Overseeding Alfalfa with Rye and/or Annual Ryegrass Can Improve Forage Distribution and Total Production

A forage system based on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) that provides winter productivity without sacrificing summer or autumn forage production could be beneficial to the dairy, beef, and equine industries in the southeastern USA. The objectives of this research were to characterize the effect of a single instance of drilling or broadcasting rye, annual ryegrass, or a combination of the two into existing stands of alfalfa. A small-plot trial was conducted over three years on mature alfalfa stands with new stands chosen each year. Treatments consisted of overseeding with cereal rye (Secale cereale L., CR), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., AR), or a combination of rye and annual ryegrass (CR-AR) using either a broadcast or drilled planting method and an untreated control arranged in a randomized complete block design (four replications). Over the three years, the total forage yield of the forage system was increased (P < 0.001) by 2700 lbs DM/acre (34%) by overseeding with CR or CR-AR and by 1400 lbs DM/acre (16%) when overseeded with AR, compared to the control. Planting method did not have a consistent effect (P > 0.10). Overseeding species or planting method had no effects on summer and autumn alfalfa yields nor on stem count in any of the three years. Alfalfa can be overseeded with rye and/or annual ryegrass by drilling or broadcasting to increase total yield without reducing alfalfa production during the summer or autumn or hastening stand decline.