Trade‐offs between forage crop productivity and soil nutrients for different ages of alfalfa grassland

Fang, Yan; Huang, Ze; Cui, Zeng; He, Honghua; Liu, Yü

doi:10.1002/ldr.3686

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…In Minnesota, the forage yield increased from the first to the second production year in all treatments, but much more for the intercropped systems (T3 and T4). In this study, the third production year was not evaluated, but literature indicates that alfalfa forage yield potential decreases as the plant ages after the third or fourth year [37,38].…”

Section: Alfalfa Forage Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summary, establishing alfalfa in intercropping with corn for grain is feasible and has multiple benefits to soil health and the environment in comparison with corn monoculture, as demonstrated by several pieces of research [14,15,19,30,32,37,48]. It has been demonstrated that alfalfa-silage corn intercropping systems have a higher total net revenue than corn monocultures, despite the yield penalty to corn in the seeding year [14,15,30].…”

Section: Alfalfa Forage Nutritive Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

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Alfalfa Established Successfully in Intercropping with Corn in the Midwest US

et al. 2021

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Integrating alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) with corn (Zea mays L.) for grain will increase biodiversity, reduce the negative environmental impact of corn monoculture and increase farm profitability. The objectives of this research were to evaluate forage productivity and nutritive value, along with stand establishment of alfalfa in a corn grain system in Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates at each site. Treatments included were: sole corn (i.e., check; T1), sole alfalfa (T2), alfalfa intercropped into corn (T3), a prohexadione-treated alfalfa intercropped with corn (T4), and a spring-seeded alfalfa in the year after intercropping (T5), which was planted in plots with T1 the previous year. All sites had below normal rainfall in 2016 and 2017. Corn grain yield was significantly lower when intercropped with alfalfa (T3 and T4) compared with the check corn crop (no alfalfa, T1). Corn grain yield reduction ranged from 14.0% to 18.8% compared with the check (T1). Corn biomass yield was reduced by intercropped alfalfa (T3 and T4) by 15.9% to 25.8%. In the seeding year, alfalfa seasonal forage yield was significantly greater when corn competition was absent in all environments. The intercropped alfalfa from the previous season (T3 and T4) had almost double the forage yield than the alfalfa in the seeding year (spring-seeded alfalfa; T5). In the second production year, there were no meaningful forage yield differences (p > 0.05) across all treatments, indicating alfalfa in intercropping systems does not affect forage yield past the first production year. Prohexadione-calcium, a growth regulator, did not affect alfalfa stand density, forage yield and nutritive value. The forage nutritive value was dependent on harvest date not the alfalfa intercropping treatments. Results of our study suggest that establishing alfalfa with corn is feasible and can be a potential alternative for the upper Midwest region. However, when under drought conditions, this system might be less resilient since competition between alfalfa and corn for soil moisture will be intensified under drought or moisture-limited conditions, and this will likely depress corn grain yield. Research targeted to reintroduce perennial crops into the current dominant corn–soybean systems in the US Corn Belt is urgently needed to improve stability and resiliency of production systems.

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Section: Alfalfa Forage Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alfalfa Forage Nutritive Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

Alfalfa Established Successfully in Intercropping with Corn in the Midwest US

et al. 2021

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“…Sown pasture is becoming a very important forage source for livestock production in China, which could relieve the pressure of natural grassland to maintain its sustainable development [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. With the intensification of grassland and livestock production, the construction and utilization of high-yield and high-quality sown pasture become one of the important symbols of the modernization of grassland husbandry [ 4 , 5 ]. The ratio of sown pasture’s areas to rangeland’s areas in developed countries is generally above 0.1:1, such as 3.57:1 in New Zealand, 1.35:1 in United Kingdom and 0.58:1 in the United States.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Mowing Times on Nutrient Composition and In Vitro Digestibility of Forage in Three Sown Pastures of China Loess Plateau

Chang

Xie

et al. 2022

Animals

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Mowing, Mowing, which affects the nutritional levels of grasslands, is the main utilization of sown pasture. We sowed alfalfa monoculture grassland, tall fescue monoculture grassland and tall fescue + alfalfa mixed grassland in typical steppe of the Loess Plateau to investigate the nutrient compositions and in vitro degradability of those three grasslands under different mowing stubble times and to provide reference for nutrient management of sown pastures. The results showed that the stubble time significantly affected (P < 0.05) the nutrient compositions and mineral elements of forages in alfalfa monoculture grassland, whereas had no effects on the nutrient compositions and dry matter digestibility of forages in tall fescue monoculture grassland and alfalfa + tall fescue mixed grassland. The relative feeding value of mixed grassland of alfalfa and tall fescue was increased by 2.6-22.4% as compared to monoculture grasslands. The model constructed based on forage nutrient content could accurately predict the forage dry matter degradability of alfalfa monoculture, tall fescue monoculture and mixed alfalfa and tall fescue, respectively.

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“…Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is applied more widely than phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers. Many studies have been conducted on the contributions of fertilizer application to alfalfa yield and quality ( Undersander et al., 2011 ; Macolino et al., 2013 ; Fang et al., 2021 ). However, due to differences in cultivars, soils and climate conditions, the results show large variations or even opposite results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yield and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in response to fertilizer application in China: A meta-analysis

Wan

Li²,

Li³

2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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IntroductionIn China, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) often grows in marginal land with poor soil fertility and suboptimal climate conditions. Alfalfa production cannot meet demands both in yield and quality. It is necessary to apply fertilizers to achieve high yields and produce high-quality alfalfa in China. However, there is no understanding on the impact of fertilizer application on alfalfa production and the possible optimal application rates across China.MethodsWe conducted a meta-analysis to explore the contribution of fertilizer application to the yield and quality of alfalfa based on a dataset from 86 studies published between 2004 and 2022.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that fertilizer application not only increased alfalfa yield by 19.2% but also improved alfalfa quality by increasing crude protein (CP) by 7.7% and decreasing acid detergent fibre by 2.9% and neutral detergent fibre by 1.8% overall compared to the non-fertilizer control levels. The combined nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and combined NP fertilizer applications achieved the greatest yield and CP concentration increases of 27.0% and 13.5%, respectively. Considering both yield and quality, the optimal rate of fertilizer application ranged from 30 to 60 kg ha-1 for N, 120 to 150 kg ha-1 for P and less than 120 kg ha-1 for K. Meta-analysis further showed that the effect of fertilizer application on yield was greater in low soil organic matter (SOM) soils than in high SOM soils. In conclusion, fertilizer application is an effective strategy to improve the yield and quality of alfalfa in China, especially that grown in low SOM soils. This study is helpful for optimizing fertilization schedules of alfalfa in China.

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Trade‐offs between forage crop productivity and soil nutrients for different ages of alfalfa grassland

Cited by 12 publications

References 47 publications

Alfalfa Established Successfully in Intercropping with Corn in the Midwest US

Alfalfa Established Successfully in Intercropping with Corn in the Midwest US

Effects of Mowing Times on Nutrient Composition and In Vitro Digestibility of Forage in Three Sown Pastures of China Loess Plateau

Yield and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in response to fertilizer application in China: A meta-analysis

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