Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Mixtures of Legumes with Cereals as a Source of Feed for Animals
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58358
An important factor influencing the yield of mixtures is the availability of water in the ground.
In the conditions of lower soil moisture, legume-cereal mixtures yielded better than sole crops
[53]. Studies have shown that the use of irrigation allows for a cultivation of mixtures for the
green matter even on very poor soils, guaranteeing a high level of yield [54].
2.3.3. Fertilization
Nitrogen fertilization is an agrotechnological factor which significantly affects the yield and
quality of cereal and legume crops. Legume-cereal mixtures are feeding with lower doses of
nitrogen compared to sole cereals. The reason of it is that at lower fertilization, the assimilation
of atmospheric nitrogen by legumes increases, and also there crops are less susceptible to the
lodging. There is also a smaller competition of cereals in relation to legumes. Increasing
nitrogen fertilization results in the dominance of cereal plants, which adversely affects the
morphological features and yields of legumes. The reaction of mixtures to the level of nitrogen
fertilization also depends on the type of soil and the share of components. A stronger positive
effect of fertilization on yield mixtures was observed on lighter soils and at the higher share
of cereals [55].
In organic farming, it is necessary to completely resign from mineral nitrogen fertilization,
which at the appropriate share of mixture components, good soil and moisture conditions and
proper agricultural techniques, does not cause a significant decrease in the yield of mixture
seeds. Natural or organic fertilization may be also used, but in a limited extent. Our study
showed that in the lack of fertilization, the mixture of barley with peas was the most efficient,
but mixtures of oats with peas and oats with vetch provided good yields as well. The signifi‐
cantly weakest was mixture of barley with vetch. In the case of the treatments fertilized with
composted manure (at a dose of 30 t ha
-1
), the mixtures which included peas were more efficient
(Table 7). The facts that intercropping of legumes and cereals has produced higher yields than
sole cereals without nitrogen fertilization was noticed by several reserchers [56, 57, 58].
Mixture composition
Without fertilization
Fertilization of compost
green matter yield
(t·ha
-1
)
dry matter yield
(t·ha
-1
)
green matter yield
(t·ha
-1
)
dry matter yield
(t·ha
-1
)
Oat+pea
40.7 b*
9.1 b
39.2 c
8.8 b
Oat+vetch
39.0 b
8.4 b
35.8 b
8.2 b
Barley+pea
41.2 b
10.2 c
38.4 c
8.6 b
Barley+vetch
32.6 a
7.0 a
32.1 a
7.0 a
* Number within columns followed by the same letters do not differ significantly
Table 7.
Green and dry matter yields of mixtures cropped on silage [own study]
