Sowing Rye and Triticale in Late October Carries Risk, Polish Outlet Says

Polish agricultural portal farmer.pl published an assessment on 29 October of whether it still makes sense to sow winter rye and triticale, a wheat–rye hybrid cereal, at the end of the month. According to the outlet, the proper sowing windows for both crops passed long ago, so sowing now is essentially a lottery. The question matters to farmers who planned to put triticale or rye after maize on weaker fields instead of winter wheat.

Days of autumn growth

Sowing date is often called a cost-free factor affecting yield, since the number of autumn growing days feeds directly into yield potential. What matters is that plants reach a minimum number of such days. For winter rye this is usually put at 50–60 days, and for triticale at roughly 45–50 days. Triticale with mostly wheat genes needs less time, while varieties dominated by rye genes may need a longer window.

Tillering

Winter wheat sown even in November can still give a good yield with suitable agronomy, because it can shift part of its tillering, or all of it, to spring. Rye cannot continue tillering after growth resumes, and its chances of tillering in autumn are now very small. Triticale has limited options: wheat-type varieties can move some tillering to spring, while rye-type varieties tiller only in autumn. Late-sown triticale, like late wheat, may need measures to stimulate tillering; for rye this would not help.

Recommendations

The outlet states that any rye sowing now is a lottery, even though some varieties are adapted to delays. If farmers choose triticale, it should only be varieties with high autumn tillering dynamics. The seeding rate should also be raised by 25–30% compared with the recommendation for the optimal date.