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Rye

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Rye (Secale cereale L.) is a grass species, often cultivated as a cover crop and belonging to the family Poaceae. Among the major cereal cops in the tribe Triticeae, rye is the most winter hardy and the most tolerant of drought and soil acidity. Rye grain is important for use in bread, beer, rye whiskey, and animal fodder. Botanists cite the natural history of rye as an important example of Vavilovian mimicry.

Quotes

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  • The grain of rye is darker in color than that of wheat, but is otherwise similar in appearance. Rye flour differs from wheat flour in flavor, the liking for the one or the other being a matter of preference. It differs, however, in another way and in an important particular—its gluten has not the same elastic, tenacious quality and does not yield so light and well-raised a loaf. Although this fact and its dark color make it less popular than wheat, it is second in importance as a breadstuff. It is more easily raised than wheat, especially in cold countries, and therefore has a lower market value. In many parts of Europe it practically replaces wheat among the poor and in army rations. When it is milled entire, as it usually is, it contains more protein than wheat flour, but is probably less completely digested. Wheat and rye flour are often used together in bread making.
  • During recent years finds from several prehistoric and medieval periods have thrown new light on the history of the spread of rye. It is now proven that wild rye is indigenous to Anatolia and was already domesticated there by the early Neolithic at the beginning of agriculture. Secale migrated to Central Europe as a weed among other cereals, and single grains of weed rye have been recorded there since the early Neolithic. The number of finds increased during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and the status of rye changed from weed to crop plant, probably in the course of the early Iron Age. This acculturation of Secale cereale in central and eastern Europe was obviously independent of the earlier one in Anatolia. The first stages towards deliberate cultivation happened unintentionally through harvesting close to the ground, so that the rye was permanently represented in the seed corn. From this point rye was able to take advantage of its competitive strength on poor soils and in areas with unfavourable climate. The start of rye as a crop in its own right during the pre-Roman Iron Age and Roman period presumably took place independently in different areas. The expansion of intensive rye cultivation occurred in the Middle Ages.
  • As fall and early spring pasture, rye is especially valuable. Sown August 20th to September 15th it affords a considerable amount of pasturage until late in the fall, and is practically certain to live over winter, renewing its growth in the spring, providing the earliest of spring pasture. While all kinds of stock relish rye as spring pasture, and do well on it, milk from cows allowed full feed on luxuriant rye pasture will be likely to ill flavored. The green crop may be used for soiling purposes, or as a green manure crop.
  • Ergot, the most serious disease of rye, causes severe losses. This disease is characterized by large purple-black bodies that replace some of the rye kernels in the head.
    Ergot can be controlled by sowing ergot-free seed on land that has not been cropped to rye for at least 2 years. Ergot loses its viability after a year; if year-old seed is sown, there is little likelihood of infection.
    Ergot is poisonous to humans and to livestock. If must be removed from rye grain that is to be used for feed or for milling. ...
    Stem rust and leaf rust attack rye but are not serious because crops usually mature before the damage becomes significant. Stem smut can be destructive to rye, but rarely occurs.
    Anthracnose causes stunted growth and premature ripening of the rye plant. It is particularly severe in the East South Central and South Atlantic States.
    • Leland Wilson Briggle, Growing rye. Farmers' Bulletin No. 2145, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1959. p. 15. 
  • ... Of the eight major cereal crops, rye was eighth in production during the late 1980s and the 1990s ...
    Rye is a highly versatile crop. As a green plant, it is used as livestock pasture and as green manure in crop rotations; as grain, it is used for livestock feed and as feedstock in alcohol distilling; and as flour, it is used in breads and many other baked products.
    Of the cereal flours, only wheat and rye can be used successfully in production of leavened bread. Rye is considered inferior to wheat in production of high-volume pan breads, because its dough lacks essential elasticity and gas-retention properties. Rye flour can be used alone to produce “black” bread, which is consumed extensively in eastern Europe and parts of Asia. In many countries, “light-rye” breads are made from rye and wheat flours mixed in varying proportions. The characteristic flavor of rye is liked by many people. Small quantities of rye are used in production of baked specialty products, such as flat breads and rye crisps.
    Substantial quantities of rye grain are also used in production of alcoholic beverages. Rye is the acknowledged trademark of Canadian whiskey.
  • ... Most of the cultivated rye species are members of the genus Secale, and has probably evolved from a perennial grass (Secale montanum) that still grows wild in southern Europe (Arendt and Zannini, 2013; Sapirstein and Bushuk, 2016; Wrigley and Bushuk, 2017). Although rye is now cultivated worldwide, in terms of total production it is a minor cereal. The distribution of rye production differs from that of wheat, due to its demand for cooler growth temperatures and large differences in regional preferences for rye-based products (Poutanen et al., 2014; Wrigley and Bushuk, 2017). Europe provides more than 85% of the world’s rye production (12.8 million tons, 2019), including the leading rye producing countries: Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, and Belarus.
  • It was that time of the year, the turning-point of summer, when the crops of the present year are a certainty, when one begins to think of the sowing for next year, and the mowing is at hand; when the rye is all in ear, though its ears are still light, not yet full, and it waves in gray-green billows in the wind ...
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