HAY AND PASTURE YIELDS OF FALL- AND SPRING-SEEDED WINTER WHEAT AND FALL RYE

Abstract

The forage yields of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and fall rye (Secale cereale L.) when seeded on two dates in the fall and one in the spring were compared under simulated hay and pasture systems. Winter wheat produced higher total yields, but fall rye reached spring pasture and hay maturities 1 and 2 wk earlier, respectively, than winter wheat. When seeded in the spring, both winter wheat and fall rye produced more hay and pasture than when seeded in the fall, and there was a trend toward higher production when seeded in August than September. The hay harvests were more productive than simulated pasture for all systems.Key words: Yield, forage, hay, pasture, winter wheat, fall rye