Until this year, I probably would have argued that it would be darn difficult to kill winter rye in a Minnesota winter. Last fall was dry, but eventually all six winter rye trial locations had excellent stands. They had reached at least the tillering stage before winter weather halted growth and development. The winter that followed was very open and dry, however, and resulted in enough winterkill that three locations were abandoned. I suspect that desiccation, rather than the temperature, led to their demise. The average winter survival scores of the three remaining trial locations are summarized in Table 1.
My interpretation is that KWS Receptor, SU Erling, and Danko are slightly more prone to winterkill and thinner stands if there is a very open and dry winter, and that Hazlet, Rymin, and ND Gardner are the least likely to suffer stand losses in open and dry winters.
Table 1 - Average winter survival score of winter rye varieties at three locations in Minnesota in 2025 (with equalling 1=0-10% survival and a 9 equalling 90-100% survival)
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