Effects of winter barley cultivar mixtures on lodging

Abstract

SummaryThe potential of selected cultivar mixtures to decrease lodging and consequently improve yields in winter barley was examined in field experiments at two locations over 2 years. The experiments were designed to identify growing conditions and varietal characteristics associated with mixture effects, i.e. the deviations from arithmetic pure cultivar means, and to compare the latter with effects of growth regulators. Pathogens were controlled chemically.Use of mixtures tended to reduce initial lodging. With increasing lodging, desired mixture effects prevailed in mixtures of cultivars highly susceptible with those highly resistant to lodging. On average, the yield advantage of mixtures compared with pure stands was small; it was greater when lodging decreased yield of a pure cultivar. Reductions in lodging prevailed in two-component mixtures; adding more components was of no advantage.When lodging developed steadily, effects of mixtures on grain yields were comparable to those of growth regulators. When lodging was caused suddenly by a thunderstorm, only growth regulator applications resulted in yield improvements. Growth regulators resulted in yield advantages in two of the four trials only.

Increased yield stability of field-grown winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) varietal mixtures through ecological processes

“…Barley plants in this study experienced conditions more typical of a northern environment, with heavy wind and rain in the weeks prior to harvest that were unusual for East Anglia. The beneficial effect of mixtures on reducing lodging has been observed previously in several crops, including winter barley ( Stutzel and Aufhammer, 1989 ) and rice ( Revilla-Molina et al., 2009 ). As our study was conducted in a single growing season its findings cannot be extrapolated to produce broad conclusions on the ability of these particular mixtures to stabilise productivity over time.…”

Advantages of Mixing Common Vetch Cultivars Developed from Conventional Breeding Programs when Grown under Low‐Input Farming System

“…Various results have been reported on this topic. Finckh et al (2000) found that increasing the number of components in a mixture resulted in significantly increased yield above the mean of the monoculture components, while Stützel and Aufhammer (1989) reported that using more than two cultivar components in barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) mixtures for lodging reduction was of no advantage. It could be argued that, at least for component cultivars bred under high‐input environment and cultivated under low‐input farming, three component cultivars could result in higher ME and RME values.…”

Wheat cultivar blends: A step forward to sustainable agriculture

“…Other potential benefits of using blends include overcoming winter injury by tiller compensation (Bowden et al, 2001), spreading out periods of nutrient and water requirement (Tilahun, 1995), compensation for neighboring plants killed or weakened by environmental stress (Essah and Stoskopf, 2001) and decreased lodging (Newton et al, 2002;Stützel and Aufhammer, 1988;Grafius, 1966). Superiority of cultivar blends over pure stands attributed to blends component differences in some agronomic characteristics such as height (Trenbath, 1974) and maturity (Schweitzer, 1986).…”