A Study of the Variations in the Growth of Blue Grama Grass from Seed Produced in Various Sections of the Great Plains Region

During the past seven years the Great Plains region, with its "dust bowl," has been the scene of unparalleled activity in the fields of range management and erosion control. The people of this short-grass area are extremely conscious of the need for a sound, practical program of conservation that will revegetate the wasted pasture and cultivated land, which will aid materially in preserving the eroding soil. Many problems have arisen a.s the program of conserving the soil and the vegetation has progressed. One of these problems pertains to the variations in the development of blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis), which is one of the dominant species of the short-grass faciation of the Great Plains region. These variations have been puzzling to field men in making range reconnaissance surveys in that they have been led to believe that several species of grama had been encountered. Investigation, however, proved these variations to be within one species, but. modified by differences in climatic conditions.