Yield and quality of triticale cultivars at progressive stages of maturity

Abstract

Summary Two experiments were done in which the yield, digestibility and protein content of several autumnsown triticale cultivars were compared with rye and, on one occasion, ryegrass. Rye and an earlyflowering triticale cultivar (A208) had the highest early season yields and, at that stage, all cultivars and species had high digestibility. When harvesting was delayed, the yield of later flowering cultivars (A386 or the latest flowering variety, A876) was greatest. When the plots were cut and harvested again, the intermediate and late maturing varieties (e.g. A386, A876–10) gave the highest yields of digestible dry matter. It was concluded that there was no advantage in using a mixture of cultivars as in the commercially available ‘Trical’ and that the available cultivars offered farmers useful alternatives in harvesting strategy and breeders the opportunity to develop earlier high-yielding triticale cultivars.