Rye cultivation

Botanical name: Secale cereale

Family: Poaceae

Chrpmpsome number: 2n=14

Importance of Rye

• Minor rabi cereal
• Used for green fodder
• Pasture crop
• Green manure crop
• Cover crop
• Used to mix with wheat flour for bread making

Area & distribution

• World – 16.3 M ha, 40.7 M t
• Russia, Germany, Austria, Hungary, USA, Canada, Poland, Turkey
• India – Punjab, Haryana, UP

Origin– Western Asia to Southern Russia

Climate

• It is a winter hardy cereal
• Can tolerate cold but not heat

Soil

• It is the only Rabi cereal more suited for sandy soil

Season

• Winter and Spring seasons
• As sown for other Rabi cereals

Varieties

• Not so numerous as wheat, barley or oats
• Winter season
  • Forage type
    • Athens, Common, Abruzzes
  • Grain type
    • Rosan, Dakold, Balba
• Spring season

• Prolific, Merced

Time of sowing

• For Forage
  • October is best
• Grain crop
  • November
• Pasture / green manure / cover crops
  • August

Seed rate

• Forage
  • 75-95 kg /ha
• Grain
  • 55-65 kg/ha

Land preparation

• As done to other winter cereals

Method of sowing

• Drill seeding is better than direct seeding

Nutrient management

• Organic manure 12.5t /ha
• N
  • 30-90 kg applied in two splits
  • Basal + first irrigation
• P2O5
  • 35-55 kg –basal
• K2O
  • 65 kg basal

Irrigation management

• CRI and flowering are crucial
• Six irrigations
  • Sowing
  • CRI – 20-25 DAS
  • Tillering – 40-45 DAS
  • Late jointing – 70-75 DAS
  • Flowering
  • Dough stage
• If limited irrigation
  • One – CRI
  • Two – CRI +  Flowering
  • Three CRI + Late jointing + Flowering

Harvest

• For forage
  • Two cuttings
    •  50-55th day and again
    • Dough stage
• Forage cum grain
  • Two as above but the second after maturity

Yield

• 50-55t if fodder
• Dual
  •  25 t fodder, 2.5t grain+2.5t straw

Health Benefits of Rye

The most impressive health benefits of rye include its ability to help with weight loss, increase the efficiency of your digestive system, help prevent gallstones, lower your risk of diabetes, lower your blood pressure, protect your cardiovascular health, prevent various types of cancer, and even lower the chances of developing childhood asthma.