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Performance of Timothy‐based Grass/Legume Mixtures in Cold Winter Region
Author(s) -
Kunelius H. T.,
Dürr G. H.,
McRae K. B.,
Fillmore S. A. E.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-037x.2006.00195.x
Subject(s) - red clover , lolium perenne , trifolium repens , poa pratensis , agronomy , legume , phleum , forage , perennial plant , biology , festuca pratensis , lolium , dry matter , medicago sativa , festuca rubra , dactylis glomerata , poaceae
This study sought to identify grass/legume mixtures that increase the yield and persistence of forage stands with improved nutritive quality in cold‐winter regions, compared with the standard mixture of timothy ( Phleum pratense L.)/red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.)/alsike clover ( Trifolium hybridum L.). Timothy was mixed with either perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.), meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis L.) or Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis L.). The legumes in mixtures were red clover, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) or white clover ( Trifolium repens L.). Averaged over three production years, the majority of mixtures had greater dry matter (DM) yields than the standard (8.35 t ha −1 ). Timothy, grown alone and in three mixtures, outyielded the standard by 19–30 %. Yield reductions in mixtures over the 3‐year period were greatest with red clover, and least with bluegrass. Mixtures with alfalfa were highest in nitrogen (28.4 g kg −1 ), while grasses grown alone (24.6 g kg −1 ) and the standard mixture (25.1 g kg −1 ) were the lowest in N. Mixtures with red clover or alfalfa had the least neutral detergent fibre (NDF), averaging 418 and 429 g kg −1 respectively. Mixtures including white clover were initially low in NDF at 347 g kg −1 in year 1 but increased to 550 g kg −1 in year 3 as white clover composition declined in the sward.