Dual Purpose Barley Production in the Mediterranean Climate: Effect of Seeding Rate and Age at Forage Cutting

Abstract

Barley cutting in the late winter season is a strategy to provide good amount of high quality forage in the Mediterranean region. A 2-year field study was conducted in Alexandria, Egypt, to explore the variations in forage and grain yields and their characteristics of barley seeded with 100, 125, and 150 kg ha −1 and cut at 45, 55, and 65 days after sowing (DAS). The highest significant forage and grain yields were obtained with highest seeding rate (150 kg ha −1), amounting to 18.91, and 4.38 t ha −1 , respectively. Cutting barley at early growth stages (45 and 55 DAS) resulted in the production of higher forage yield with higher quality, in terms of high crude protein and low fiber content, compared to late forage cut at 65 DAS. Meanwhile, early forage cutting resulted in the least amount of reduction in the final grain yield and, thus, grain income. The percentage reduction in grain income associated with forage cutting at 45, 55, and 65 DAS, amounted to 5.7, 19.6, and 31.0%, respectively. However, the net returns obtained from the dual purpose system, when forage was cut at 45 and 55 DAS were $104.27 (11.4%), and $67.91 (7.4%), respectively, greater than that obtained in the grain-only system. Economic analysis showed that the extra income from early forage cutting was sufficient to compensate the grain yield reduction in the dual purpose system. Dual purpose barley production, thus, proved to be highly feasible in the region due to the good price of the barley forage.

Breeding for purpose: Sole‐ and dual‐use barley

“…Despite relatively safer cutting timings applied in this study, there was an obvious grain yield reduction in the 2nd year due to later cutting as compared to the 1st year, which is in line with other findings (Royo et al., 1997; Salama, 2019). However, since barley is an autumn‐sown crop in south‐central China, the forage biomass is limited if cutting or grazing is conducted at an earlier vegetative stage during normal sowing period (Chen et al., 2016).…”

“…Barley is a winter crop in south‐central China, which has recently been used as forage specifically in winter and spring when other sources are not available (Chen et al., 2016). Generally, barley can be harvested at early‐dough stage as a sole‐use (SU) forage crop or as a dual‐use (DU) crop that is grazed by ruminants at early jointing stage for forage and subsequently harvested for grain (Royo et al., 1997; Salama, 2019).…”

Forage and grain yields of dual-purpose triticale as influenced by the integrated use of <em>Azotobacter chroococcum</em> and mineral nitrogen fertilizer

“…-The integrated use of Azotobacter chroococcum seed inoculation with mineral nitrogen resulted in 43% decrease in fertilization costs. Mediterranean countries to narrow the gap between feed demand and supply (Sadreddine, 2016;Rajae et al, 2017;Salama, 2019).…”

“…However, the continuous application of mineral N fertilizer, that is frequently lost in several forms, leads to its deficiency in the soil (Bilal et al, 2017), in addition to being a major cause of environmental pollution (Salama and Badry, 2020). Moreover, the increasing prices of the mineral fertilizers is adding an additional financial burden on the farming systems especially in the developing countries (Salama, 2019). Thus, the need to find more affordable, yet environmentally-friendly alternatives, is continuously increasing.…”

“…Cutting winter-sown cereals is a potential source of good amount of forage of reasonable quality that would fill a feed gap in many areas. However, accurate decision should be made about the stage of maturity at which the crop should be cut, in order to achieve reasonable amount of forage yield with satisfactory nutritive value on the one hand, and reduce subsequent losses in grain yield, on the other hand (Salama, 2019). This decision should be made based on the stage of apical development which is variable among different crop species (Baron et al, 2015).…”