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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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Wheat17 Wheatgrass14 Zoysia10 Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum)4 Wildrye3 Zingeria3 Wild rice2 Yushania2 Zizaniopsis2 Zoysia2 Wheatgrass1 Willkommia1 Windgrass1 Wood barley1 Yushania1 Zuloagaea1 Zygochloa1
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Wavy meadow grass Poa flexuosa Wavy meadow-grass Poa laxa Wavyleaf basketgrass Oplismenus undulatifolius Weedy rice Oryza fatua Weeping lovegrass Eragrostis leptostachya Welwitsch's bristle grass Setaria welwitschii Western bentgrass Agrostis hesperica Western bluegrass Poa occidentalis Western needlegrass Stipa occidentalis Western oat Avena occidentalis Western wheatgrass Elymus smithii Wheat Triticum L. 17 items Wheatgrass Agropyron Gaertn. x Thinopyrum Á. Löve 1 item Wheatgrass Elymus L. 14 items Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum) Thinopyrum 4 items White cutgrass Leersia virginica White millet Panicum subalbidum White paspalum Paspalum candidum White-tipped bluegrass Poa acroleuca Whorled saltmarsh grass Puccinellia convoluta Wild rice Zizania 2 items Wild rice Zizania palustris Wild rye Secale sylvestre Wildrye Leymus Hochst. 3 items Willkommia Willkommia 1 item Windgrass Apera 1 item Windmill grass Chloris truncata Windmill grass Chloris verticillata Winter bentgrass Agrostis hyemalis Wood barley Hordelymus 1 item Wood brome Bromus ramosus Wood false-brome Brachypodium sylvaticum Wood fescue Festuca altissima Wood fescue Festuca drymeja Wood mannagrass Glyceria nemoralis Wood melick Melica uniflora Wood millet Milium Wood millet Milium effusum Wood millet Milium pedicellare Wood orchard grass Dactylis polygama Wood small-reed Calamagrostis epigeios Woolly cupgrass Eriochloa villosa Woolly lovegrass Eragrostis laniflora Woollybutt grass Eragrostis eriopoda Yellow millet Panicum gilvum Yellow wildrye Elymus flavescens Yushania Yushania Keng f. 1 item Yushania Yushania 2 items Zalessky's feather grass Stipa zalesskii Zea luxurians Zea luxurians Zea perennis Zea perennis Zingeria Zingeria 3 items Zizaniopsis Zizaniopsis 2 items Zoysia Zoysia Willd. 10 items Zoysia Zoysia 2 items Zuloagaea Zuloagaea 1 item Zygochloa Zygochloa 1 item

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.