Cover Crops for Vegetable Growers
Newsletter articles
Early summer
Mid and
late summer
Late summer
legumes
Early fall
Fall
Early spring
Cover crop information
Buckwheat
Annual
ryegrass
Oats
Wheat (includes
spelt, triticale)
Rye
Sudangrass
Reed Canarygrass
Arugula
Mustard, spring
Mustard, fall
Forage
Radish
Forage Turnips
Red
clover
Hairy Vetch
Field Peas
White
Clover
Annual
ryegrass Click to download printable PDF
file
Annual ryegrass is a turf grass with a dense, shallow root system. The extensive root system of this cover crop will tolerate compacted soils and makes it an effective catch crop for excess nitrogen. It offers many benefits including erosion control, improving aggregate stability and minimizing soil compaction, which is useful in high traffic areas. It can also be used as a nurse crop with Fall planted legumes such as clover. Annual ryegrass grows vigorously enough to out-compete late summer annuals as well as winter annuals that start in the fall. Ryegrass will tolerate a wide range of soils but performs best on loam soils with high fertility. Rapid dense growth will suppress weeds in 4-6 weeks and will provide winter cover. These many attributes make annual ryegrass an effective management tool in vegetable crop rotations.
Land
preparation
Annual ryegrass is a good cover crop choice on heavier ground.
A rapid start depends on adequate soil moisture and a
well-drained, clod-free seed bed free of weeds. There is often
sufficient residual nitrogen after vegetables. However, if there is not
sufficient nitrogen, 30 lb/ac of N can double the fall growth of
ryegrass.
Seeding rate
Drill at 10- 20 lb/ac
Broadcast at 20-30 lb/ac and cover with 1/2 inch of soil.
When blending with clover use 2/3 annual ryegrass and 1/3 clover. Plant
at 15-25 lb/ac .
Seeding date
Early Spring through late
Summer.
Avoid seeding this cover crop during hot dry weather. Annual
ryegrass can be interseeded between or over established vegetable
crops. Broadcast seed when conditions are moist and before the canopy
fills in. Plant in Fall as a winter cover or as a nurse crop for clover.
Seed Source
Local, Seedway, Ernst
Conservation Seeds. Annual ryegrass is produced in Oregon. For a list
of seed dealers providing varieties suitable for cover crops see
www.ryegrass.com/dealers.
Maintenance
Mow for visual effects. If fall planted with
legumes, mow to prevent the legumes from being
smothered.
Control
Annual ryegrass will mostly
overwinter, especially where there is good snow cover. Southern types
such as Gulf will winterkill, Midwestern ones will survive .
The variety is often not specified for the New York market. A concern
with annual ryegrass is preventing it from going to seed in the spring.
Annual ryegrass volunteers are particularly undesirable in small
grains, so special care must be taken if they are part of your
rotation. It can be controlled with tillage and/or
herbicides. When tilling, plow under and disk as soon as conditions
permit. The timing of herbicide applications is important to
control ryegrass. Apply glyphosate at 3 pt/ac when the grass is 6-9
inches tall, day temperatures are > 50 F and the weather is
sunny. A second or third application may be necessary to burn down
ryegrass. Simazine can be added to the tank mix but requires rain to
activate, Atrazine should not be tank mixed with other herbicides.
Apply 14-21 days after the glyphosate. Atrazine also needs rain to
activate.
Tips
Heavily crusted soil at planting
time will inhibit growth, resulting in gaps in the carpet of grass.
August seeded annual ryegrass makes a dense carpet of sod by spring.
This is valuable for improving soil health and for nitrogen scavenging.
It takes some time for decomposition after spring tillage. For
additional information see http://www.ryegrasscovercrop.com/.
Problems
Ryegrasses are susceptible to
crown and brown rust (Puccinia
spp.) Resistant varieties include,
Passerel Plus and Marshall.
For further information on annual ryegrass see the article on Mid and late summer cover crops.
