By Jeffrey S Graybill
The warm fall coupled with timely planting has resulted in excellent growth of many small grain and cover crop fields across the state. While this is a bonus if you were looking to take a late fall harvest, it is not necessarily a good thing for winter survival.
With the increased use of diverse cover crop species, some farmers are finding that winter injury and winter kill can become a problem. Traditionally, when we think of winter kill we assume that a very cold snap combined with factors such as wet soils and frost heaving are the culprits. This is generally true for late planted covers which have not developed an adequate root system nor carbohydrate reserves. Physical injury, cold temperatures and desiccation combine to stress and potentially kill tender young plants. However, with the advent of a warm fall and extended growing season we are seeing the opposite. Species with excellent growth and establishment go into winter looking great and when the snow melts large areas of foliage have “smothered” and died. In many cases the growing points are also affected and the areas are either very slow to green up or are entirely dead.
Snow mold is often the main culprit. A thick lush canopy of leaves will hold moisture, prevent air circulation and sunlight from entering the canopy. This provides an ideal environment for the various diseases collectively called snow molds. Leaves in contact with the soil are often affected first. Snow cover coupled with temperatures just above freezing in the canopy will allow the disease to continue infecting upper leaves and with prolonged periods kill the crown. Snow molds primarily affect grasses but I have also seen winter kill in crimson clover and other non-grass species.
Here in south central Pennsylvania, annual ryegrass seems to be particularly sensitive, with barley, wheat and rye less so. What’s the solution? Ryegrass has excellent yield and nutritional factors, so I don’t want to discourage you from growing it. One consideration is to include ryegrass as part of a mixture with other grasses and legume species. I have grown a ryegrass, triticale and crimson clover mixture for the past three successive years here in Lancaster County with excellent results. Another option is to monitor growth, and if needed, take a late cutting to open up the canopy and remove excessive biomass. It’s not too late to walk your ryegrass plantings and consider this option. If the canopy is approaching 7-8 inches and is fairly thick, a cutting may be warranted.