Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), also known as cereal rye, is the most winter hardy and drought tolerant of all small grains.
Winter rye performs best in sandy loam, well-drained soils compared to fine textured soils with poor internal drainage. Soil pH for optimum growth ranges from 5.6 to 7 but rye can tolerate pH as low as 4.5 and as high as 8. Expect winter rye to be more productive than other small grains on infertile, sandy soils. Winter rye will continue to grow until late fall, overwinter, and resume growth quickly in the early spring. The aforementioned attributes explains the popularity of winter rye as a cover crop/green manure in both organic and conventional production systems. Other primary uses of winter rye are pasture/forage and grain crop. Hybrid winter rye varieties that are commercially available yield 30% to 40% more compared to the best performing open-pollinated varieties.
Cereal rye’s yield potential is reduced when encountering unusually cold and late springs. This yield reduction is the result of a shorter period of vegetative growth and the inability of the crop to take up sufficient nitrogen to maximize grain yield as it is applied too late for the crop to take advantage of it.
Winter rye field crop variety trial data
2025 winter rye field crop variety trial narrative
Winter rye (Secale cereale L.), also known as cereal rye, is the most winter hardy and drought tolerant of all small grains. Winter rye performs best in well-drained, sandy loam soils compared to fine textured soils with poor internal drainage. Soil pH for optimum growth ranges from 5.6 to 7.0 but rye can tolerate pH as low as 4.5 and as high as 8. Expect winter rye to be more productive than other small grains on infertile, sandy soils. Winter rye will continue to grow until late fall, overwinter, and resume growth quickly in the early spring. The aforementioned attributes explain the popularity of winter rye as a cover crop, green manure, and/or forage in both organic and conventional production systems.
Results of the University of Minnesota’s variety performance evaluations are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. In 2025 the rye performance trials were grown near Lamberton, Le Center, Becker, Grand Rapids, Crookston, and Roseau. The open winter caused enough winterkill in the trials near LeCenter, Becker, and Crookston to have to abandon them. The differences in winterkill, however, were consistent enough that winter hardiness scores could be assigned for the first time since testing of hybrid winter rye was started in 2015 (Table 1). The primary use, other agronomic characteristics, and grain quality are also summarized in Table 1. Days to heading, plant height, straw strength, test weight, and grain protein have been converted to a 1-9 scale to allow for more straightforward interpretation of the data. Differences in days to heading, plant height and straw strength are generally much less in the northern half of the state. In the southern half of Minnesota, the differences between varieties for these characteristics are greater as the period of vegetative growth is generally longer, especially with early and mild springs. Therefore, the averages of the actual data can be misleading. Varieties with lodging scores greater than 6 should be chosen with caution as lodging can reduce harvestability, yield, and quality. This is especially important if soils are highly fertile.
For comparison, the one- and three-year averages of relative grain yield of tested varieties is presented in Table 2. The average yield across the three testing locations presented in the one-year data was 110 bu/acre in 2024. This compares to 108 bu/acre average in 2023 and a three-year average of 122 bu/acre. Danko and Hazlet are the most productive and best adapted of the open pollinated varieties. Hybrid winter rye varieties that are commercially available yield 30% more compared to the best performing open-pollinated varieties.
Varieties differ in their susceptibility to several economically important fungal pathogens, including powdery mildew, leaf rust, Fusarium head blight (FHB), and ergot. Not enough observations have been made to date to reliably differentiate winter rye varieties based on their susceptibility to these diseases. No variety tested is immune to either FHB or ergot. Hybrid winter rye varieties tend to have much lower incidence of ergot as a consequence of the more uniform crop which results in better seed set. Application of a fungicide should be considered if powdery mildew is present before jointing. Likewise, control of leaf rust may be warranted if the disease is found near the top of the canopy just as the flag leaf is emerging. Use fungicide at the beginning of anthesis to suppress FHB when the risk models are indicating moderate to high risk.
Project Leader
Jochum Wiersma
Test Plot Managers
Dave Grafstrom, Keith Mann, Rafael Moreira, Mark Peterson, Donn Vellekson, and Travis Vollmer
Winter rye field crop variety trial archive
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