Forage Yield and the Quality of Perennial Legume-Grass Mixtures under Rainfed Conditions

Abstract

This study was performed to determine suitable perennial forage species and their mixtures for the establishment of short-term artificial pastures under rainfed conditions in Turkey. The study was conducted from 2008 through 2010. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa Lam.), brome grass (Bromus inermis Leys.), intermediate wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium (Host). Beauv.), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L. Gaertn.) and their binary and ternary mixtures were used as experimental material. The study found significant differences in yield and quality among the forage mixtures investigated. Sainfoin + bromegrass + crested wheatgrass and sainfoin + crested wheatgrass mixtures gave the highest dry matter yield (8.36 and 7.75 t/ha, respectively). Binary and ternary mixtures of alfalfa + grasses had higher crude protein levels and lower values of ADF and NDF content than mixtures of sainfoin + grasses. Pure alfalfa (56.64%) and binary mixtures of alfalfa + grasses (53.53 to 54.28%) had the highest TDN values. The relative feed values of the mixtures ranged from 95.64 to 112.58. The results of the study indicated that alfalfa and sainfoin binary mixtures with grasses may both be used to establish artificial pastures in similar ecologies owing to their high forage yield and quality.

Production, Competition Indices, and Nutritive Values of Setaria splendida, Centrosema pubescens, and Clitoria ternatea in Mixed Cropping Systems in Peatland

“…This was probably due to the relative stability of the cellulose content of grasses and legumes (Weiss et al, 2002 results showed that the ADF content of C. pubescens was significantly (P<0.05) higher than C. ternatea and S. splendida. In relation to the digestibility C. pubescens have lower digestibility than C. ternatea and S. splendida (Albayrak et al, 2011). The results also illustrated that the ADF content of legumes was not always lower than the grass.…”

“…Proportion of S. splendida ( ) and C. pubescens (□) in mix cropping plot at each harvest Figure 1b. Proportion of S. splendida ( ) and C. ternatea (□) in mixed cropping plot at each harvest Buyukburc, 2004;Albayrak et al, 2011;Eskandari, 2012;Njad et al, 2013) who reported that grass intercropped with legume resulted in improved soil fertility through the addition nitrogen by fixation and excretion from the legume component and also increased CP content of nearby grass. The CP content of S. splendida that were planted in peatland was slightly lower than the average CP content of S. splendida reported by Heuzé & Tran (2012) who showed that the CP content of S. splendida was 9.1%.…”

“…The CP content of C. pubescens and C. ternatea were higher significantly (P<0.05) than S. splendida. This indicated that legumes have a higher nutrient content than grass (Albayrak et al, 2011) particularly CP content (Paulson et al, 2008). These study also showed that CP content of both legumes planted in peatland was generally lower than those found by several researches.…”

Forage Yield and Botanical Composition of Mixtures of Some Perennial Warm Season Grasses with Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Under Mediterranean Condi

“…This finding demonstrated that mixtures were advantageous compared to their pure stands. Some researchers emphasized on the advantages of intercropping (Albayrak and Ekiz, 2005, Albayrak et al, 2011, Atis et al, 2012. LER value was significantly influenced by the years and mixtures.…”

Study on Perennial Legume-Grass Mixtures in the Conditions of the Central Balkan Mountain

“…Their productivity is higher, as each species in the mixture contributes in various degree for the increase of the dry matter yield [ELESSESSER, 2004;FRAME, 2005;VASILEV et al, 2005;ALBAYRAK et al, 2011;VASILEVA, 2011VASILEVA, , 2014STEVANOVIC et al, 2015] and demonstrates a higher quality and better seasonal distribution of the forage yield [SLEUGH et al, 2000;ANNICCHIARICO, 2008] . The development of the plants in the combined crops creates various relationships among them.…”