Agriculture Reference
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Mixtures of Legumes with Cereals as a Source of Feed for Animals
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58358
EAAI (Essential Amino Acid Index) of Oser's and a rate of limiting amino acid-CS (Chemical
Score) of Block and Mitchell's. The results showed that mixtures of winter triticale with vetch
had higher EAAI rates than mixtures of winter rye with vetch, and isoleucine was the amino
acid which limited nutritional value of the protein. On the other hand, the mixture of spring
triticale with field pea characterized by higher rate of protein nutrition value EAAI and high
content of lysine, isoleucine and threonine in comparison with a mixture of triticale with pea
[68, 69].
4. Weed infestation of legume-cereal mixtures
Control of weed infestation in organic farming involves the use of direct methods, involving
interventions into the stand and indirect methods of preventive character, such as proper crop
rotation, choice of varieties with greater competitiveness against weeds, proper agronomical
practices and the use of undersown crops and mixed sowings [70, 71, 72]. Mixed sowings of
legumes with cereals strongly compete with weeds than sole crops, but it is also dependent
on the composition of the mixture, the share of components, as well as weather and habitat
conditions [58]. Our findings showed that among four mixtures of: oats with peas, oats with
vetch, barley with peas and barley with vetch, with 50% share of the components at sowing,
the mixture of barley with peas was the most weedy, as evidenced by the largest matter and
number of weeds (Table 12). This mixture was also characterized by the largest species
diversity of weeds, estimated by Shannon index. The most competitive to weeds was the
mixture of oats with vetch. The mixture of barley with vetch had the smallest species diversity
of weeds, as was estimated by Simpson's index which indicated a clear dominance of one weed
species (Figure 2) [73]. Other studies indicate that among the four mixtures of spring wheat
with legumes, such as peas, lupine, vetch and faba bean, the mixture of wheat with vetch
limited weed infestation the most, while the least competitive was the mixture with lupine.
The highest weed infestation was recorded in the sole lupine and pea [58]. Increasing the share
of legume in the mixture caused an increase in weed infestation, which indicates higher
competitiveness of cereals than legumes in relation to weeds [73, 74, 75]. Weather conditions
have also the significant impact on weed infestation of mixtures. The favorable effect of
mixtures on reducing of weed infestation discloses more in the wet years, which favor the
development of mixtures and weeds [73, 75].
Mixture composition
Fresh matter of
weeds (g·m -2 )
Dry matter of weeds
(g·m -2 )
Number of weeds
(plants·m -2 )
Number of weeds
species
Oat + pea
83.1
17.4
20.7
11
Oat + vetch
53.8
11.9
19.9
10
Barley + pea
355.2
37.8
46.1
16
Barley + vetch
183.7
23.0
42.1
11
Table 12. Weeds mass in mixtures depending on share of components [own study]
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