Evaluation of Selections in Perennial Cereal Rye for Perennial Grain Production in Manitoba.

Perennial cereal rye has been suggested as a potential candidate for perennial grain production. Initial limitations include low floret fertility and ergot occurrence. Selections were made from a two year-old planting of ACE-1 perennial cereal rye in 2009 in Manitoba for seed quality. Selections were increased in 2010, with parents and progeny being hill-planted in the fall of 2010 and 2011 and thinned to a single plant hill^-1 at Carman, Manitoba. Harvests were made in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Plant persistence and seed yield were noted for all plants at each harvest. Floret number, floret fertility and ergot occurrence were measured on three spikelets on three heads on each plant. Persistence in general was extremely poor for the 2010 planting with under with less than 15% (42 out of 296 plants) of the plants surviving to two seed harvests. For the 2010 planting, consistency in yield was calculated and twelve plants (4%) yielded > 25 g plant^-1 year^-1 and one half of those (2%) with between 40-60% of the total yield in the first seed harvest. All plants produced ergot, with some producing >50% ergot bodies. Ergot occurrence was negatively related to floret fertility. Floret number was not consistent on individual plants across years with all but one spikelet having two florets in the second year of reproductive growth. Seed set ranged between 34 and 50% in the first year of production and between 6 and 42% for the few plants producing for a second year. Ergot occurrence increased in the second year of production. Perennial cereal rye is currently not a reliable perennial grain for Manitoba growth conditions due to poor winter tolerance and high ergot potential.