Lethbridge Research Centre, Canada
August 24, 2004

Reprinted with permission from Meristem Land and Science
www.meristem.com

Lower feed costs. Good persistence. Beats barley as silage. These are just a few of the benefits of PC rye, a new forage crop for Canada that provides a valuable and practical alternative to annual silage and forage crops. Breeder Dr. Surya Acharya (photo right, shown with a crop of PD rye) spells out the benefits of ACE-1, the first variety with seed now available.

Seed is now available for a new perennial forage crop, which provides a valuable and practical alternative to annual silage and forage crops.

Plenty of certified seed is now available for a unique Canadian-developed forage variety with potential to reduce crop production and feeding costs for Prairie livestock producers.

Seed for perennial cereal rye (PC rye), a hybrid forage that grows like a cereal but with the longevity of perennial grass, is now available to producers from a southern Alberta seed grower and distributor. Seeded in fall, around the same time as winter wheat, the crop can provide silage, hay and grazing opportunities for livestock producers over the next three to four years without reseeding.

"It's a perennial cereal crop that reduces seeding costs and has potential to extend the grazing season," says Dr. Surya Acharya, a plant breeder at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Lethbridge Research Centre (LRC). Along with help from colleagues at several research centres, he developed Canada's first PC rye after more than a decade of work.

Broad range

Seed for the first variety, ACE-1 is available from Kenneth Long Seeds Inc. at Spring Coulee, south of Lethbridge. With winter hardiness also similar to winter wheat, it has potential to do well across a wide area of the Prairies, says Acharya.

"We know that it grows very well in the southern Alberta," he says. "But we have yet to evaluate its performance over all Prairie regions. However, PC rye's winter hardiness should be as good as if not better than winter wheat." The range for winter cereals has expanded with considerable success into the Parkland and other non-traditional zones of the Prairies in recent years.

The key features of PC rye include its longevity over three to four growing seasons; its ability to produce a second crop or second cut for silage or grazing each year; rapid spring growth; and, excellent feed characteristics as either silage, hay or pasture.

One important limitation to the crop is not to let it go to seed or allow it to get too mature, says Acharya. The crop has a tendency for floret sterility, due to its origin as an interspecific cross. The floret sterility results in reduced seed set and affected seed heads are susceptible to ergot infection, a fungal disease that is toxic to livestock.

Avoid seed set

"Our research found that PC rye must be harvested before ergot balls are formed to avoid the risk of poisoning," cautions Acharya. "The silage making process reduces the toxic effects, but when used as pasture, the crop must be intensively grazed before seed heads appear to avoid poisoning. Fortunately, the regrowth after silage harvest produces very few seed heads and they do not reach maturity so ergot is not a problem in fall grazing."

While improved varieties are planned in ongoing breeding, Acharya says ACE-1 still has an excellent fit in forage production. With feed qualities similar to barley, PC rye can save producers considerable dollars in crop establishment costs. "PC rye should remain productive for three to four years, so even at an estimated costs of $100 per acre, it's a considerable savings over establishing annual forages," he says.

And as a forage that can be used as late fall pasture or cut to provide swath grazing, it will enable many producers to extend the usual grazing season. Depending on the year, some estimates suggest if grazing can be extended one month, that represents a $7 per calf savings in feed costs for cow/calf operators, and a further $4.50 per head in reduced manure and feed handling costs in the feedlot

Fall seeded

For best results the crop should be seeded in early fall, says Acharya. "There will be reduced production with spring seeded crops in the establishment year," he says. "But crops seeded in early September will have time to harden off before winter and produce a full crop the following year."

While PC rye performs well as a dryland crop, yields can be increased considerably under irrigation. To optimize production under either system, Acharya recommends an early spring application of nitrogen fertilizer, followed by a second application after the first cut, and even a third fall treatment if the forage is used for grazing.

PC rye produces a silage crop that matures a few weeks earlier than barley, but has almost identical yields and nutritional quality.

A competitive crop, PC rye may need an herbicide application in the establishment year if the weed threshold reaches 25 percent total forage dry matter. However, in the year after establishment, it was found that PC rye was essentially weed-free without herbicide use.

While the crop produces good quality silage and hay, Acharya warns against heavy grazing pressure over an extended period, which can deplete plant root reserves and decrease winter hardiness. The crop can be grazed moderately during and at the end of the growing season. "An excellent way to extend the grazing season is to leave the second cut for swath grazing," says Acharya. "Leave a four to five inch tall stubble and graze the swath in late fall and winter."

PC rye was first developed by German scientists for African dryland conditions. Canadian researchers, led by Acharya, worked for more than a decade to register the first PC rye for Canada in late 2003. Joining Acharya on the team were Dr. Zahir Mir, Dr. Tim McAllister, Dr. Jim Moyer and Dr. Elwin Smith at LRC, along with Dr. Jane King from the University of Alberta and Dr. James Thomas from the University of Lethbridge.