| Scientific name: | Secale cereale |
| Cultivars: | Many. Most planted is winter rye (fall planted) vs spring rye (spring planted) |
| Origin: | SW asia; Turkey region |
| Growth Habit: | Bunch; 3 to 6 feet; taller than wheat |
| Life Cycle: | Annual |
| |
| Use |
| |
| Production: | 4,000 - 6,000 lb/acreUsed for pasture in spring and fall
Over 50% of planted rye in the US is used as pasture, hay, or as a cover crop; 25 to 35% is used for grain Straw is used for bedding
Rye grain is used for flour, whiskey, and alcohol manufacture.
Most planted small grain for cover crop
Winter rye is more productive than spring rye (for the upper midwest) State average yields of rye are commonly only 20 to 40 bu/acre. Yields of 70 to 80 bu/acre can be obtained with good management.
|
| Nutritive Value: | High protein, second to wheat
Low palatability when mature. Should be no more than 35 to 40% in grain mixes fed to livetock.. |
| Herbaria Image: | Click this link |
| |
| Identification |
| |
| Seed Head: | Spike awned; there are awnless varieties. Spikelet initiation starts in the middle of the spike . |
| Seed: | Seed emerges in approx. 7 days. Cross pollinated (wind) 56 lb/bushel |
| Shoot: | Blue green in color, smooth and glabrous |
| Leaf: | Narrow; up to 6 inch long |
| Auricles: | Very short |
| Ligule: | Short |
| |
| Adaptation |
| |
| Soil: | Well drained, sandy soils; adapted to acid low fertility soils |
| pH: | 5.2 to 7.5 |
| Moisture: | Better on dry than on wet poorly drained soils |
| Temperature: | Most winter hardy and cold tolerant of the small grains
Grows better at low temperatures; earlier maturing than wheat.
Germinates as low as 34°F. Vegetative growth requires 38°F and higher.
Near freezing temps. satisfy vernalization (or cold requirement for flowering) allowing plants to initiate reproductive development the following spring. |
| Other: | Winter rye overwinters in the tillering stage.
In general, rye is injured less by insects and diseases than other small grains.
|
| |
| Establishment - Management |
| |
| Seeding rate: | 100 to 110 lb/acre (2 bushels/acre) (1bushel=56 lb)
40-60 lb/acre (as cover)
|
| Seed cost: | |
| Planting date: | Mid August to mid September (for pasture, cover crop, green manure).
Right after corn silage is harvested
Around early September (for grain) |
| Planting depth: | 1 to 1 1/2 inch
|
| Frost seeding: | Germinates as low as 34°F. |
| Fertilization: | 30 lb N at planting, P and K at planting according to soil test.
Top dressing with nitrogen not recommended if used as companion or nursing crop because it tends to compete with the new seeding. Also excessive N tends to cause lodging. |
| Grazing: | Extends grazing season in spring and fall.
Tolerates fall grazing or defoliation with little effect on spring growth |
| Hay: | Harvest at boot stage for good quality. |
| |
| Notes |
Fall-planted, spring-killed rye reduces total weed biomass by 60% to 95%
Susceptible to Ergot. Crop rotation can control the pathogen since it lives for only one year. |
