WINTER SURVIVAL, FORAGE AND GRAIN YIELDS OF SPRING-SEEDED WINTER WHEAT AND WINTER RYE MOWED ONCE OR SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE WINTER

Winter wheat and winter rye seeded at Edmonton in May, 1969, were harvested for forage, either once at four different dates or repeatedly up to four times before winter. Winter wheat forage in plots mowed four times was over 6000 kg/ha (2.7 tons/acre). Winter survival, although only about 35%, was much superior to the 7–10% in unmowed controls. Forage yield from May-seeded winter rye mowed four times was about 5300 kg/ha (2.4 tons/acre). Winter survival was better than 85% in such plots compared with only about 30% in unmowed spring plots. The latest single mowing on September 1, or series of mowings ending on September 1, resulted in best winter survival from both spring-seeded crops. There was virtually complete survival of both crops that were unmowed after seeding on August 15. The grain yield from the spring-seeded rye that had the greatest amount of forage, noted above, and which had best winter survival was about two-thirds that of unmowed August-seeded rye.