White clover population effects on the productivity and yield stability of mixtures with perennial ryegrass and chicory

Heshmati, Sara; Tonn, Bettina; Isselstein, J.

doi:10.1016/j.fcr.2020.107802

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Medicago is also a valuable plant from an economic point of view because of its favourable chemical composition, with content of protein, fibre and carotenoids [17,18]. Lolium species are the most important grasses sown in temperate Europe; among them, Lolium perenne is known to be highly productive and digestible, and is widely sown [16,[19][20][21]. At the same time, this species is short-lived, remains in the sward for 2-3 years and is sensitive to unfavourable weather conditions, especially low temperatures in winter [22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Silicon-Containing Fertilizers on the Nutritional Value of Grass–Legume Mixtures on Temporary Grasslands

et al. 2022

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The study was conducted to evaluate the influence of silicon application on the botanical composition of grass–legume mixtures as well as the nutritional value of individual species and mixtures. The two-factor field experiment was established in a split-block arrangement. The two grass–legume mixtures, consisting of Dactylis glomerata, Festulolium braunii and Trifolium pratense or Medicago x varia and grass mixture—Dactylis glomerata, Festulolium braunii and Lolium perenne, were sown on arable land. Silicon foliar and mineral NPK fertilization was applied in three variants: NPK (non-Si-fertilized), NPK+Si (Herbagreen), NPK+Si (Optysil). Changes in the botanical composition in the sward of mixtures during the study period were influenced by the competitiveness of individual plants and weather conditions, whereas the effect of foliar fertilization with silicon was only slightly marked. The nutritional value of individual species of grasses and legumes varied over the years and also depended on the application of silicon. The greatest content of crude protein (CP), irrespective of the species and variant of silicon fertilization, was noticed in years with no drought. Our research confirmed the beneficial effect of silicon fertilization, independent of weather conditions, on the CP content and on the reduction of crude fibre (CF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) in plants, especially when Herbagreen was applied. The nutritional value of the mixtures under applied silicon fertilization depended on botanical composition. In the conditions of low rainfall, a large share of F. braunii and an approximately 20% contribution of T. pratense resulted in a higher content of CP. These results may be used in the fertilization practices of temporary grassland for enhancing nutritional value, especially crude protein content, and on the reduction of fibre in the sward.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Silicon-Containing Fertilizers on the Nutritional Value of Grass–Legume Mixtures on Temporary Grasslands

et al. 2022

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“…One of the most important environmental conditions, which influences the DM yield of grass‐based communities, is soil type mainly because of their different inherent soil fertility. As reported by Heshmati et al (2020), site conditions strongly affected the performance of the forage species mixtures. In our study the annual DMY was on average higher in Szelejewo on Cambisols soil which we attribute to its higher agricultural value (Rousseva et al, 2017) than in Brody on lower fertility Luvisols soil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…These studies have shown that species diversity is a major determinant across a variety of ecosystem functions like productivity, stability, weed invasion resistance, nutrient dynamics, etc. (Brophy et al, 2017; Finn et al, 2013; Heshmati et al, 2020; Kirwan et al, 2007). Proulx et al (2010) have also shown that highly diverse species mixtures are temporally stable, in that they exhibit a lower variance over time, across a range of ecosystem functions compared to species mixtures with low diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive effects of plant diversity on dry matter yield while maintaining a high level of forage digestibility in intensively managed grasslands across two contrasting environments

Golińska,

Vishwakarma,

Brophy

et al. 2023

Grass and Forage Science

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The local abiotic and environmental conditions of a grass‐based farming system may influence the agricultural benefits of mixtures in comparison to pure stands. We investigated the effects of species identities and interactions between grass, legume, and herb species on dry matter yield and sward digestibility and explored how contrasting environments may affect these relationships. We established experimental plots across 11 mixtures and 4 monocultures of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) established at two seeding densities in two sites Brody and Szelejewo (Poland) and managed them over a 3‐year period. The two sites were close geographically and had similar climates, but differed in soil types (Luvisols and Cambisols, respectively). We confirmed that the annual DM yields were generally higher on Cambisols soil as compared to Luvisols soil; both individual species effects and species interaction strengths differed across the two contrasting environments. The predicted annual DM yield for the 4‐species mixtures in general gave comparable or higher yields compared to monocultures across the 3 years, with the mixtures giving around 10%–30% higher yields than the weighted average of the monocultures of the constituent species. Analysing the transgressive overyielding it turned out that there was no significant difference between the 4‐species mixtures and best performing monoculture. The benefits of species diversity in our study was greater on less productive site because we found larger overyielding of the 4‐species sward on the Luvisols soil than on the Cambisols soil. Additionally, the effect of mixtures composed by 4‐species increased the yield stability compared to monocultures in the 3‐year period of our study, particularly on Cambisols soil. Sward digestibility applied to average values did not differ much between sites with mixtures performing similarly to monocultures. The reason for that could have been the dynamics of sward botanical composition during study years shifted towards increased perennial ryegrass and decreased proportions of chicory in the sward as well as the observed phenomenon that the species in mixed swards progressed to successive growth stages more slowly than in pure sowing.

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“…The marginal soil of this site has an Ah horizon of 25 cm depth and is characterised as a Calcaric Leptosol. The clay content is higher with % clay, 2 % sand, and 55 % silt (Heshmati et al, 2020). Fig.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 86%

“…Annual rainfall averages 630 mm for the Göttingen area (Deutscher Wetterdienst records 1961. Average annual rainfall during the experimental period (2014− 17) was 637 mm and 592 mm for Reinshof and Deppoldshausen, respectively (Heshmati et al, 2020).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

What determines a productive winter bean-wheat genotype combination for intercropping in central Germany?

Nelson

Siebrecht-Schöll

Hoffmann

et al. 2021

European Journal of Agronomy

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Little is known about optimising the productivity of intercropping through exploiting differences between genotypes. Our study evaluates the performance of three winter wheat cultivars and eight winter faba bean genotypes (experimental inbred lines) sown as replacement row intercrops with sole cropping comparisons. Detailed agronomic, physiological and soil-based measurements were taken over three consecutive autumn-sown seasons at two sites (a marginal versus a fertile soil) in central Germany. This study aimed to contribute to our understanding of key traits required to achieve highly complementary and well-performing intercrops.Faba bean plus wheat intercrops yielded higher than sole crop equivalents at both sites, but more so at the marginal site (34 % > 12 %). High intercrop yields were associated with high wheat component yields. Such stands included faba bean genotypes that exhibited low leaf area index (LAI) values and low plant height. Tall and large faba beans i.e. with high vegetative biomass led to excessive lodging, both as a sole crop and when intercropped. To some extent, this concealed effects of faba bean genotype trait variation that would have otherwise been visible had lodging not occurred. The expression of these traits was heavily influenced by variation in environmental conditions. At the less fertile site, even tall intercropped faba beans showed relatively lower vegetative biomass, which promoted intercropped wheat and led to superior overyielding values and relative yield total.While site-specific differences are key, German winter faba beans need further genetic improvement to refrain from superfluous biomass growth when water resources are plentiful.

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White clover population effects on the productivity and yield stability of mixtures with perennial ryegrass and chicory

Cited by 12 publications

References 32 publications

Effect of Silicon-Containing Fertilizers on the Nutritional Value of Grass–Legume Mixtures on Temporary Grasslands

Effect of Silicon-Containing Fertilizers on the Nutritional Value of Grass–Legume Mixtures on Temporary Grasslands

Positive effects of plant diversity on dry matter yield while maintaining a high level of forage digestibility in intensively managed grasslands across two contrasting environments

What determines a productive winter bean-wheat genotype combination for intercropping in central Germany?

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