FORAGE YIELD IMPROVEMENT AT PROPER RATIO AND SEED DENSITY OF SMOOTH VETCH AND BARLEY MIX CROPPING UNDER COLD RAIN-FED CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT

The mixing ratios of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cv. Abidar and smooth vetch (Vicia dasycarpa L.) cv. Maragheh were studied at Dryland Agricultural Research Institute under cold rain-fed conditions during 2009-2011 growing seasons. The mix cropping treatments comprised of pure vetch, vetch with barley at 3:1, vetch with barley at 1:1 seeding ratio and pure barley. There was one seeding rate (100 seeds m-2) for barley and five different seeding rates of vetch including 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 seeds m-2 (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5). Higher dry matter (DM) yields were obtained across different seed rates for the vetch mixtures than related monocultures. The highest DM and the lowest protein content over years were obtained from pure barley. The combination of vetch with barley at 1:1 seeding ratio in the D2 density produced 16 ton ha-1 dry forage and 1 ton ha-1 protein. The highest land equivalent ratio over two years (1.44) was belonged to mixture of vetch with barley at 3:1 ratio in D5 seeding rate. It was concluded that, mixture of vetch with barley at 1:1 seeding ratio in D5 smooth vetch density was the best mixing ratio and seed density regarding both forage quality and quantity under cold rain-fed conditions.

KEYWORDS

Bi-culture; highlands; hordeum vulgare; vicia dasycarpa

REFERENCES

Abbas, M., Monib, M., Rammah, A., Fayez, M. , Hegazi, N. (2001) Intercropping of sesbania (Sesbania sesban) and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) with five annual grasses under semi-arid conditions as affected by inoculation with specific rhizobia and associative diazotrophs. Agronomie 21: 517-525.
Alabi, R.A. , Esobhavan, A.O. (2006) Relative economic value of maize-okra intercrops is Rain Forest Zone Nig. J. cent. Euro. Agric. 7: 433- 438.
Alizadeh, K. (2010) Feed legumes status in drylands of Iran - limitations and opportunities. In: Proc. of 5th Int. Food legumes research conference, Antalya, Turkey.
Alizadeh, K. , da Silva J.A.T. (2013) Mixed cropping of annual feed legumes with barley improves feed quantity and crude protein content under dry-land Conditions. Maejo Int. J. Sci. Technol. 7(1): 42-47.
Anil, L., Park, J., Phipps, R.H. , Miller, F.A. (1998) Temperate intercropping of cereals for forage: a review of the potential for growth and utilization with particular reference to the UK. Grass Forage Sci. 53: 301–317.
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). (1980) Official Methods of Analysis, 11th ed. AOAC, Washington, DC, pp 125.
Caballero, R., Goicoechea, E.L. , Hernaiz, P.J. (1995) Forage yields and quality of common vetch and oat sown at varying seeding ratios and seeding rates of common vetch. Field Crops Res. 41: 135–140.
Clark, A.J., Decker, A.M., Meisinger, J.J. , Mcintosh, M.S. (1997) Kill date of vetch, rye, and vetch-rye mixture: I. Soil moisture and corn yield. Agronomy Journal 89: 434–441.
Dhima, K.V., Lithourgidis, A.S., Vasilakoglou, I.B. , Dordas, C.A. (2007) Competition indices of common vetch and cereal intercrops in two seeding ratio. Field Crops Res.100: 249-256.
F.A.O. (2010). The State of Food and Agriculture: Livestock in the Balance. Rome, FAO.
Ghosh, P.K. (2004) Growth yield competition and economics of groundnut/cereal odder intercropping systems in the semi-arid tropics of India. Field Crops Res. 88: 227-237.
Karadag, Y. , Buyukburc, U. (2004) Forage Qualities, Forage Yields and Seed Yields of Some Legume_Triticale Mixtures Under Rain-fed Conditions. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Sci. 54: 140-148.
Lawes, D.A. , Jones, D.I.H. (1971) Yield, nutritive value and ensiling characteristics of whole-crop spring cereals. J. Agric. Sci. 76: 479–485.
Lithourgidis, A.S., Vasilakoglou, I.B., Dhima, K.V., Dordas, C.A. , Yiakoulaki, M.D. (2006) Forage yield and quality of common vetch mixtures with oat and triticale in two seeding ratios. Field Crops Res. 99: 106–113.
Marshall, B. , Willey, R.W. (1983) Radiation interception and growth in an intercrop of pearl millet/groundnut. Field Crops Res. 7: 141-160.
Nelson, D.W. , Sommers, L.E. (1980) Total nitrogen analysis in soil and plant tissues. J. Offic. Anal. Chem. 63: 770-778.
Osman, A.E. , Osman, A.M. (1982) Performance of mixtures of cereal and legume forage under Irrigation in the Sudan. J. Agric. Sci. Camb. 98: 17-22.
Posler, G.L., Lenssen, A.W. , Fine, G.L. (1993) Forage yield, quality compatibility and persistence of warm-season grass-legume mixture. Agronomy Journal 85: 554-560.
Roberts, C.A., Moore, K.J. , Johnson, K.D. (1989) Forage quality and yield of wheat-common vetch at different stages of maturity and common vetch seeding rate. Agronomy Journal 81: 57–60.
Sebahattin, A., Mustafa, G. , Tongel M.O. (2004) The effects of seed rates on forage production and hay quality of vetch triticale mixtures. Asian Journal of Plant Science 3: 752–756.
Thompson, D.J., Stout, D.G. , Moore, T. (1992) Forage production by four annual cropping sequences emphasizing barley irrigation in southern interior British Columbia. Canndian Journal Plant Science 72: 181–185.
Vandermeer, J.H. (1989) The Ecology of Intercropping. Cambridge University, Press New York.
Willey, R.W. (1979) Intercropping-its importance and research needs part-1, competition and yield advantages. Field Crops Res. 32: 1-10.

Disclaimer :

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Copyright :

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

FORAGE YIELD IMPROVEMENT AT PROPER RATIO AND SEED DENSITY OF SMOOTH VETCH AND BARLEY MIX CROPPING UNDER COLD RAIN-FED CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS

REFERENCES

Reviewed By

In this Article

APC

Publish With US

Become a Reviewer/Member

Open Access

Products and Services

Support and Policies

Editorial Board