Corn-Soybean Intercropping Improved the Nutritional Quality of Forage Cultivated on Podzols in Boreal Climate.

Muhammad Zaeem,Vanessa Kavanagh,Mumtaz Cheema,Raymond Thomas,Waqar Ashiq,Waqas Ali,Muhammad Nadeem,Syed Shah Mohioudin Gillani,Thu Huong Pham,Eric Moise,Sathya Elavarthi,Lakshman Galagedara

doi:10.3390/plants10051015

Abstract

Intercropping systems could be a potential source of nutrient-rich forage production in cool climates on podzolic soils common in boreal ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated the effects of corn–soybean intercropping (IC) on the nutritional quality of forage. Two silage corn varieties were cultivated as monocropping (MC) or were intercropped with three forage soybean varieties using a randomized complete block design. IC significantly increased the crude protein (22%) and decreased the acid detergent (14%) and neutral detergent (6%) fibers. Forage net energy, total digestible nutrients, ash, dry matter intake, digestible dry matter and relative feed value were also significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) in the IC treatments compared to corn MC. The macro and micro nutrients were higher in IC than corn MC. Intercropping increased the omega 3 fatty acid (FA) contents (67%) compared to corn MC. IC also increased the active microbial community in the plant root zone, which may contribute to the improvement in forage nutritional quality because the active soil microbial community composition showed significant correlations with soluble sugars, soluble proteins and potassium contents of the forage. These results demonstrate that corn–soybean IC could be a suitable cropping system to increase the nutritional quality of forage cultivated on podzols in boreal climates. The resultant forage has the potential to be a source of high-value animal feed for livestock production in cool climate regions of the world.

Highlights

Corn (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop, after rice and wheat, cultivated for human and animal consumption
The use of legumes intercropped with corn or other forage species from the Poaceae family have been proposed as a suitable alternative to enhance the nutrient composition of forage produced for animal feed
The ash content was enhanced in the forage mix obtained when silage corn was intercropped with forage soybeans on podzolic soil in boreal climates

Summary

Introduction

Corn (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal crop, after rice and wheat, cultivated for human and animal consumption. As a source of animal feed, silage corn has the ability to provide energy-rich forage with relatively high nutritional value, especially for the dairy industry [1,2,3]. The use of legumes intercropped with corn or other forage species from the Poaceae (cereal or grass) family have been proposed as a suitable alternative to enhance the nutrient composition of forage produced for animal feed. This is important for livestock production in boreal climates where protein supplementation is a high input cost [1,11,12,13]. Legumes are rich in protein, essential fatty acids, macro and micro minerals, and ash compared to grasses/cereals [1,11,12,13]

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