388 



T1IF. FARMERS JTAXDPOOK. 



RYE.* 



Rye (Secale cereale) is grown to a very limited extent in Australia, and 

 of the area under the crop, New South Wales generally contributes about 

 one-third. The area devoted to rye is decreasing gradually each year, owing 

 mainly to the fact that oats are being grown successfully for grain on land 

 formerly considered only suitable for rye. Rye is grown for grain, hay, and 

 green feed, but where wheat and oats grow well it is unwise and wasteful 

 to grow rye. 



The following table shows the acreage under rye and the yields obtained 

 in New South Wales during the years 1.917 to 1921 : — 



Grain. 



Hav. 



Production. 



Total 

 Area. 



The Uses of Rye. 



Grain. — In other countries rye grain is principally used in the making of 

 bread and alcoholic beverages. In Australia it is used to a limited extent 

 for feeding live stock; it is usually ground and fed in combination with 

 other grains to horses and pigs. 



Green Manure and Forage. — Rye is chiefly valuable in New South Wales 



(a) for the production of early winter feed on very poor country, and 



(b) as a green manure crop on very poor soils, on account of its hardiness 

 and ability to grow on those soils most in need of assistance. The 

 adaptability of rye to poor sandy Foils has been shown by its growth at 

 Hawkesbury Agricultural College, where it has been cultivated as a green 

 manure crop on the sandy parts of the orchard, and has given better results 

 than any other crop. Rye used for pasture and s >iling is especially valuable 

 for late winter and early springfeed. Owing to its hardiness it growsduring 

 the cold period of the year. Planted early, it may be pastured some time in 

 early winter and again for a few weeks in spring. It^ suitability for the 

 production of green fodder- has been tested on various farms and on a 

 number of farmers' experiment plots on the coast. Though on average land 

 wheat and oats have given better results, it has also been shown that there is 

 an advantage to be pained by growing rye on the poor soils. While rye will 

 yield the largest amount of green feed if cut when the ear is just peeping 

 through the sheath, it yields a fair amount of palatable fodder if cut early. 



*J. 0. Henrick, B.A., B.Sc. (Agr.), Instructure in Agricultu e, Hawkesbury Agricul- 

 tural l ollege. 



