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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Agricultural Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #310445
Title: Management and tillage system influence forage barley productivity and water use in dryland cropping systems

Author
item LENSSEN, ANDREW - Iowa State University
item Sainju, Upendra
item Jabro, Jalal - Jay
item Allen, Brett
item Evans, Robert

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/19/2014
Publication Date: 2/12/2015
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60383
Citation: Lenssen, A., Sainju, U.M., Jabro, J.D., Allen, B.L., Evans, R.G. 2015. Management and tillage system influence forage barley productivity and water use in dryland cropping systems. Agronomy Journal. 107(2):551-557.

Interpretive Summary: Diversification and intensification of dryland wheat-based farming systems in the US and Canadian prairie can improve sustainability through enhanced capture and utilization of precipitation in the water-limited regions. Annual forages are well adapted to semiarid environments, including the Great Plains. A wide range of forage species, including cool-season grasses and grass-legume mixtures can grow well in semiarid environments. The combined influence of tillage and management systems on annual cereal forage productivity and water use, however, has not been well documented. We conducted a field study on the effects of tillage (no-till and till) and management (ecological and conventional) systems on water use and performance of forage barley and weed biomass in two crop rotations (wheat-forage barley-pea and wheat-forage barley-corn-pea) from 2004 to 2010 in eastern Montana. Conventional management included recommended seeding rates, broadcast N fertilization, and short stubble height of wheat. Ecological management included greater seeding rates, banded N fertilization at planting, and taller wheat stubble. Forage barley in ecological management had 28 more plants m-2, 2 cm greater height, 65 more tillers m-2, 606 kg ha-1 greater crop biomass, 3.5 kg ha-1 mm-1 greater WUE, and 47% reduction in weed biomass at harvest than that in conventional management. Preplant and post-harvest soil water contents were similar among rotations and tillage and management systems, but barley water use was 13 mm greater in the four-year than the three-year rotation. Tillage had little effect on barley performance and water use. Dryland forage barley with higher seeding rate and banded N fertilization in more diversified crop rotation performed better, produced more yield, and used water more efficiently than that with conventional seeding rate, broadcast N fertilization, and less diversified rotation in the semiarid northern Great Plains.

Technical Abstract: Annual cereal forages are resilient in low water use, high water use efficiency (WUE), and weed control compared with grain crops in dryland farming systems. The combined influence of tillage and management systems on annual cereal forage productivity and water use, however, has not been well documented. We conducted a field study for the effects of tillage (no-till and till) and management (ecological and conventional) systems on water use and performance of forage barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and weed biomass in two crop rotations (wheat [Triticum aestivum L.]-forage barley-pea [Pisum sativum L.] and wheat-forage barley-corn [Zea mays L.]-pea) from 2004 to 2010 in eastern Montana. Conventional management included recommended seeding rates, broadcast N fertilization, and short stubble height of wheat. Ecological management included greater seeding rates, banded N fertilization at planting, and taller wheat stubble. Forage barley in ecological management had 28 more plants m-2, 2 cm greater height, 65 more tillers m-2, 606 kg ha-1 greater crop biomass, 3.5 kg ha-1 mm-1 greater WUE, and 47% reduction in weed biomass at harvest than that in conventional management. Preplant and post-harvest soil water contents were similar among rotations and systems, but barley water use was 13 mm greater in the four-year than the three-year rotation. Tillage had little effect on barley performance and water use. Dryland forage barley with higher seeding rate and banded N fertilization in more diversified crop rotation performed better, produced more yield, and used water more efficiently than that with conventional seeding rate, broadcast N fertilization, and less diversified rotation in the semiarid northern Great Plains.