Description
Corn (Zea mays) grown for grain is harvested too late in the year in many temperate regions to establish a cover crop to provide winter ground cover and an opportunity for late season grazing. The objective of this project is to evaluate the effect of interseeding cereal rye (Secale cereale) into corn for use as grazed forage after corn grain harvest on corn grain yield and additional grazing day/ha. In a 4-year study, corn was planted (64,246 plants/ha) in spring on two, 4.8-ha fields in central Pennsylvania. Cereal rye was interseeded (135 kg/ha) into the corn at the V4-V6 stage. Corn was harvested as grain in November and each field was divided into six, 0.8-ha paddocks and randomly assigned to either grazed (GRAZ) or ungrazed (NG) treatments. Beef cattle frontal-grazed three of the paddocks (four cows/paddock) in each field approximately four to five weeks after corn grain harvest and, if growth allowed, again in early spring before subsequent corn planting. Corn fodder (after grain harvest), corn grain and cereal rye yields were monitored each fall. Cereal rye growth was also monitored in early spring. On average, the cereal rye (plus the corn stover) provided enough forage for an additional 115-130 grazing days/ha in the fall. While early spring growth has the potential to provide even greater forage yields than fall, growth is much less dependable than fall. Corn grain yields did not decrease as a result of grazing, or of repeated plantings of corn year to year, ranging from 9,516-10,088 kg/ha across GRAZ and NG paddocks except in 2019 (dry year) when corn grain yields averaged 6,053 kg/ha across both GRAZ and NG treatments.
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Integrating Livestock and Cropping Systems: Interseeding Cereal Rye into Corn for Late Season Grazing
Corn (Zea mays) grown for grain is harvested too late in the year in many temperate regions to establish a cover crop to provide winter ground cover and an opportunity for late season grazing. The objective of this project is to evaluate the effect of interseeding cereal rye (Secale cereale) into corn for use as grazed forage after corn grain harvest on corn grain yield and additional grazing day/ha. In a 4-year study, corn was planted (64,246 plants/ha) in spring on two, 4.8-ha fields in central Pennsylvania. Cereal rye was interseeded (135 kg/ha) into the corn at the V4-V6 stage. Corn was harvested as grain in November and each field was divided into six, 0.8-ha paddocks and randomly assigned to either grazed (GRAZ) or ungrazed (NG) treatments. Beef cattle frontal-grazed three of the paddocks (four cows/paddock) in each field approximately four to five weeks after corn grain harvest and, if growth allowed, again in early spring before subsequent corn planting. Corn fodder (after grain harvest), corn grain and cereal rye yields were monitored each fall. Cereal rye growth was also monitored in early spring. On average, the cereal rye (plus the corn stover) provided enough forage for an additional 115-130 grazing days/ha in the fall. While early spring growth has the potential to provide even greater forage yields than fall, growth is much less dependable than fall. Corn grain yields did not decrease as a result of grazing, or of repeated plantings of corn year to year, ranging from 9,516-10,088 kg/ha across GRAZ and NG paddocks except in 2019 (dry year) when corn grain yields averaged 6,053 kg/ha across both GRAZ and NG treatments.
