Performance of Perennial Cereal Rye in New Mexico.

Annual winter cereal forages are widely used by cattle industries in the southwestern USA; however, considerable environmental risks and recurring establishment costs exist due to annual planting operations. Perennial winter cereal rye (PCR), developed in Canada, could alleviate these issues, but its performance in the southwestern USA is unknown. Studies conducted during the 2014-15 winter growing season at Los Lunas and Tucumcari, New Mexico, evaluated the persistence and forage yield and nutritive value of PCR compared to annual cereal rye (ACR), winter wheat (WW), and triticale (TRIT); all late summer seeded and harvested at their respective boot stage in the following year. None of the species survived the summer after harvest at either site, including PCR, despite being fully irrigated. Establishment of PCR across locations in 2013 was poor, which was later attributed to low germination (15%); however, plants of that seeding that did establish also did not survive after harvest. As an annual winter cereal forage, PCR had the highest yields in 2015, but not significantly higher than TRIT (5.00a, 3.02c, 4.57a, and 3.89b tons/A for PCR, ACR, TRIT, and WW, respectively; means followed by the same letter are not significantly different at P < 0.05). This PCR yield came at a greater expense of water due to later maturity. The PCR also was lower in forage nutritive value. Lack of persistence and the absence of any improvement in either yield or nutritive value over currently used annual species limits PCR’s value for winter forage in the southwestern USA.