Agronomy of a Perennial Rye Cultivar Compared to Annual Rye, Biennial Rye and a Native Grass Mix and the Effects of Each Cropping System on Several Soil Properties

Perennial cultivars of grain crops have the potential to provide comparable yields to the analogous annual varieties while maintaining or even enhancing soil properties. To test this hypothesis, we are currently studying the effects of the ACE-1 perennial cereal rye (Secale cereale L. × S. montanum) on soil properties at two experimental sites in Central Alberta, Canada. Both sites are organized in a randomized complete block design to evaluate agronomic responses and soil properties such as grain yield, biomass production, root mass, soil bulk density and soil carbon inputs of perennial rye on a black grassland soil and a grey wooded soil. The treatments were applied to each replicated block as follows: perennial rye (recently developed ACE-1), annual rye (Gazelle), biennial rye (Hazlett), native grass mix and black fallow. Moreover, all plots excluding the fallow were duplicated, with four seeded treatment plots receiving 56 kg Ha^-1 of nitrogen fertilizer and four receiving no nitrogen fertilization for a total of nine experimental treatments. Baseline soil sampling was completed in July 2017 prior to seeding and analyzed for total organic carbon and total nitrogen. Another soil sampling is planned at the end of the 2018 field season to contrast the total organic carbon and total nitrogen between treatments. The effects of the treatments on soil bulk density, water retention, pore-size distribution and hydraulic conductivity will be determined using the HYPROP method on samples completed in late June 2018. Root sampling was completed in early July 2018 and the results will be used to contrast the different root growth patterns and below ground carbon allocation between cultivars in the middle of the season. Grain yield and biomass production will be determined upon harvest. The experiment is expected to continue into spring 2020. The aim of this research is to quantify the agronomic differences between rye cultivars to aid in the development of more sustainable farming practices that have the potential to maintain or improve soil properties.