Establishment of reed canary grass with perennial legumes or barley and different fertilization treatments: effects on yield, botanical composition and nitrogen fixation

Abstract

In two field experiments in northern Sweden, we investigated if intercropping reed canary grass (RCG; Phalaris arundinacea L.) with nitrogen-fixing perennial legumes could reduce N-fertilizer requirements and also if RCG ash or sewage sludge could be used as a supplement for mineral P and K. We compared biomass production, N uptake and N-fixation of RCG in monoculture and mixtures of RCG with alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), goat's rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) and kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.). In one experiment, RCG was also undersown in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Three fertilization treatments were applied: 100 kg N ha À1, 50 kg N ha À1 and 50 kg N ha À1 + RCG ash/sewage sludge. We used a delayed harvest method: cutting the biomass in late autumn, leaving it on the field during the winter and harvesting in spring. The legume biomass of the mixtures at the inland experimental site was small and did not affect RCG growth negatively. At the coastal site, competition from higher amount of clover biomass affected RCG growth and spring yield negatively. N-fixation in red clover and alsike clover mixtures in the first production year approximately covered half of recommended N-fertilization rate. Goat's rue and kura clover did not establish well at the costal site, but at the inland site goat's rue formed a small but vital undergrowth. RCG undersown in barley gave lower yield, both in autumn and spring, than the other treatments. The high N treatment gave a higher spring yield at the inland site than the low N treatments, but there were no differences due to fertilization treatments at the coastal site. For spring harvest, there were no yield benefits of RCG/legume intercropping compared with RCG monoculture. However, intercropping might be more beneficial in a two-harvest system.Keywords: ash fertilization, biofuel, delayed harvest, Galega orientalis, intercropping with legumes, nitrogen fixation, Phalaris arundinacea, sewage sludge, Trifolium spp. Received 11 January 2012; revised version received 24 February 2012 and accepted 28 February 2012 IntroductionReed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L., hereafter RCG) has been evaluated since the mid-1980s as a perennial crop for biofuel production in both Europe and the United States (Lewandowski et al., 2003). Perennial grasses have many advantages over annual crops. Successfully established swards of perennial grasses can have lifetimes of at least 8-10 years before they need to be reseeded, and thus require less cultivation. Furthermore, they have lower requirements for pesticides and nutrients. Some of the nutrients from the shoots are recycled to the roots during autumn (Wrobel et al., 2009;Xiong et al., 2009;Heinsoo et al., 2011). Grass fields can also easily be converted to food production without substantial restoration costs, unlike for instance short-rotation Salix coppices or tree plantations. In addition, grass production techniques are well known among farmers in potential cropping areas, and ...

Reed Canary Grass for Energy in Sweden: Yields, Land-Use Patterns, and Climatic Profile

“…A database of existing trials was constructed, including records from RCG, willow, and poplar/hybrid aspen (given the limited area planted, in this paper, will be referred together). For RCG, trial records were retrieved from Landström et al [18], Lindvall et al [23], Nilsson et al [14], Lindvall et al [25], and Lindvall [21] during the period 1991-2015 (N = 201). For willow, a trial database was used based on Mola-Yudego et al [31] (N = 290) and for poplar, from Dimitriou and Mola-Yudego [32] (N = 58).…”

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Assessment and Characterization of Reed Canary Grass Plantations for Energy

“…A database of existing trials was constructed, including records from reed canary grass, willow, and poplar/hybrid aspen (given the limited area planted, in this paper will be referred together). For reed canary grass, trial records were retrieved from Landström et al [10], Lindvall et al [22], Nilsson et al [8], Lindvall et al [12] and Lindvall [19], during the period 1991-2015 (N=201). For willow, a trial database was used based on Mola-Yudego et al, 2014 [26] (N=290) and for poplar, from Dimitriou and Mola-Yudego, 2017 [27] (N=58).…”

The possibility of using sewage sludge for energy crop cultivation exemplified by reed canary grass and giant miscanthus

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