Winter Cereal Rye

One of the most popular cover crops is winter cereal rye.   It is a very versatile cover crop that has few disadvantages.  While it does not have the deep, nor fibrous root system that annual ryegrass has, it reportedly has had 45″ deep roots found in north-central Indiana in May.  Winter cereal rye can be planted later in the fall than other cover crops and still have an excellent stand the next spring.

Advantages of Winter Cereal Rye:

• Excellent winterhardiness
• Very good for erosion control
• Good root depth
• Can be planted later than other cover crops
• Makes very good haylage
• Early maturing so following crop can be planted earlier
• Assists in weed control for subsequent crop
• Good scavenger of nutrients
• Very good for aerial application
• Very good for winter and spring grazing
• Makes very good “green manure” if plowed in
• Mixes well with oats and turnips

Disadvantages of Winter Cereal Rye:

• Potential for alleopathy issues with following crop (not likely)
• Not the top choice for erosion control or rooting depth
• Spring growth can “get out of control” if not killed early
• Not much fall growth for forage
• Not the top choice for forage quality

To view a video on Cereal Rye and Radishes watch below!