Abstract
A field trial was conducted to determine the effect of tillage and mulch practices on the biomass response of cereal maize and soybean, lablab and grazing vetch which are legumes, when planted as fodder crops. The experiment was conducted using split-plot design with three replications. The main plot treatments were two mulch levels (Mulch and No-Mulch). The mulch was maize straw left from previous cropping season. The subplot treatments were minimum tillage (0.2 m) and deep tillage (0.35 m). The parts of the four crops quantified were leaf, stem and roots. The combination of deep tillage and mulch practices resulted in significant (P<0.05) increase in the leaf, stem and root biomass of maize and, soybean, lablab and grazing vetch. Minimum tillage and no-mulch combined depressed (P<0.0.5) the leaf, stem and root yield of maize while, for soybean, lablab and grazing vetch there was no definite trend of significantly (P<0.05) depressed biomass for the leaf, stem and root yield under minimum tillage and no-mulch, and deep tillage and no-mulch. There was low correlation and positive significant relationship between leaf, stem and root and legume crops whereas, maize had a high correlation relationship with its biomass parameters. It is recommended that maize, soybean, lablab and grazing vetch can be grown as forage crops under combined deep tillage and mulch practices in the Foothills agro-ecological zone of Lesotho to obtain enhanced biomass. Key words: Cereal, legume, leaf, stem root, forage.
Highlights
Environmental factors play significant role in plant biomass
The highest vegetative and root biomass was obtained in maize planted under deep tillage and mulch and the lowest yield was under minimum tillage and no-mulch
The use of deep tillage and mulch resulted in high yield of forage both in the cereal and forage legumes
Summary
Environmental factors play significant role in plant biomass. Generally, light, temperature and moisture are important environmental factors that control the vegetative development and maturation of forages (Hatfield et al, 2011).Light, moderate temperature and moisture assist in the photosynthesis process where plant manufactures its own food. Environmental factors play significant role in plant biomass. Light, temperature and moisture are important environmental factors that control the vegetative development and maturation of forages (Hatfield et al, 2011). Moderate temperature and moisture assist in the photosynthesis process where plant manufactures its own food. There are processes involved in biomass production in the forages, like interception of solar radiation by the forage leaves, change of the intercepted.
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