Forage production and interspecific relationship of the cereal–legume mixed-cropping system coupling diversified sowing seasons in the Northwestern of China
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Abstract
Aims
As the population continues to grow, increasing demand for livestock products is driving the development of livestock systems worldwide. Intensive cultivation by diversifying sowing dates has gradually become an important option to meet the increasing demand for food. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the productivity of the mixed-cropping system changes under the adjustment of the sowing season.
Methods
We investigated the effects of spring or summer sowing season on forage productivity and interspecific relationship in an oat and common vetch mixed-cropping system, based on a two-year field experiment conducted in northwestern China.
Results
Our results show that no significant difference was observed in the forage biomass and land equivalent ratio (LER) of mixed-cropping system among different sowing dates. However, altering sowing season could pose obvious impact on the forage quality. Over the experimental period, the average crude protein (CP) content and relative feed value (RFV) were 9.0% and 12.9% lower in spring sowing compared to that in summer sowing. Furthermore, compared with the monoculture system, the mixed-cropping system with the combination of spring and summer sowing seasons increased average annual system forage productivity and economic benefit by 37.0% and 49.9%, respectively, during the whole experimental period.
Conclusions
Mixed cropping with the combination of spring and summer sowing seasons is recommended as a sustainable agricultural system in the northwestern of China, in order to alleviate the seasonal impact on the forage productivity and interspecific competition, ensuring annual high-quality forage productivity stability.
期刊介绍：
Plant and Soil publishes original papers and review articles exploring the interface of plant biology and soil sciences, and that enhance our mechanistic understanding of plant-soil interactions. We focus on the interface of plant biology and soil sciences, and seek those manuscripts with a strong mechanistic component which develop and test hypotheses aimed at understanding underlying mechanisms of plant-soil interactions. Manuscripts can include both fundamental and applied aspects of mineral nutrition, plant water relations, symbiotic and pathogenic plant-microbe interactions, root anatomy and morphology, soil biology, ecology, agrochemistry and agrophysics, as long as they are hypothesis-driven and enhance our mechanistic understanding. Articles including a major molecular or modelling component also fall within the scope of the journal. All contributions appear in the English language, with consistent spelling, using either American or British English.
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