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The Times of India
The Times of India
World
TOI World Desk

In the 1840s, Alabama farmers embraced a drought-resistant livestock grass; it became a crop-choking weed that could poison cattle

Alabama United States William Johnson Hydrogen

Imagine Alabama in the 1840s. Summers were brutal. Droughts were severe, and the pastures dried out quickly. Farmers needed a tough, leafy grass that livestock could eat when nothing else was available. So when Colonel William Johnson planted a hardy grass from the Mediterranean on his farm along the Alabama River, it seemed like the perfect fix.

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