Growing winter annual forages in the Central Great Plains

Authors: Poss, David; VIGIL, MERLE - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)

Submitted to: Colorado State University Technical Report
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/30/2020
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Triticale is one of the few man made crops. It is a cross between durum wheat and rye, originally bred in 1873. However, those plants were sterile, and it wasn’t until 1937 that it was successfully bred to produce viable seeds. Triticale research at the Central Great Plains Research Station near Akron, has been performed for at least the past 30 years. Most of that research has focused on variety selection and nitrogen fertilizer needs. Triticale can be harvested as either a grain crop or a forage crop with most of it being harvested as a forage crop in the Central Great Plains area. Similar to wheat, there are both spring and fall planted varieties. Due to our hot summers, fall planted varieties are more adapted to our region. As you go further north the spring varieties become better adapted. Forage yields of winter triticale for the years 2017 through 2019 averaged over three ton per acre with the highest yields being over five ton per acre in 2017. Variety selection is important since we have consistently seen a range of almost half a ton per acre between the highest and lowest yielding varieties. Starting in 2017, we introduced hybrid winter rye to the trial. These rye varieties not only have tremendous forage yield potential, but also tremendous grain yield potential. Forage yields of the ryes have been about 25% greater than triticale. Grain yields surpassed 100 bu/ac all three years we had rye in the trial. Higher yields obtained by using hybrid genetics does come with a cost though. Higher seed costs offset some of the increased revenue obtained from the higher yields.