EFFECTS OF SPECIES AND ITS SOWING RATE OF COMPANION CROP ON THE HAY YIELD AND BOTANICAL COMPOSITION OF PASTURE UNDER MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE CONDITIONS

This research was carried out as two separate trials established in two different years to determine the effects of different seed ratios and harvest times of different annual companion crop species on the hay yield and botanical composition of a pasture mixture under Mediterranean climate conditions. The field trials were established in a randomized complete block with a split-plot arrangement in three replications. The research results showed that barley, annual ryegrass, and berseem clover can be utilized as companion crops in artificial pasture systems. The inclusion of these companion crop species in the pasture mixture resulted in an increase in forage yield and a significant decrease in weed infestation. While delaying the harvest time of the companion crop does not have a notable effect on the proportion of legumes and weeds in the total biomass, it significantly enhances the dry forage yield and the proportion of grasses in the overall biomass of the mixture.