Favorite Fall Plot?

[LoessHillsArcher]

I think rye tends to scavange for nitrogen a bit better than wheat, also I think I've read about wheat having more disease problems than rye. Sound right Paul??

 

[hillrunner]

Also Corn cost $475.00 an acre to put in and maintain.

Beans cost $145.00. Broadcast some winter rye or wheat in there in the last of August, you have yourself a cheap, high protien, deer magnet. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

True, but you can get 3 times the yield out of corn which should mean you can get a lot more out of a smaller plot. Do deer eat less in high protien food sources such as beans? I have never considered a bean plot simply cause I want to maximize the acres I put in plots.

 

[dbltree]

dbltree --- no mention of wheat. Any reason you prefer rye over wheat as a cereal? I always thought they were pretty equal in speed of growing but wheat was more hardy and would green up earlier in late winter/spring than rye.

Personaly I wouldn't plant wheat unless it was impossible to get winter rye.

Rye is higher in protein then all other cereal grains, is the MOST winter hardy and greens up BEFORE wheat in the spring.

Take a moment to read more about why I don't waste my time with wheat in the cereal grain thread but here are just a few of the many attributes that winter rye has over winter wheat.

A rye cover crop and manure applications are mutually beneficial. Manure nutrients aid in decomposition of the rye, offsetting any potential yield drag, and rye captures and recycles the manure nutrients effectively to the future corn crop, reducing commercial fertilizer needs.

Rye is one of the best scavengers of nitrogen and reduces leaching losses on both sandy soils and tile-drained land. The fast growing, fibrous root system can capture 25 to 100 pounds of soil nitrogen per acre. Seeding rye in late summer or early fall will allow it to scavenge nitrogen. When organic N (from manure or legumes) is still available.

Rye can capture this nitrogen and recycle it to the following season.

The actual amount of nitrogen that is recycled is highly variable. A presidedress soil nitrate test can help determine the amount of nitrogen credit to take for the upcoming corn crop.

Rye should be allowed to grow over the winter to continue taking up N in the spring.

Rye is the hardiest of cereals and can be seeded later in the fall than other cover crops, and it provides top growth and extensive root growth. It will germinate at cold temperatures—as low as 34 degrees F—and it will resume growing at 38 degrees in the spring. This makes it possible to seed rye after corn, sugar beet or bean harvest until the ground freezes.

It is relatively inexpensive to plant, and the seed is readily available or easily grown.

Easy to establish, rye can be aerial seeded in standing corn/silage and before leaf drop in soybean. Rye can be broadcast alone or with dry fertilizers, can be added to manure tanks for slurry seeding or drilled (which provides the most consistent stands).

It outperforms most other crops on infertile, sandy or acidic soil. It is also tolerant of a variety of soil types and grows well on both poorly and well-drained soils.

Rye can recycle potassium from deeper in the soil profile for future crop use.

Rye is effective at suppressing weeds. It competes with winter annuals and inhibits growth of spring weeds. As rye residue decomposes, it releases allelopathic compounds that are harmful to the growth of weeds.
The rapid fall and spring growth can stabilize sandy soil, trap snow and improve infiltration.

Rye is utilized for many cropping systems, including fruits and vegetables, where it can be left in narrow strips to reduce wind erosion.

Rye, and all cover crops, build soil quality over time by adding organic matter. Long-term benefits include improved soil structure, tilth, water infiltration and water-holding capacity.

Will deer eat wheat...sure...is it better then rye, not by a long shot and it's primarly for lack of knowledge and old habits that people still bother with wheat.

Now if you live in Kansas and there is nothing but wheat for miles in any direction it would be silly to have rye seed shipped in but I'm talking about the midwest where corn, beans and alfalfa are commonly grown.

Keep in mind also that I encourage crop rotations and planting white or red clover with rye to be tilled under for the next crop. This combination reduces the need for both herbicides and fertilizers all the while providing high quality forage for your whitetails.:way:

 

[bigbukfevr]

soybeans and or turnips would be my choice

 

[dangibbs1]

When you broadcast rye into soybeans you do that in August? Do the leaves need to be turning colors or can they still be green?