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  Cool Season Forage Crops

Common Name:

 Timothy

Latin Name:

 Phleum pratense

Variety:

 landrace

Crop Origin:

 North America

Type:

 Cool season perennial

Date Planted:

 April 17, 2004

Growth Stages in Ohio

Timothy Jan 1 06.JPG (3368903 bytes) Timothy feb 6 06.JPG (1789322 bytes) Timothy March 4 06.JPG (3475629 bytes) Timothy Apr 4 06.JPG (3464524 bytes) Timothy May 5 06.JPG (2906603 bytes) Timothy 3 June 05.JPG (3167075 bytes)
January February March April May June
Timothy 1 July 05.JPG (3865570 bytes) Timothy 7aug05.JPG (2603941 bytes) Timothy 3 sep 05.JPG (2611306 bytes) Timothy 1 oct 05.JPG (2712405 bytes) Timothy 4 Nov 05.JPG (3092857 bytes) Timothy 2 dec 05.JPG (3605197 bytes)
July August

September

 October November December

Cultivation in Ohio

Primary Uses:

 Forage

 Planting:

 Feb 1-May 1st. or around September 1st.  Planting depth should be no deeper than 1/2 inch. 

 Seeding Rate:

 8-10 pounds Pure Live Seed per acre (heavier rate for spring planting).

Fertility:

 Soil pH is best between 6.0-7.0.  In absence of a soil test apply 50-60 lbs/acre N in the spring and an additional 50 lb/acre N after each cutting. 

Insects:

 none reported.

Diseases:

 Timothy is attacked by many fungi.

Harvest:

 Mostly cut for hay in the early flower stage.  Early cutting stimulates an increase in yearly yield. Cutting after mid-may gives relatively low yields.  Grazing should not be done after jointing.

Comments:

 The shallow root systems makes Timothy susceptible to drought.  

Identification

Leaf:

   Timothy bunch2.JPG (617017 bytes) Timothy leaf1.JPG (1322858 bytes) Timothy leaf2.JPG (2392105 bytes)

Flower:

 Timothy head1.JPG (2043012 bytes) Timothy flower1.JPG (2669761 bytes)

Seeds:

 Timothy_seed.JPG (1393439 bytes) Timothy seedhead in field.jpg (1310804 bytes) Timothy corm.JPG (2394174 bytes)

Distribution:

 Timothy distribution map.jpg (30885 bytes)

More Information

Links:

 http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=PHPR3 
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs412/forageID.htm 
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Phleum_pratense.html