Performance of Timothy‐based Grass/Legume Mixtures in Cold Winter Region

Abstract

AbstractThis study sought to identify grass/legume mixtures that increase the yield and persistence of forage stands with improved nutritive quality in cold‐winter regions, compared with the standard mixture of timothy (Phleum pratense L.)/red clover (Trifolium pratense L.)/alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum L.). Timothy was mixed with either perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis L.) or Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). The legumes in mixtures were red clover, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) or white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Averaged over three production years, the majority of mixtures had greater dry matter (DM) yields than the standard (8.35 t ha−1). Timothy, grown alone and in three mixtures, outyielded the standard by 19–30 %. Yield reductions in mixtures over the 3‐year period were greatest with red clover, and least with bluegrass. Mixtures with alfalfa were highest in nitrogen (28.4 g kg−1), while grasses grown alone (24.6 g kg−1) and the standard mixture (25.1 g kg−1) were the lowest in N. Mixtures with red clover or alfalfa had the least neutral detergent fibre (NDF), averaging 418 and 429 g kg−1 respectively. Mixtures including white clover were initially low in NDF at 347 g kg−1 in year 1 but increased to 550 g kg−1 in year 3 as white clover composition declined in the sward.