Mixture cropping of berseem clover with cereals to improve forage yield and quality under irrigated conditions of the Mediterranean basin

Abstract

Mixture cropping of annual forage legumes and grasses is a common strategy to support sustainable forage supply in low input agricultural systems, especially in the Mediterranean basin. In a two-year field study, conducted in Northern Egypt, productivity and nutritive value of four cuts of berseem clover, triticale, and oat, cultivated as monocultures as well as legume-grass binary mixtures, with variable mixing rates, were investigated using a split plot design in three replicates. The tested mixing rates were: 1. 0% Grass (G) + 100% Berseem clover (BC), 2. 25% G + 75% BC, 3. 50% G + 50% BC, 4. 75% G + 25% BC, and 5. 100% G + 0% BC. Berseem clover mixtures with triticale produced the highest significant 3rd cut fresh yield, while BC mixtures with oat were superior at the 1st and 2nd cut's fresh yield. Crude protein (CP) content was highest in BC monocultures and clover-triticale mixture (75%:25%). Grasses, in general, improved the dry matter accumulation and carbohydrate components in the forage mixtures, with triticale being superior to oat. The significantly highest digestible organic matter (DOM) was a character of the pure BC stands, and mixtures with 75% BC. Noticeably, the tested grasses did not regrow after being cut for the third time; thus, the fourth cut was composed only of BC. Variations in DOM were most dependent on variations in CP content. Results revealed that mixtures of BC with triticale at 75%:25% mixing rate produced high forage yield with improved quality than the other mixtures.