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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #62345
Title: YIELD AND QUALITY OF OATS GROWN WITH SWEETCLOVER AND BERSEEM CLOVER

Author
item WILLIAMS, K - ISU
item GEORGE, J - ISU
item MOORE, KENNETH - ISU
item BARNHART, STEVEN - ISU
item BUXTON, DWAYNE

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Growing oats in mixtures with legumes has been demonstrated to be of value in crop rotations with corn and soybeans. The benefits derived from inclusion of oat-legume mixtures include decreased fertilizer nitrogen requirement for the following corn crop, interruption of pest cycles, and ground cover for the winter following establishment. However, these improvements are not enough to offset the cost of including oat-legume mixtures when they are used only as a manure crop. To be an economical alternative, some additional value must be returned to the farming system from the oat-legume component of the rotation. This research was conducted to evaluate the yield and nutritive value of berseem clover and sweetclover grown alone or in binary mixtures with oats as forage crops. Berseem clover and sweetclover were grown alone or in binary mixtures with oats in a split-plot design with species representing whole-plots and harvest dates representing subplots. Subplots were harvested with a flail-type harvester when oats were in the boot (RO), anthesis (R4), and milk (S1) growth stages to determine forage yield. There were no differences in dry matter yield among oats grown alone or in binary mixtures with either legume. Legumes grown in monoculture yielded considerably less. Average IVDMD for sweetclover, berseem clover, and oats was 702, 608, and 546g kg**-1, respectively. Oats grown alone or in binary mixtures with legumes have significant value as a hay or silage crop for use in crop rotations with corn and soybeans.