HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Vasilakoglou, I. Articles by Dhima, K. PubMed Articles by Vasilakoglou, I. Articles by Dhima, K. Agricola Articles by Vasilakoglou, I. Articles by Dhima, K. Related Collections Intercropping Systems Clover

INTERCROPPING

Forage Yield and Competition Indices of Berseem Clover Intercropped with Barley

^a Dep. of Plant Production, Technol. and Educ. Inst. of Larissa, 411 10 Larissa, Greece
^b Dep. of Plant Production, Technol. and Educ. Inst. of Thessaloniki, 574 00 Thessaloniki, Greece

^* Corresponding author (vasilakoglou{at}teilar.gr).

Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) should be intercropped with cereals for forage quality improvement, livestock bloat avoidance, and fertilizer requirements reduction. A 2-yr field study was conducted using a cultivar of berseem clover and two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars as sole crops compared to six berseem clover–barley intercrops planted at three seeding rates (250–338, 500–225, or 750–113 seeds m^–2). The objective of the study was to compare forage and protein yield productivity for sole crops with crop mixtures. Land equivalent ratio (LER), relative crowding coefficient (RCC), aggressivity (A) which indicates the relative yield increase of legume in comparison with that of cereal in an intercropping system, and competition ratio (CR) were also assessed. Barley was cut once, while berseem clover was cut four times. Total dry matter (DM) yield produced by most intercrops was similar with that of berseem clover sole crop averaged 24.9 Mg ha^–1, but greater than that of barley sole crops averaged 12.7 Mg ha^–1. Berseem clover sole crop and its intercrop with barley at 750–113 seeds m^–2 provided the greatest total protein yield. Total LER or RCC did not exceed unity for the intercrop, which indicated that there was no advantage of the intercrops over sole cropping systems. The results of this study indicated that intercropping of berseem clover with barley at the seeding rate of 750–113 seeds m^–2 could be used as alternative practice of berseem clover sole crop for high forage and protein production.

Abbreviations: A, aggressivity • CP, crude protein • CR, competition ratio • DM, dry matter • LAI, leaf area index • LER, land equivalent ratio • RCC, relative crowding coefficient • WAP, weeks after planting

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Received for publication June 17, 2008.