EFFECT OF FORAGE HARVEST ON GRAIN YIELD AND AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF WINTER TRITICALE, WHEAT AND RYE

In field experiments at Guelph, Ontario four winter triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) genotypes, one winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell.), and one winter rye (Secale cereale L.) were evaluated during three seasons for grain yield, forage yield, and agronomic performance following forage harvests at two stages of plant development in the spring. When the results were averaged across all the winter cereals, spring cuttings decreased final plant height and incidence of lodging and delayed the heading date by up to 2 wk, but did not consistently affect test weight. The early joint forage harvest reduced average grain yields by 6% while the mid-joint harvest, about 1 wk later, reduced yields by 28%. The early joint harvest yielded, on average, 1.5 tonnes/ha of forage while the mid-joint harvest yielded 2.2 tonnes/ha. OAC Wintri triticale, however, yielded, on average, 0.5 tonnes/ha more grain following the early joint harvest than the uncut control. Forage cutting of OAC Wintri might be an effective method for obtaining additional forage production, reducing lodging, and increasing grain yield in years when spring vegetative growth is luxuriant.Key words: Forage harvest, spring cutting, triticale (winter), wheat (winter), rye (winter), lodging, grain yield