Triticale

Economic importance

Triticale is distinguished by high potential yield, increased protein content in the grain, and resistance to unfavorable environmental factors and diseases.

Its valuable qualities include:

• large grain with a protein content of 13–18% and lysine;
• complex immunity to fungal diseases;
• good winter hardiness;
• high potential productivity;
• ability to grow on poor soils.

Currently, winter and spring forms of triticale have been bred.

The grain is used in bread baking, the confectionery industry, brewing, and as animal feed. Bread made from triticale flour is inferior in quality to wheat bread, but equivalent to rye bread. Straw is used for animal feed and bedding.

Forage varieties of triticale are used for green fodder, early silage, and for making grass meal, feed pellets, and briquettes. All types are readily eaten by animals.

Grain yield is 5–7 t/ha, green mass up to 40–50 t/ha. Under intensive agricultural technology, it can produce yields of up to 8 t/ha of grain and up to 70 t/ha of green mass. Thus, at the Novoaleksandrovsk variety testing plot in Stavropol Krai, a grain yield of 9.2 t/ha was obtained.

Triticale grain contains 1–1.5% more protein than wheat and 3–4% more than rye. The amount of gluten is the same as in wheat, or 2–4% more, but its quality is worse.

Wheat-rye amphidiploids are young plant forms that still have a number of disadvantages, for example, a high proportion of empty grains in the spike, poor threshability of grain, and low flour quality. Triticale is being studied in many countries of the world, as it is of great interest as a grain and forage crop. Currently, it has become widespread in the Volga region, the Central Black Earth zone, the North Caucasus, the Non-Black Earth zone, the Southern Urals, and Siberia.

Cultivation areas and yield

In Russia, triticale is cultivated in the same areas as winter wheat and winter rye. Sown areas occupy less than 100 thousand ha. The largest areas are concentrated in the North Caucasus and the Central Black Earth zone.

Biological characteristics

Winter forms of triticale are relatively winter-hardy and withstand frosts down to −18…−20 °C in the tillering node zone.

Soil requirements

It is less demanding on soils than winter wheat. It grows well on sod-podzolic, gray forest, light loamy, and sandy loam soils. Maximum yield is manifested on chernozems with pH 5.5–7. Waterlogged and saline chernozems are less suitable.

Vegetation

Triticale tillers better in autumn and continues in spring. Total tillering at optimal sowing dates during the autumn period is 3–6.

Triticale is a self-pollinating plant, but cross-pollination is not excluded. Ripening occurs 3–5 days later than in winter wheat. The growing season is 250–325 days.

The following phases of growth and development are distinguished:

• emergence;
• tillering;
• booting;
• heading;
• flowering;
• milk ripeness of grain;
• wax ripeness of grain;
• full ripeness of grain.

Crop rotation

Triticale is less demanding on preceding crops than winter wheat.

The best preceding crops in crop rotation are clean fallow (black fallow), occupied and green-manure fallow, grain legumes, early potato, perennial and annual grasses. A good yield is also obtained after grain crops, since it is only slightly affected by root rots. It is a good preceding crop for other crops.

Fertilizer system

For the formation of 1 t of grain and the corresponding amount of straw, according to data from the Department of Crop Production of the MSKhA named after K. A. Timiryazev, triticale removes 28–50 kg of nitrogen, 12–16 kg of phosphorus, and 26–40 kg of potassium. Maximum nutrient consumption occurs in the booting stage and during grain formation and filling.

Fertilizer rates are determined taking into account soil fertility, moisture supply, and planned yield. Application rates of the main organic fertilizer on sod-podzolic soils are 35–40 t/ha, on chernozem soils 20–25 t/ha.

Mineral fertilizers are applied at rates N_45-60P_60-70K_45-60. For clean fallow — N₃₀P₆₀K₆₀, for occupied fallow — N₆₀P₉₀K₆₀. Simultaneously with sowing, P_15-20 is applied in rows. In spring top dressing, N_60-40 is applied.

Tillage system

Tillage system depends on the preceding crop, field weed infestation, types of weed vegetation, and soil and climatic conditions. Tillage for triticale is similar to tillage for winter wheat and winter rye.

Sowing

Crop care

When sowing in loose, unsettled soil or with insufficient moisture, post-sowing rolling is carried out. In spring, triticale plants start growing earlier, quickly form secondary roots, and outpace winter wheat by 1.5–2 times. For this reason, surface spring top dressing is carried out earlier, and root top dressing as soon as it becomes possible to go into the field.

The forms and doses of fertilizers are the same as for winter wheat.

Harvesting

Triticale grain is tightly enclosed in the glumes and does not shatter when ripening. During harvesting, single-phase and two-phase methods are used. Since the grain is larger than that of winter wheat, during threshing, to avoid cracking it, the gap between the cylinder and the concave is increased and the cylinder speed is reduced to 600 rpm.

Cleaning and sorting of grain are carried out on grain-cleaning machines with sieves having larger openings.

Forage varieties for green fodder and silage are harvested at the heading stage.

Triticale varieties

In the State Register of 2006, 48 triticale varieties were included, including 1 forage and 1 facultative (winter-spring) variety.

Among grain varieties, Amphidiploid 206, Amphidiploid 60, Amphidiploid 3/5, and Talva 100 are grown.

Forage varieties include Viktor, Konveyer, Odessky Kormovoy, and Kaluga.

List of sources

1. Kolomeichenko V. V. (2007). Crop Production/Textbook. Moscow: Agrobusinesscenter.
2. Vavilov P. P., Gritsenko V. V., Kuznetsov V. S. et al. (1986). Crop Production. Ed. by Vavilov P. P. 5th ed., revised and enlarged. Moscow: Agropromizdat.
3. Niklyaev V. S. (2000). Fundamentals of Agricultural Production Technology. Agriculture and Crop Production. Moscow: Bylina.