With corn silage harvest underway — or almost underway — on many farms, crop fields will soon be ready to seed winter forage. Wheat and rye are common cereal grains planted after corn for silage production in the spring, but triticale has been climbing winter forage ranks in recent years as well.
Triticale, a hybrid of wheat and rye, has been shown to be a high-quality forage with good yield potential. Planting the annual forage reduces erosion and gives farmers more opportunities to apply manure. In a recent issue of Crop Soil News newsletter, Thomas Kilcer notes triticale also creates ideal field conditions for no-till seeding the following spring.
The keys to realizing triticale’s best attributes are timely planting and adequate fertilization. Kilcer suggests seeding triticale two weeks before the recommended planting date for wheat in a specific area to encourage early tiller growth. This is especially critical for Northern regions.
Sept. 12, 2023 08:00 AM
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