Use of rye (Secale cereale L.) as a forage; change in hay yield and quality depending on harvest stage

This research was carried out to reveal the production possibilities of rye (Secale cereale L.) for forage purposes. In the study, the change in yield and nutritional value of rye at different maturity periods were examined and for this purpose, 10 rye genotypes consisting of local populations and the variety "Aslım -95" and one triticale and barley variety were used as control. The experiment was carried out in the farmer field in Yozgat-Sorgun in the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 growing seasons and was established in a split plots design with 3 replications. Plant height, hay yield, crude protein ratio, ADF (Fiber insoluble in acid solvents), NDF (Fiber insoluble in neutral solvents), Ca, Mg, P and K ratios (%) and Relative Feed Value (RFV) were investigated at 3 stages: pre-heading, full flowering and post-fertilization. Plant, year, cutting time were very important (p<0.01) on the examined features. Two-year results showed that rye has a very high forage production potential. Depending on the cutting time, plant height, hay yield, ADF and NDF increased, while crude protein, mineral matter ratios and NYD decreased. Considering the combined years; hay yield of rye was superior to triticale and barley. The average hay yield among the forms was determined in the highest (14.95 t ha-1) at post-fertilization and lowest (9.24 t ha-1) at pre-heading stage. At post-fertilization stage, the highest hay yield was obtained from Sorgum1 (15.88 t ha-1), Sorgun2 (16.91 t ha-1), Çekerek (15.76 t ha-1) populations and Aslım-95 (15.58 t ha-1) variety of rye. The mean crude protein and NYD values were %15.81, 12.98, 11.17 and 96.42, 85.36, 84.50 at pre-heading, full flowering and post-fertilization stages, respectively. In terms of crude protein, compared to barley and triticale, rye genotypes showed superior results at pre-heading and similar results at full flowering stage. At the post-fertilization stage, the highest crude protein content (13.33%) was determined in triticale, and the crude protein content of rye genotypes was similar or lower than that of barley. These results showed that rye has an important potential in terms of forage production, depending on the genotype, but the nutritional value decreases significantly depending on cutting time, and in this respect, it would be appropriate to harvest at the between full flowering and fertilization stage.