Manganese Deficiency in Rye

[cutman]

According to my local coop, this is an example of manganese deficiency in Abruzzi Rye. You can see the discoloration of the blades:

I don't plan on addressing the deficiency because this is essentially just a scavenging cover crop, but I'm glad to know the cause. Thought y'all might be interested as well.


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[OkieKubota]

Thanks for getting a diagnosis. It will be of use...

 

[MarkDarvin]

Won't you get a manganese problem in your subsequent crops? I've been eyeballing this too because my manganese is at 8ppm. The quacks I follow say 20-40 is ideal. Funny part is, according to University of Wisconsin, manganese is a hard one to fix because if you have good pH and organic matter, it'll tie up in the soil.

http://corn.agronomy.wisc.edu/Management/pdfs/a2526.pdf

 

[cutman]

I will add manganese with future fertilizer applications, I'm just not going to worry about it for the rye. My coop did say, however, that manganese deficiency only typically affects small grains on our area, so subsequent spring crops (corn, beans, peas, etc) will most likely be ok.

 

[dgallow]

What are your soil and plant tissue levels of Mn?

Alternating cold and warm fronts jack with soil and plant nutrient cycling. It is also a very slow growth period for most part of the US so nutrient issues are to be expected...IMO there are several nutrient issues in the pics....but again could be normal based on weather patterns. Think about taking paired soil and rye forage samples in mid Feb to early March once robust plant growth resumes and soil cycling has started. Further, any lime applications in the past three years will depress Mn activity in soil (other trace metals too).....availability increases once lime has stabilized in soil. Addressing a Mn issue can be very expensive and frustrating....you may save time and trouble with paired testing.

Another thing I see in your pic is older rye leaves going senescent either from 1) too little animal grazing pressure or 2) frost bite....or both issues. With good growing conditions and new leaves much of that becomes moot point.