Forage yield of simple and complex grass–legume mixtures under two management strategies

Abstract

Foster, A., Vera, C. L., Malhi, S. S. and Clarke, F. R. 2014. Forage yield of simple and complex grass–legume mixtures under two management strategies. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 41–50. Limited information is available on the dry matter production, protein content and species composition of complex mixtures of introduced perennial forage crop species for hay and pasture in the moister regions of Saskatchewan. A field experiment was sown on 2008 May 27 at Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada, on a thick Black Chernozem (Udic Boroll) silty clay soil, to compare the effects on dry matter yield (DMY), protein content and species composition of perennial forage crop monocultures and mixtures, under a two-cut and a three-cut management system, in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Eleven treatments consisted of monocultures of hybrid bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehm.×Bromus inermis Leyss.), smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn], intermediate wheatgrass [Agropyron intermedium (Host.) Beauv.] and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.); simple mixtures of each of these individual grass species with alfalfa; a more complex mixture of all these grass species and alfalfa, and a very complex mixture consisting of the complex mixture plus meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehm.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea (Schreb.) Wimm.], timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and slender wheatgrass [Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners]. The alfalfa was inoculated with rhizobium, and no fertilizer was added to any treatment during the course of the study. The two-cut system yielded higher than the three-cut system in all years. In 2009, the first cutting year, all treatments, especially under the two-cut system, produced similar forage DMY, with monoculture grasses yielding as much as that of their mixture with alfalfa. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, however, monoculture alfalfa and grass–alfalfa treatments had higher DMY than the monoculture grasses. Monoculture alfalfa also showed superior DMY than most grass–alfalfa mixtures, especially during the last 2 yr of the study. In conclusion, the inclusion of alfalfa in forage mixtures, grown in unfertilized soil, significantly increased forage yield, especially after the first production year, and these grass–alfalfa mixtures yielded almost as much as monoculture alfalfa. Also, the inclusion of alfalfa significantly increased the forage protein content over the grass alone treatments. Hybrid bromegrass, grown alone or in mixture with alfalfa, yielded similar to the other grasses tested, while crested wheatgrass did not compete as well as other main grasses, grown alone or in mixture with alfalfa. In this study, the use of complex or very complex mixtures of introduced grasses with alfalfa did not increase DMY over the simple grass–alfalfa mixtures.

Forage yield and quality of simple and complex grass-legumes mixtures under Mediterranean conditions

“…One of main qualities of these forages crops (grasspea and red vetchling) consist of its high protein content (Polignano, 2007). The results of this study, show higher protein content than observed by Foster et al (2014) and similar than Van Saun (2016) results. This is because, there were selected for this study various forage legumes varieties which generally produce high quality forage.…”

Impact of Harvest Management on Forage Production and Nutrient Removal by Smooth Bromegrass on a Vegetated Treatment Area

“…They also indicated no advantage to a 3-harvest over a 2-harvest system for total annual forage production and no advantage of a single-harvest system over multiple-harvest systems for stand vigor and persistence when the first harvest was post-anthesis (i.e., during early July). In Saskatchewan, Canada a 2-cut system, with the first cut at full anthesis in mid-July, was more productive than a 3-cut system, with first cut at pre-anthesis in midJune, for smooth bromegrass on unfertilized soil [17]. Levels of forage production attained in this study are comparable to those reported for smooth bromegrass for a 5-yr study in Minnesota [18] and a 3-yr study in northeastern Nebraska [19].…”

Grass–Legume Forage Systems Effect on Phosphorus Removal from a Grassland Historically Irrigated with Reclaimed Wastewater

“…The similar P concentration among the grass monocultures and mixed forage systems can be attributed to the dramatic decline in the legume component from 18% in 2017 to 0.5% in 2018. This may be attributed to the two-cut harvest system utilized in this study, instead of a greater frequency of harvest of grass-legume mixtures [68]. Unlike the lack of difference in P concentration between the two tall fescue cultivars, Bélanger et al [67] reported differences in tissue P concentration among genotypes of timothy (Phleum pratense L.).…”