Dual-purpose Crop Research Articles

Forage and grain yields of dual-purpose triticale as influenced by the integrated use of <em>Azotobacter chroococcum</em> and mineral nitrogen fertilizer

The utilization of dual-purpose cereals is encouraged in the Mediterranean environments to fill a feed gap during the winter season. Triticale is a promising dual-purpose crop for forage and grain production. Studies on the variations in productivity and quality of dual-purpose triticale under variable fertilization management are scarce. This study was carried out during winter 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, in Northern Egypt, to evaluate the performance of triticale grown in dual-purpose and grain-only production systems under variable mineral N (mN) rates (zero, 25, 50, 75% of the recommended), accompanied with Azotobacter chroococcum (AC) seed inoculation, as well as 100% mN application without AC. The application of 50% mN with AC seed inoculation resulted in an average of 7.23, 7.27 t ha–1, forage and grain yields, respectively. Moreover, forage and grain crude protein reached 125.57, and 200.60 g kg–1, respectively. Forage fibre fractions were non-significantly variable among the fertilizer treatments. Azotobacter chroococcum seed inoculation, thus, allowed for the reduction of the used amount of mN to 50% without sacrificing the forage and grain yields and protein content. In the dual-purpose system, an average of 7.23 t ha–1 forage yield was obtained with little reduction in the grain yield (19% reduction in average). Meanwhile, grain crude protein content was higher in dual-purpose system (201.38 g kg–1) than in grain-only system (182.98 g kg–1). In similar conditions to the current study, it is recommended to expand the production of dual-purpose triticale in the winter while reducing mN fertilizer rate to 50% in combination with AC seed inoculation.
 Highlights - Triticale is a promising dual-purpose crop that can be utilized for forage and grain production under irrigated Mediterranean conditions. - Around 7.23 t ha–1 forage yield was obtained from the dual-purpose triticale with a slight decrease (19% in average) in final grain yield. - Dual-purpose production system was profitable due to the good prices of triticale green forage in the region. - Azotobacter chroococcum seed inoculation allowed for the reduction of mineral nitrogen rate to 50% without sacrificing the forage and grain yields. - The integrated use of Azotobacter chroococcum seed inoculation with mineral nitrogen resulted in 43% decrease in fertilization costs.

Weather-Based Neural Network, Stepwise Linear and Sparse Regression Approach for Rabi Sorghum Yield Forecasting of Karnataka, India

Sorghum is an important dual-purpose crop of India grown for food and fodder. Prevailing weather conditions during the crop growth period determine the yield of sorghum. Hence, the crop yield forecasting models based on weather parameters will be an appropriate option for policymakers and researchers to develop sustainable cropping strategies. In the present study, six multivariate weather-based models viz., least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), elastic net (ENET), principal component analysis (PCA) in combination with stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR), artificial neural network (ANN) alone and in combination with PCA and ridge regression model are examined by fixing 90% of the data for calibration and remaining dataset for validation to forecast rabi sorghum yield for different districts of Karnataka. The R2 and root mean square error (RMSE) during calibration ranged between 0.42 to 0.98 and 30.48 to 304.17 kg ha−1, respectively, without actual evapotranspiration (AET) whereas, these evaluation parameters varied from 0.38 to 0.99 and 19.84 to 308.79 kg ha−1, respectively with AET inclusion. During validation, the RMSE and nRMSE (normalized root mean square error) varied between 88.99 to 1265.03 kg ha−1 and 4.49 to 96.84%, respectively without AET and including AET as one of the weather variable RMSE and nRMSE were 63.48 to 1172.01 kg ha−1 and 4.16 to 92.56%, respectively. The performance of six multivariate models revealed that LASSO was the best model followed by ENET compared to PCA_SMLR, ANN, PCA_ANN and ridge regression models because of reduced overfitting through penalisation of regression coefficient. Thus, it can be concluded that LASSO and ENET weather-based models can be effectively utilized for the district level forecast of sorghum yield.

Dual-purpose wheat technology: a tool for ensuring food security and livestock sustainability in cereal-based cropping pattern

ABSTRACT Wheat cultivation under a dual-purpose (DP) system holds great potential to provide additional fodder for livestock with marginal grain reduction. This study explores the potential of wheat as a DP crop for improving both, forage and grain cropping system by finding out optimal sowing dates and cultivars suitable for DP cropping. Field experiments with four cultivars (Saleem-2000, Bathoor-2007, Fakhre Sarhad-99 (FS-99) and Siran-2008), three sowing dates (October 15, October 30 and November 15) and two cutting treatments (cut and no-cut) determines the effects on yield and physiology of wheat. Wheat sown either in mid or end of October resulted in 11 and 8% increase in grain yield while 13 and 9% in biological yield over mid November sowing, respectively. This increase in yield was due to higher grain spike−1, chlorophyll content, transpiration rate and relative water content. The cultivars Siran-2008 and Saleem-2000 had higher biological and grain yields than other cultivars across cutting and sowing dates treatments. Biological and grain yields were reduced by 4% and 3%, respectively under the DP wheat compared with no-cut treatment, but grains N content was unaffected. Conclusively, DP wheat system (cut treatment) had higher profitability (11.2%) than wheat crop sown only for grain purposes.

The Pruning Effect on the Storage Root Yield and Starch Content of Sweet Potato Clones Planted at Dry Land

Sweet potato is a dual-purpose crop, which could produce both food and feed. The vine pruning prior to storage root harvesting was intended to increase the quantity and quality of fresh forage for animal feed. This study aims to evaluate whether periodic pruning can affect the storage root yield and its starch content. This experiment employed split-plot design with two factors and three replications. The first factor as main plot was vine pruning which consisted of four distinct pruning times (four times, three times, twice and once). The second factor as sub-plot was cultivars which consisted of six dual-purpose cultivars and two controls. The storage root yields, vine yields, starch yields and the reduction in storage root yields were observed. The results showed that the vine pruning decreased the storage root yields, with small increases the vine yields. The percentage of the reduction in storage root yields were 4-58%, while the decrease vine yields are relatively inconsistent. The starch yield of the cultivars with one pruning time were in the range of 2.34-6.67 ton ha<sup>-1</sup>. On the contrary, the three times pruning or more since 80 days after transplanted can reduce the starch yields for more than 50%. The slight increase in vines yield due to pruning was followed by the decrease in storage root yields and starch content of the sweet potato.

The potential of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) cultivation in Israel as a dual-purpose crop for grain production and livestock feed

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is a seed-producing, environmental stress-resilient crop plant that originates in the Andean Plateau. Quinoa seeds exhibit high nutritional value as they have a high protein level, contain all the essential amino acids, are gluten-free and are also rich in bioactive compounds. Bolivia and Peru are the major producers of quinoa seeds and cultivation of the plant has been introduced to more than 95 countries. Quinoa is also evaluated worldwide for its potential use as a forage crop due the high nutritional value of the entire plant for livestock. In this study, we investigated quinoa cultivation for grain (seed) production and cattle feeding in Israel. Six quinoa accessions were sown in northern Israel at two different winter dates for two years using a scarce amount of irrigation. In plots sown in November 2016 and 2017 or January 2017 and 2018, hay dry matter (DM) yield ranged from 8,820−12,310, 5,270−8,850, 11,480−12,710 and 10,190−12,340 kg·ha−1, respectively; seed yield (SY) ranged from 3,220−4,730, 1,540−2,220, 4,010−5,630 and 4,280−6,360 kg·ha−1, respectively; straw yield ranged from 4,580−9,180, 550−1,000, 5,230−6,420 and 3,220−4,170 kg·ha−1, respectively. Quinoa hay and straw quality were high as crude protein concentration reached 19.9 % and 10.6 %, respectively with an in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) of 75.8 % and 54.2 %, respectively. In conclusion, high quinoa hay biomass and SY, as well as high hay quality, suggest a high prospect for quinoa cultivation in Israel and other Mediterranean countries, as a dual-purpose crop for grain production and livestock feed. A novel whole-use approach may be the use of quinoa straw for cattle feed.

Interactions of Spring Cereal Genotypic Attributes and Recovery of Grain Yield After Defoliation.

Dual-purpose crops are grazed during their vegetative phase and allowed to regrow to produce grain. Grazing slow-developing winter cereals (wheat, barley, and triticale) is common, but there is also potential to graze faster-developing spring cereals used in regions with shorter-growing seasons. Defoliation in faster-developing genotypes has risks of larger yield penalties, however, little is known about genotypic characteristics that may improve recovery after grazing. Four experiments examined 7 spring wheat and 2 barley cultivars with differing physiological attributes (phenological development rate, putative capacity to accumulate soluble carbohydrates, and tillering capacity) that may influence the capacity of spring wheat to recover after defoliation. Defoliated and undefoliated crops were compared to assess physiological differences between cultivars including recovery of biomass, leaf area and radiation interception at anthesis, and subsequent crop grain yield and yield components. All genotypes had similar responses to defoliation treatments indicating that the physiological attributes studied played little part in mitigating yield penalties after defoliation. Despite some differences in yield components amongst cultivars, defoliation did not adversely affect cultivars with different yield component combinations under non-water limited conditions. Later and intense defoliation (around GS30/31) resulted in large yield penalties (40%) which reduced both grain number and kernel mass. However, earlier defoliation (before GS28) induced small or insignificant yield penalties. Defoliation often reduced canopy radiation interception and crop biomass at anthesis but this rarely translated into large yield penalties. These studies further demonstrate that shorter season spring cereals can provide valuable forage (up to 1.2 t DM/ha) for grazing during early vegetative growth without inducing large yield penalties. This study suggests that beyond appropriate phenology, there were no other specific characteristics of cultivars that improved the recovery after grazing. Hence farmers don’t need specific dual-purpose cultivars and can still focus on those that optimize grain yield potential for a particular environment and sowing date. The timing and intensity of defoliation appear to be larger drivers of yield recovery in spring cereals and better understanding of these relationships are needed to provide grazing management guidelines that mitigate risk of yield penalties in dual-purpose cereal crops.

Commercial integrated crop-livestock systems achieve comparable crop yields to specialized production systems: A meta-analysis.

Production systems that feature temporal and spatial integration of crop and livestock enterprises, also known as integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS), have the potential to intensify production on cultivated lands and foster resilience to the effects of climate change without proportional increases in environmental impacts. Yet, crop production outcomes following livestock grazing across environments and management scenarios remain uncertain and a potential barrier to adoption, as producers worry about the effects of livestock activity on the agronomic quality of their land. To determine likely production outcomes across ICLS and to identify the most important moderating variables governing those outcomes, we performed a meta-analysis of 66 studies comparing crop yields in ICLS to yields in unintegrated controls across 3 continents, 12 crops, and 4 livestock species. We found that annual cash crops in ICLS averaged similar yields (-7% to +2%) to crops in comparable unintegrated systems. The exception was dual-purpose crops (crops managed simultaneously for grazing and grain production), which yielded 20% less on average than single-purpose crops in the studies examined. When dual-purpose cropping systems were excluded from the analysis, crops in ICLS yielded more than in unintegrated systems in loamy soils and achieved equal yields in most other settings, suggesting that areas of intermediate soil texture may represent a "sweet-spot" for ICLS implementation. This meta-analysis represents the first quantitative synthesis of the crop production outcomes of ICLS and demonstrates the need for further investigation into the conditions and management scenarios under which ICLS can be successfully implemented.

Early vine harvesting of dual-purpose sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) increases feeding quality and total biomass without comprising tuber production

Sweet potato is an important food crop throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa with the important attribute as a dual-purpose crop. While tuberous crops are grown for human consumption, the sweet potato can also provide substantial vine biomass suitable for feeding animals without competing for human feed resources. Sweet potato is generally low in nutrient other than carbohydrate. The newly developed orange-fleshed varieties of sweet potato, high in beta-carotene yield large quantities of vines with very little exploration of their agronomic attributes to date. Intermediate vine harvesting (ratooning) has been promoted as a strategy to further increase the value of sweet potato as a dual-purpose human/animal feed crop. The results of this practice on yields of other types of sweet potato have been equivocal or highly variable. Production effects on three new orange-fleshed dual-purpose sweet potato (Kenspot 1, SPK 013, SPK 117) developed by the International Potato Centre (CIP), of intermediate plus final (INT) versus final only (FIN) vine harvesting were assessed in a randomized block with a split plot trial. Cultivar SPK013 produced the greatest vine, tuber and total biomass yield of the three varieties tested, but also the greatest decline in tuber yields after intermediate vine harvesting. While intermediate harvesting increased vine yield in all varieties (p<0.05), in cultivar SPK013, it caused a 58% decline in tuber yield (p<0.05). The variation in performance between cultivars assessed in this study, reflects what is seen in the general literature. What is clear from the present study is that, there is a substantial interaction between environment/cultural practice and genotype. As such, it seems impossible to generalize that Intermediate vine harvesting is beneficial for vine production in the cultivars studied. It should be borne in mind that this practice may also be associated with a substantial decline in tuber yield in some cultivars. Thus, results should not be extrapolated to other varieties without investigation.

An estimation of feed and fodder availability in the arid Rajasthan

Animal husbandry is a major economic activity of farming systems of arid Rajasthan contributing more than 50% in the total economy. Regular and assured supply of feed and fodder is essential for sustainable livestock development. The aim of the present study was to estimate the feed and fodder demand and availability for existing livestock based on secondary data collected from different sources. The total annual availability of feed and fodder for livestock in arid Rajasthan worked out to be 38.46 million tons against the requirement of 58.39 million tons. The supply of dry roughages is exceeded by 5.03% against the requirement of 16.71 million tons. The surplus availability of roughages was observed in Hanumangarh, Sri Ganganagar, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jalore and Bikaner districts. The highest shortfall of green fodder was observed in Churu followed by Nagaur, Jalore and Sikar district. The demand for concentrate exceeded more than 50% in most of the districts and it was highest in Barmer, Nagaur and Jaisalmer. To mitigate the deficit supply of green and dry fodder, silvopastoral models should be included in the policies for livestock development. The establishment of fodder banks with complete and balanced fodder block making machines in cluster of villages, and promotion of dual purpose crops through extension may need more attention by the state government to mitigate the shortfall of feed and fodder supply.

The dual-purpose use of orange-fleshed sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas var. Bophelo) for improved nutritional food security

Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) leaves can be utilised as a fresh green leafy vegetable, in addition to the traditional use of storage root; therefore, OFSP can be seen as a “dual-purpose’’ crop. We hypothesized that no vine harvesting combined with fertiliser application and irrigation will improve the storage root yield and selected plant parameters (water productivity, leaf and storage root nutrient concentrations, nutritional yield, and nutritional water productivity). The objectives of the study were to (i) evaluate the effect of vine harvesting on the selected plant parameters, and, (ii) assess the effect of irrigation regimes and soil fertilisation on these selected parameters. Field experiments were conducted at ARC-VOP, Pretoria, South Africa, during the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons. Treatments included irrigation regimes [well-watered (W1) and supplemental irrigation (W2)], soil fertilisation [well-fertilised (F1) and no fertiliser application (F2)], and vine harvesting [no vine harvesting (H1) and vine harvesting (H2)]. For the 2014/15 season, the well-watered regime improved total storage root yield (W1 = 13.0 t DM ha−1; W2 = 7.5 t DM ha−1). Under the practice of vine harvesting, soil fertility treatments did not affect (total dry storage root yield and dry marketable storage root yield) storage root production. Our results further revealed that vine harvesting reduced storage root nutrient concentrations (23% for iron; 14% for zinc; 12% for β-carotene). Nevertheless, total nutritional yields increased; the highest total nutritional yields for iron, zinc, and β-carotene were found under the water and nutrient input regime (W1F1). Assessments showed that boiled orange-fleshed sweet potato aboveground edible biomass could potentially contribute to the daily-recommended nutritional requirement of iron and vitamin A for a family of six people. More water was needed to meet the daily-recommended nutrient intake (iron, zinc, and vitamin A) with OFSP grown as a storage root crop only than when grown as a dual-purpose crop. Our results indicated that there is an opportunity to utilise OFSP as a dual-purpose crop for rural resource-poor households because total nutritional yields (iron, zinc, and β-carotene) and total nutritional water productivities (iron, zinc, and β-carotene) were improved. More research is needed to assess the effect of vine harvesting on a range of OFSP varieties and should be conducted on the farm. Rural resource-poor households are encouraged to produce OFSP for their own consumption and the surplus could be sold at the local market.

YS-16: A high yielding dual purpose sorghum variety

Sorghum is an important dual purpose (grain and fodder) crop in Punjab, Pakistan. It is a good substitute for maize and is important as poultry feed because it is a good source of carbohydrates and proteins. A previous variety, YSS-98, became susceptible to foliar diseases and subsequently failed to provide satisfactory grain and fodder yields. A new genotype, YS-16, was developed with high grain and fodder yields and tolerance to foliar diseases. This genotype was sent to the expert subcommittee and approved with the name YS-16. The variety was selected through continuous selection from a germplasm received from ICRISAT India during Kharif-1987 and planted at the Maize & Millet Research Institute, Yusafwala, Sahiwal. This sorghum variety has the potential to produce a grain yield of 6,220 kg/ha, which is not only higher than the check variety but also higher than commercial hybrids. YS-16 was better in varietal yield trials, adaptability yield trials, at different farms, and in national uniform yield trials during 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. YS-16 also proved superior in stalk yield to check variety YSS-98 in varietal trials. The maturation period of YS-16 is 125 to 135 days. Due to its high sugar contents (Brix 18%), its stover is more palatable to milch animals. It is suitable for medium soil. YS-16 is the best variety recommended by the Punjab Seed Council due to height, sweetness, remaining green at maturity, higher grain yield and better lodging resistance due to strong root anchoring.

Determining Morphological Traits for Selecting Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) with Improved Early-Season Forage Production

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the major annual crop in the Southern Great Plains of the USA grown as dual-purpose (forage and grain) crop. Wheat breeding has focused on maximizing grain yield and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Because of a lack of clearly defined selection criteria for breeding forage-type wheat, breeders usually rely on very laborious means to measure forage quantity and quality or they use imprecise visual estimates to quantify forage production. In a series of experiments conducted at Vernon, TX during 2003-2005, we determined correlations between selected morphological traits and the early-season forage DM yield in a range of wheat breeding lines and commercial cultivars evaluated by the Wheat Breeding Program of Texas A&amp;M AgriLife Research. Early-season forage DM yield was highly correlated with tiller number, leaf length and width, and inversely correlated with specific leaf weight. Environmental variables modified the responses. A number of wheat breeding lines and cultivars had combined three out of the four evaluated morphological traits, including Abilene Ag Exp., Cutter, Fannin, HG-9, Duster, TAM 110, TX01M5009, TX01V6016, TX03M1179, TX04M410009, and Weather master 135. These cultivars/breeding lines have been recommended for dual-purpose use; thus, the morphological traits evaluated in our studies were desirable for selection of wheat with improved forage productivity.

Biomass, feed quality, mineral concentration and grain yield responses to potassium fertiliser of dual-purpose crops

ABSTRACTThe effect of increasing rates of potassium (K) fertiliser was studied on a soil with base exchangeable K values ≤ 0.1 cmol(+)/ kg by assessing biomass, feed quality, mineral concentration and grain yield for wheat, triticale and canola. The crops showed variable biomass response to K rates at early plant growth stages, however at anthesis there were significant positive biomass responses to increasing rates of K. A positive K rate effect was detected on feed quality with significant increases in metabolisable energy. Irrespective of sampling time, increasing K rate resulted in significant increases in crop K concentration and mineral ratios, such as the Tetany index, but significant decreases in Ca and Mg concentrations. Final grain yield was significantly increased by K rate and there were beneficial effects on grain quality (thousand grain weight). Overall, this study highlights the importance of K to production responses and implications for the health and productivity of grazing livestock.

Dual-purpose cereals offer increased productivity across diverse regions of Australia’s high rainfall zone

Dual-purpose (DP) cereals provide an opportunity to graze vegetative crops in autumn and winter when pasture forage levels are low, and then harvested for grain after the exclusion of stock. The dual use provides significant increases in mixed farm returns and the area of DP crops is expanding from traditional areas in south-eastern Australia. DP crops have particular potential in the 9 M ha high rainfall zones (HRZ, >500–600 mm annual rainfall) where the crop growing season is longer, increasing the potential grazing period and the capacity to recover high grain yield. To capitalise on this potential, management packages that combine the most suitable varieties and sowing times to maximise forage and grain production are required. We conducted six experiments across the south-eastern, north-eastern and south-western regions of Australia’s HRZ to assess potential forage and grain production of DP cereal species (wheat, barley and triticale) and phenology types. In the south-eastern HRZ, slow winter cultivars out-performed spring types due the increased forage production in the ‘safe’ grazing period (stem elongation, DC30) providing up to 2600 DSE.days/ha and 7.5 t/ha grain yield from a mid-March sowing. Early-sown spring cultivars provided a shorter period of ‘safe’ grazing as the lack of vernalisation requirement hastened development and reduced grain yield potential. In the south-western HRZ, early sowing opportunities (March) are rare and the season much shorter. The best results were achieved with mid-April sowing of barley and longer season spring and facultative wheat, providing 640 DSE.days/ha and grain yields of 3.0 t/ha and 3.4 t/ha, respectively. In the north-eastern HRZ, grain recovery was more sensitive to grazing, however 2000 DSE.days/ha and 6.5 t/ha grain yield were achieved with winter cereals sown in early April. Grazing in the safe phenological window had no effect on grain yield in the south-west region, but reduced yield of some cultivars in the eastern regions. The reduction in grain yield of early-sown winter wheat cultivars due to grazing (17–28%) was greatest when yield potential was high (>6.8 t/ha). Overall, the experiments confirm the predicted potential for dual-purpose production of cereals across the Australian HRZ region provided appropriate cultivar and sowing dates are combined with careful grazing management. Further work is required to refine grazing management to reduce reductions in grain yield in well-managed DP crops grazed prior to stem elongation.

Genomic variations and association study of agronomic traits in flax

BackgroundFlax (Linum usitatissimum. L) is an ancient oilseed and natural fiber crop. It could be divided into three categories by use, namely oil flax, fiber flax and oil-fiber dual purpose (OF). Cultivated flax is widely used in the food and textile industry. It is of great significance to elucidate the genetic characteristics of flax collections for accelerating the process of breeding improvement in this dual purpose crop. With the development of next-generation sequencing, we can use new methods, such as SLAF-seq (specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing), to decode unknown genomes of species. In this study, a high-through sequencing of flax collections using SLAF-seq was conducted. The evolutionary tendency was defined and candidate genes associated with agronomic traits of flax species were identified by Genome-Wide Association Studying (GWAS).ResultsA flax collection consisting of 224 varieties were sequenced by SLAF-seq. In total, 346,639 SLAF tags were developed from all accessions, with an average sequencing depth of 7.19 for each accession. A total of 584,987 SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) with an MAF > 0.05 were identified from these SLAFs. The population structure division and phylogenetic analysis indicated a strong divergence among three kinds of flax groups. The genome-wide variation uncovered that oil flax had the highest genetic diversity and was considered to be the ancestor of fiber flax and oil-fiber flax. Sixteen associated peak SNPs for six traits were obtained by GWAS of oil-related traits using EMMAX (efficient mixed-model association eXpedited). Candidate genes and their related pathway were evaluated. A new GWAS was developed for fiber properties using the GLM (General linear model) model and a number of loci were identified.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study on discovery multiple loci for important agronomic traits of flax species using GWAS strategy. These results will provide the highest possibility of incorporating both high fiber and good oil traits in a single variety.

Evaluation of Different Forage Type Varieties of Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) in Central Luzon

Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) is a drought-tolerant dual-purpose crop primarily grown as grain crop for human consumption. The ability of pigeon pea to produce economic yields under moisturedeficient soils makes it as an ideal crop to integrate in the crop-livestock farming for production of high-quality fodder. Four pigeon pea forage-type variety of the International Crop Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT), namely: ICPL 87119, ICPL 13092, ICP 7035, and ICPL 20092, were planted to identify the best variety that is suitable under Central Luzon agro-climatic conditions. A total of 240 plants per variety were planted with 0.5 m x 0.75 m planting distance. The experiment plots were laidout using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at the Central Luzon State University. The varieties were evaluated by measuring the growth performance, herbage yield, dry matter yield, and disease tolerance. Results showed significant variations in the survival rate of the different varieties. All varieties exhibited less than 85% survival rate. Among the varieties, ICP 7035 produced the highest herbage yield per hectare of 8.9 tons which was 24.71%, 58.42%, and 68.53% higher compared to ICPL 87119, ICPL 20092, and ICPL 13092, respectively. Likewise, ICP 7035 showed the highest performance in all agronomic parameters measured except leaf to stem ratio. High leaf to stem ratio of 3.18:1 was observed from ICPL 20092. However, ICPL 20092 was severely infested by mites (98%), while the rest were found to be resistant to mite infestation.

Managing for Multifunctionality in Perennial Grain Crops.

Plant breeders are increasing yields and improving agronomic traits in several perennial grain crops, the first of which is now being incorporated into commercial food products. Integration strategies and management guidelines are needed to optimize production of these new crops, which differ substantially from both annual grain crops and perennial forages. To offset relatively low grain yields, perennial grain cropping systems should be multifunctional. Growing perennial grains for several years to regenerate soil health before rotating to annual crops and growing perennial grains on sloped land and ecologically sensitive areas to reduce soil erosion and nutrient losses are two strategies that can provide ecosystem services and support multifunctionality. Several perennial cereals can be used to produce both grain and forage, and these dual-purpose crops can be intercropped with legumes for additional benefits. Highly diverse perennial grain polycultures can further enhance ecosystem services, but increased management complexity might limit their adoption.

Linseed as a dual-purpose crop: evaluation of cultivar suitability and analysis of yield determinants

AbstractLinseed is enjoying renewed popularity worldwide thanks to emerging market opportunities for raw material derived from seeds and stems. The dual-purpose cultivation is particularly attractive to growers for its capacity to yield both seed/oil and straw/fibre; however, field-based research is necessary to identify suitable cultivars to meet modern production goals. Under these premises, a 3-year experimental campaign was conducted to evaluate 18 linseed cultivars potentially interesting for dual-purpose cultivation in Northern Italy. Cultivar performance was evaluated in terms of seed, straw and fibre yield, oil composition and stem fibre content. Inter-annual weather variability explained the largest portion of the total variance. However, the ‘cultivar × year’ interaction was not significant except for seed oil content and composition. Stability analysis showed that at least half of the cultivars were unstable for oil content andα-linolenic acid fraction. A Structural Equation Model was developed to investigate causal relationships between the productive performance and factors such as environmental variables, phenological traits, plant size and density. Rainfall was beneficial to seed yield, both before and after flowering, whereas higher post-flowering air temperature had a depressive effect. A higher oil content was favoured by pre-flowering rainfall. Plant height was negatively associated with seed yield and oil content, but it was positively associated with straw and fibre yield. Plant density was critical for fibre yield since below 500 plants/m2the increased plant branching makes it difficult to extract fibre. Together with plant density, plant height could be used to manipulate the seed/straw ratio according to production goals.

Exploring the potential of hop as a dual purpose crop in the Mediterranean environment: shoot and cone yield from nine commercial cultivars

Abstract In hopyard management, surplus shoots are generally considered a useless by-product once hop bine training has been completed. Considering the rising interest towards healthy and traditional foods, they may be a valuable resource, especially for small scale hop farming. Despite this economic and nutritional interest, there is a lack of information about hop shoot yield potential both in the heartlands and new growing areas such as the Mediterranean basin. A 2-year field trial was conducted in Central Italy to investigate the shoot yield potential of nine commercial hop cultivars and how this yield is related to other traits such as earliness of shoot emergence and shoot number and weight. Cone yield potential was also assessed. The results showed that there was significant variability among the genotypes for all characters investigated. Cascade was the highest yielding variety producing 470 g of cones per plant (two-year mean) at 10% moisture. The number of shoots per plant varied from 14 of H. Aroma to 29 of Cascade over a two year average, while green shoot yield ranged from 15 g per plant of H. Aroma in 2014 to 37.5 g per plant of Cascade in 2013. Marketable shoot yield was positively correlated with number of shoots, while no significant correlation was found with average shoot weight. Since the number of shoots was negatively correlated with growing degree days (GDD) to shoot emergence, the early emerging genotypes such as Cascade, Yeoman and H. Magnum outperformed the other cultivars when grown in the Mediterranean environment for shoot production.

A comprehensive study of planting density and nitrogen fertilization effect on dual-purpose hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation

Harvesting hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) for both stems and seeds is now a common practice in Europe while crop management strategies for dual-purpose hemp cultivation have not been properly addressed so far. In the present study, the effects of planting density and nitrogen fertilization on hemp stem and seed yields were tested with the cultivars Futura 75 and/or Bialobrzeskie in eight contrasting environments (Italy in 2013; Italy and Latvia in 2014; Italy (two sites), Latvia, the Czech Republic, and France in 2015). Stem yield ranged between 1.3 and 22.3Mgha−1. The effects of planting density and nitrogen fertilization on stem yield did not interact significantly with each other, or with cultivar and harvest time. Increasing planting density from 30 to 120 plants m−2 and increasing nitrogen fertilization rate from 0 to 60kgNha−1 increased stem yield by 29% and 32%, respectively. Further increase in planting density and nitrogen fertilization did not result in a significant increase in stem yield. Seed yield ranged from 0.3 to 2.1Mgha−1. The seed yield was not affected significantly by planting density between 30 and 240 plants m−2. Although the seed yield showed an increasing trend with increasing nitrogen fertilization, the effects of nitrogen fertilization on seed yield were not statistically significant.To grow hemp as a dual-purpose crop it is recommended to plant 90–150 plants m−2 across all tested environments. Nitrogen fertilization rate at 60kg N ha−1 was generally sufficient in the tested environments whereas further optimization of nitrogen fertilization requires accurate assessment of plant nitrogen status. To facilitate assessing plant nutritional status, a critical nitrogen dilution curve was determined for hemp and a practical method to determine nitrogen nutritional status was discussed.