fingerhuthia Fingerhuthia 1 item Flaccid bluegrass Poa flaccidula Flat-leaf bent Agrostis planifolia Flat-stemmed oat grass Helictotrichon planiculme Flattened oatgrass Danthonia compressa Flexuous millet Panicum flexuosum Floating mannagrass Glyceria natans Florida paspalum Paspalum floridanum Ford's bluegrass Poa fordeana Forked panicgrass Panicum dichotomum Four-flowered fescue Festuca quadriflora Fowl mannagrass Glyceria striata Foxtail Alopecurus L. 5 items Foxtail Bristlegrass Setaria vulpiseta Foxtail fescue Festuca alopecuros Foxtail millet Setaria 10 items Frank's lovegrass Eragrostis frankii Fringed brome Bromus ciliatus Fringed panicgrass Panicum ciliatum Fringed paspalum Paspalum fimbriatum Gaboon grass Acroceras gabunense Gangetic lovegrass Eragrostis gangetica Gaping panicgrass Panicum hians

Grasses

Botanically, grasses are characterized by fibrous root systems, jointed stems known as culms, and leaves with parallel venation. Their flowers are typically arranged in spikelets, forming complex inflorescences like spikes or panicles. The fruit is a caryopsis, a type of grain in which the fruit wall is fused to the seed coat, distinguishing them from other botanical fruits.

The distribution of grasses is worldwide, ranging from equatorial regions to subarctic zones. This adaptability is the result of long-term natural evolution and centuries of selective breeding. Most cultivated grasses originated in fertile valleys of the Near East, East Asia, and the Americas, where ancient civilizations first practiced sedentary agriculture.

Agronomic requirements depend on the specific species, though most grasses thrive in well-drained soils rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Crop management practices include soil tillage, strategic fertilization, and adherence to crop rotation cycles to maintain soil health. Irrigation is essential for high-yield species like rice, while others are adapted to rain-fed farming systems.

Key challenges in cultivation include fungal pathogens like rusts, smuts, and mildews, alongside insect pests such as aphids, stem borers, and locusts. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies, involving the use of resistant crop varieties, biological control, and judicious pesticide application, are essential for ensuring sustainable yields and optimal grain quality.

  • Cereals: primary grains for food production.
  • Forage grasses: critical for livestock pastures and silage.
  • Turf and ornamental grasses: significant for landscaping and soil erosion control.