Ten Reasons why Cereal Rye is a great Fall Cover Crop
Posted on September 27, 2013 by Jim Isleib, Michigan State University Extension
Why consider rye?
Here are a few good reasons why cereal rye remains an excellent choice for a fall cover crop in many situations:
- Reduces weed seed germination (allelopathic effect).
- Provides significant organic material for soil improvement (up to 3-5 tons per acre if grown to maturity).
- Reduces or prevents soil erosion in fall and spring.
- Supplies nutrients to the following crops (good scavenger of surplus nitrogen and other nutrients, reducing nitrate leaching by tying up nitrate in rye plant material and making it available to following crops).
- Very winter hardy.
- Easy to establish.
- Germinates quickly.
- Provides structural support for an additional legume cover crop, such as hairy vetch.
- Establishes well without seed coverage by soil, as long as the soil is moist enough.
- On wet, clay soils, rye can help reduce excess spring soil moisture.
Sounds great! Are there any downsides?