Abstract
Competition between barley and oats, and yield performance of mixtures were evaluated in a two component replacement series field experiment at two levels of nitrogen applications (80 kgN/ha and 120 kgN/ha). Three barley cultivars (Aapo, Agneta ja Ida) and one oats cultivar (Veli) were used. The competitive relationship was independent of the pure stand yield of the cultivar. Ida and Agneta were more competitive than oats irrespective of nitrogen dose. Ida was the most dominant variety which was very likely due to the early development of the seedlings. Oats was slightly more competitive than the shortest cultivar Aapo at high nitrogen, although barley seedlings emerged before oats. Thus the competitive ability of a cultivar was not determined by one character of the plant only. The competition in mixtures had a greater effect on number of generative shoots and number of grains per head than on grain weight. The results revealed that the yield per plant in mixtures may be even the same as in monoculture, but the relative significance of different yield components may vary. The grain and protein yield of mixtures did not differ significantly from the yield of the highest yielding component grown alone. However, the ratio of actual and expected yield and the relative yield total were in most cases higher than one, indicating that some yield advantage may have been achieved. The genotypic composition of the stand had the greatest influence on the grain protein content of oats.
Highlights
Competition among plant species has long been recognized as a major factor affecting crop production
The results revealed that the yield per plant in mixtures may be even the same as in monoculture, but the relative significance of different yield components may vary
The grain yield results of the present experiment suggest that mixtures of barley and oats
Summary
Competition among plant species has long been recognized as a major factor affecting crop production. Individual plants living within a mixed community will be exposed to competition from like and unlike individuals whenever and wherever the demand for an essential resource exceeds its immediate supply. Because each plant requires both above- and below-ground resources, its ability to grow in a habitat will be determined by the availabilities of these resources relative to the plant’s morphological and physiological abilities to acquire these resources. Beneficial competition between two crop species is often incorporated into cropping systems (Vandermeer 1989). It is argued that the main benefits of growing mixtures, whether at the level of genus, species or variety, may include: higher yields, lower variability of yield from season to season, a better spread of production over the growth period, less susceptibility to disease or lodging and a superi-
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