# Annual Ryegrass Old Drill Settings?



## eth555 (Apr 9, 2014)

I have an old grain drill and I am going to be planting Annual Ryegrass as a nurse crop for alfalfa. I know the recommended rate is 4-8 lbs/acre, where do I start with my settings on this drill. It has Millet, Flax, Wheat, Rye, Oats and Barley; but are in quarts and pecks in what I assume is per acre. Is annual ryegrass seed similar to cereal rye seed to use the rye setting? I am thinking I am going ot have to turn it down just below the 2 pecks setting on Rye to get somewhere close to 4-8 lbs/acre. I looked up there are 4 pecks in a bushel, and a bushel of rye weighs somewhere around 56 lbs, so the setting of 2 would be around 14 lbs/acre. Am I thinking about this right, or overthinking it? Attached pictures of the settings on the drill, sorry if they are hard to see. Thanks for any input.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Ryegrass TW is 24 lbs

Ryegrain TW is 56 lbs

2 totally different things.

oats is 32 lbs-2 pecks is 1/2 bu = 16 lbs of oats,1/2 bu by volume of ryegrass = 12 lbs at 2 peck setting on oats.

Looks like that's as low as it goes.You maybe could plug every other hole?

That's just a estimate you will have to check to see how close it is.


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## eth555 (Apr 9, 2014)

Thanks that gives me a place to start. I do have plates that seal off every other hole, but I will see if I can get it set just below the 2 peck setting first. I thought I read in an older thread that you (SWMNHAY) had commented that you had planted 10 lbs/acre with success as a nurse crop. So thinking if I am a little heavy hopefully will be OK.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

eth555 said:


> Thanks that gives me a place to start. I do have plates that seal off every other hole, but I will see if I can get it set just below the 2 peck setting first. I thought I read in an older thread that you (SWMNHAY) had commented that you had planted 10 lbs/acre with success as a nurse crop. So thinking if I am a little heavy hopefully will be OK.


I seed 8-10 lbs.Some say seed less so not as much competition for the alfalfa.

Get it off the field as fast as you can by tedding or tipping the hay would be my advise.Chop it would be better yet.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

I would use oats . We like oats hay . To heavy rate arg. could be bad


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

To get a fairly accurate measurement I've run the drill 1/2 mile and caught the seed from one seed tube and weighed it and calculated it out.


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