Columbus grass is a perennial fodder plant belonging to the wheat family of the wheat family, originally from Argentina. Introduced to science in 1943 by the Argentine botanist Lorenzo Parodi. Columbus grass is a natural hybrid obtained by crossing sorghum with Sudanese grass.

    Since Columbus grass is a perennial, starch-rich rhizome, drought and salinity tolerant plant with a high fertile potential, introduction and breeding work is currently being carried out with other species of the sorghum genus. Columbus grass is used in the global livestock industry mainly for fodder and non-traditional purposes. Currently, Columbus grass is widely distributed in arid tropical and subtropical regions of Australia, South Africa, the Mediterranean countries, and South America. High drought resistance, rapid growth and long-term development of Columbus grass caused great interest among many.

    For the first time, the bioecological properties and agrotechnology of growing Columbus grass, which is an unconventional fodder crop in the specific soil and climatic conditions of the Samarkand region, were studied by the head of the Department of Physiology and Microbiology of Plants of Samarkand State University, Associate Professor Burkhon Avutkhonov..

    - Columbus grass is a perennial short-rooted, tall fodder plant of tropical and subtropical countries, - says Associate Professor Burkhan Avutkhanov. - An annual plant is cultivated in the conditions of our republic. Plant height reaches 250-350 cm. This plant has a tap root and penetrates 180-200 cm to the sides, and 80-90 cm deep. The stem grows erect, up to 4-8 bunches and each of them forms up to 8-12 segments . The stems of the species are bare, 1 cm in diameter, filled with parenchyma and covered with a large number of leaflets. The leaves are large, glabrous, 50-70 cm long, 2-4 cm wide. The leaves are arcuate, up to 65 per bush. Columbus grass is similar in appearance to Sudanese grass. Bisexual flower. The fruit is a grain. In one pod there are 1600-2300 grains, 40-45 cm long. Seeds ripen in 92-100 days. The weight of 1000 grains is 24-26 grams.

    In the conditions of our republic, cherry plum seeds are sown in 0-10 cm of soil in the second half of April. When the temperature in the layer is above 150C, the distance between rows of 60 cm is planted to a depth of 3-5 cm. It germinates well when the temperature reaches 180C. The optimum temperature for normal seed growth is 20-300C. Seed consumption is 8-10 kg per hectare. The sown seeds germinate in 9-11 days. The growing season of the plant is 180-190 days out of 90-92 days. On the irrigated fields of our republic, it is possible to grow abundant and high-quality green mass when collecting Columbus grass three times and twice when it is sown instead of wheat.

    Under the conditions of our republic, plants planted in April can be harvested three times and get 2000-2100 centners per hectare, and when sown instead of wheat, you can collect 1200-1300 centners of green mass per hectare ...

 

Samarkand State University

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