Efficiency and competitive ability of festulolium mixed with alfalfa when grown for feed

Abstract

The results of yield analysis and biological efficiency of joint cultivation of festulolium and alfalfa with different methods of sowing and nitrogen fertilizers in the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia are presented. The joint sowing of festulolium with alfalfa at different alternation of rows reduces the yield of green mass by 8.9-15.1% compared to the single-seeded festulolium sowing. Nitrogen application at a dose of 30 kg/ha significantly increased the yield of festulolium mixtures with alfalfa in the variants of inter-row sowing by 21.2% and in the variant of sowing by seed mixture by 20.2% due to the increase of shoots on festulolium plant by 11.1%, and the shoot weight - by 12.5-17.8%. An increase in nitrogen dose to 60 kg/ha significantly increased the yield of festulolium 16.13 t/ha green mass (74.1%) compared with unfertilized background due to an increase in the number of shoots on the plant by 26.6% and an increase in weight per shoot by 30.1%. There was a 21.0-30.2% decrease in the number of shoots of the cereal component in the mixtures and a 76.7-82.1% decrease in the number of shoots of the legume component. At the same time, the shoot mass of festulolium increased by 8.3-42.5%, while that of alfalfa decreased by 54.3-81.5%, indicating its depression. Land equivalent ratio (LER) is higher in the variants with the application of fertilizers. With no nitrogen use, the major share of the factor belongs to festulolium. With the application of small doses of nitrogen, the impact of the legume component increases through increased competitive ratio (CR). At the same time, a positive value of the coefficient of aggressivity (CA) was noted in the cereal component, which characterizes it as the dominant species.