Overseeding Annual Ryegrass and Cereal Rye into Soybean as Part of a Multifunctional Cropping System: II. Forage Yield and Nutritive Value
2006
Smith, Luke B. | Kallenbach, Robert L.
Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) are two forages that could fit well into mixed row-crop/livestock operations because they can be used both as a cover crop and as a source of winter pasture. Yet few researchers have studied how to integrate these forages in a soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]-winter pasture-corn (Zea mays L.) rotation. An experiment was conducted where these forages were overseeded at different stages of soybean development over two years. All treatments yielded over 2,250 lb of forage per acre each year (with the best treatments yielding over 3,000 lb/acre), which would supply much needed pasture for winter grazing. While all treatments provided adequate amounts of forage, overseeding into soybean at the R 6.5 stage (at leaf drop) consistently produced the greatest yields for both annual ryegrass and cereal rye. Forage nutritive value from annual ryegrass was slightly better than for cereal rye, but both had crude protein concentrations of more than 17% and neutral detergent fiber of less than 56%. The results show that livestock operations in the lower Midwest could use cereal rye and annual ryegrass overseeded into soybean as part of a row crop-winter pasture-row crop rotation.
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