old rye seed, any good??

[Dave from MN]

How old can rye seed get before it will not be good to seed. A friend has about 50 bushels I can have for nothing, if I want it. Has been stored in a open bin, inside a dry shed. He said it may be about 10 years old. If it'll grow it'll save me some money, plus I get free use of a fanning mill to clean it.

 

[Michael Soldan]

Easy Dave, count out 300 seeds and put them in a pan, water and a cover of wet paper towels, put in a dark warm place. Then count the germination rate per hundred and you'll know. I'd guess that anything over 80% germination rate would be good enough for planting rye, especially as a cover crop or a plough down crop. If you get less germ rate, then plant thicker and you'll still be OK

 

[Anonymous-0]

Germination small grains decline about 1/2% for first 5 years, 3/4 %next 5 years. Asumes open dry storage, no molds. Possibly 75- 85% germination. For free - plant it heavy