Forage and seed yield of winter turnip rape established as a mixed crop with cereals

Abstract

SUMMARYCultivation of winter turnip rape (Brassica rapa L. ssp. oleifera (DC.) Metzg.) in Finland has been limited because of its reputation as an unreliable crop and its mid-season sowing time of July, when fields are already sown to other crops. An alternative management practice for winter turnip rape is proposed whereby it would be sown as a mixed crop simultaneously with spring cereals. The growth and yield formation of winter turnip rape grown in mixed stands with four different spring cereals was studied in two field experiments conducted in 2009–11. Pure and mixed stands of winter turnip rape and spring cereals were established in May at two different cereal and winter turnip rape stand densities. Subsequent to cereal harvest, one-third of each winter turnip rape plot was harvested for biomass in autumn, before cessation of growth. Three plant stand types, May- and July-sown monocrops and a mixed crop with oat (Avena sativa L.) were sampled for forage analysis. Plant stand densities were monitored from establishment until maturity. Winter turnip rape yield and its quality, including oil content, protein content and thousand seed weight, were determined. Following favourable overwintering conditions, winter turnip rape established with cereals yielded comparably to that of pure stands in terms of both quantity and quality. However, a pure stand of winter turnip rape out-yielded mixed crop stands after unfavourable overwintering conditions. Leaf removal decreased plant survival and seed yield. Establishing winter turnip rape with a cereal in May is an alternative to sowing it as a monocrop in July. A higher seeding rate is needed for under-sown winter turnip rape. Furthermore, autumn-harvested winter turnip rape monocrop forage potentially represents a high-protein supplement for ruminants.

Fusarium-suppressive effects of green manure of turnip rape

“…Although the growth of the four species of fungi was inhibited by the extracts of turnip rape 3 days after inoculation, the effect of most extracts diminished after 9 days, and the incorporation of plant residues into the ground could have had a similarly brief impact. Moreover, the concentration of allelochemicals prepared in the present work was at least 74 times higher than the concentration realized in field, given that there was about 4 kg of fresh mass of turnip rape tissue per square meter [1] at the time of incorporation and rainfall in the nine days after incorporation in May and August from 2009 to 2011 was, on average, 15 and 24 mm respectively, giving equivalent tissue concentrations of 1 g in 37 mL water in May and 1 g in 60 mL in August. Furthermore, the availability of glucosinolates is low after addition to both sandy and clay soils, because they are incorporated in soil organic matter [30] and the soil matrix can reduce the penetration of fumigants, thus reducing the fumigant effect of allelochemicals [31].…”

“…1) in a randomized complete block design and each plot was 12.5 m 2 (2.5 m  5 m). Turnip rape (cv 'Largo'), containing 3e20 mmol glucosinolates per gram of leaf dry matter in our growing conditions, was used [1]. Treatment MC (mixed culture) was a mixture of barley and turnip rape sown on 13 May 2009 (first experiment) and 27 May 2010 (second experiment), with 80 kg ha À1 of fertilizer N (NePeK: 20-2-12, Pellon Y4, Yara, Espoo, Finland) applied to the seed bed at sowing; the barley was harvested in the middle of August when the turnip rape was at the rosette stage.…”

“…is used for oil, seed and forage production. Although usually grown as a single crop, it can be cultivated in a mixture with barley [1], which led to a substantial reduction in N leaching in experiments in Finland [2]. Glucosinolate-derived isothiocyanates from Brassica species inhibited the growth of a wide range of soil-borne pathogenic fungi, including Rhizoctonia solani J.G.…”

Sustainable Mixed Cropping Systems for the Boreal-Nemoral Region

“…This allows the later seeded crop to utilize the resources without marked competition (Fukai and Trenbath, 1993) as well as consecutive growing of two crops in a limited growing season (Tuulos et al, 2015b). Examples of relay cropping in the boreal-nemoral region include mixed spring and winter crops, such as oilseeds and cereals, which can potentially be used for forage in the vegetative stage (Davidson et al, 1990;Tuulos et al, 2015a) and harvested for seed yield in the later stage (Tuulos et al, 2015a).…”

Effects of mixed modes on fermentation quality and In vitro gas dynamics of sorghum-sudangrass hybrid (Sorghum bicolor × S. sudanense) silage

“…The proportion of NH 3 -N to TN, and LA and VFA contents are important indicators of the fermentation quality of silage (SELMEROLSEN, 2010). The NH 3 -N/TN content not only reflects the degree of proteolysis during silage fermentation, but also affects the utilization efficiency of N in the rumen (TUULOS et al, 2015). Higher NH 3 -N production in silage is associated with a lower silage fermentation quality.…”