Effects of different tillage systems and mowing time on nutrient accumulation and forage nutritive value of Cyperus esculentus

Abstract

Revealing the complex relationships between management practices, crop growth, forage nutritive value and soil quality will facilitate the development of more sustainable agricultural and livestock production systems. Cyperus esculentus is known as the king of oil crops and high-quality forage. However, there is little information about the effects of different planting modes {continuous cropping (CC)/rotation cropping (RC)} and initial mowing time on the plant nutrient accumulation and forage nutritive value. Here, in a field experiment, we designed two planting patterns, C. esculentus CC and C. esculentus - wheat RC. The leaves, tubers, roots, and soil samples were collected at three mowing time (on the 78th, 101th, and 124th days after seed sowing). Results revealed that RC significantly increased the total nitrogen (TN) and potassium (TK) content of the tuber (p<0.05), while significantly decreased the TN, total phosphorus (TP), crude protein (CP), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of the leaves. Under the CC pattern, the TN, TP, and TK content of roots increased significantly on the 78th days after seed sowing, and the TK content of tubers increased significantly. Under the RC pattern, the ether extract (EE) content of tubers increased significantly on the 124th days after seed sowing, while the CP and TN content of leaves decreased significantly. Correlation analysis showed that soil pH was negatively correlated with TN content in leaves, tubers, and roots. The structural equation model showed that the soil pH directly affected the plant nutrient accumulation and forage nutritive value (β=0.68) via regulating these properties by changing soil available nutrients, anions, cations, and total nutrients. Overall, we propose that RC for C. esculentus-wheat is should not be recommended to maximize tubers and forage yield.

Improving Tuber Yield of Tiger Nut (Cyperus esculentus L.) through Nitrogen Fertilization in Sandy Farmland

“…Prior studies have established that promoting stolon tillering and shoot growth in tiger nut is essential for achieving high yields [ 8 ]. The investigations by DU et al [ 4 ] and Asare et al [ 5 ] revealed that for tiger nut plants to yield exceptionally high tuber yield, robust development of stolon tillering and shoots is necessary, which, in turn, facilitates the generation of a greater number of tubers within the crop population. This research highlights that the most effective N fertilizer treatment for maximizing yield primarily works by increasing the number of individual grains and stolon tillering, thereby leading to a high yield outcome ( Table 1 ).…”

“…Tiger nut ( Cyperus esculentus L.), known as chufa, is an underappreciated crop that is rich in nutrition and has been attracting increasing interest owing to the variety of beneficial substances in its tubers [ 1 , 2 ]. This product is transformed into cooking oil, flour, health supplements, and cosmetics to cater to a diverse range of human needs [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. For instance, in Spain, it is utilized to manufacture beverages, whereas in Africa, it acts as an alternative to flour, addressing food insecurity [ 6 , 7 ].…”