Marcus Lopez, Bryan Brown, Abby Seaman
One of our weed management systems will rely on a vigorous cover crop of rye that will be rolled down for mulch. When roller-crimping rye for mulch, timing is critical. Too early, and the rye can re-grow after rolling. Too late, and you risk the rye producing viable seed, which can become a weed problem. It is generally advised to roller-crimp rye towards the end of anthesis. Anthesis stages can be determined using using Zadok’s growth scale. We rated the rye at several spots through our field and aimed to crimp when the average Zadok stage was about 67. This would ensure that the smallest rye was at least at 61. But, as we approached this stage, we had a thunderstorm that knocked off all the pollen tubes and made it difficult estimate the stage! We ended up roller-crimping on June 1.
Rye anthesis is first visible in the middle of the seed head (left, Zadok’s 65) and works its way to the top and bottom (right, Zadok’s 69).