Determining the Biomass Production Capacities of Certain Forage Grasses and Legumes and Their Mixtures under Mediterranean Regional Conditions

Mixtures of annual forage legumes with annual grass for forage and green manure were practiced traditionally in the Mediterranean conditions. The aim of the present study was to determine of biomass production capacities of three different grasses species [wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), triticale (Triticosecale Witt.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.)], two legumes forages [common vetch (Vicia sativa L.), berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.)] and their mixtures (75% legume+25% grass). The field experiments were conducted at East Mediterranean Region of Turkey during 2001-02 and 2002-03 growing seasons. The results of study showed that yields of mixtures were higher than sole sowings. According to results; the highest green herbage yield was obtained from common vetch+wheat mixture with 66.2 t ha-1, while the lowest was obtained from sole wheat with 23.2 t ha-1. The superior nitrogen ratio in hay (3.09%) and in dry root (2.48%) values were determined in common vetch; the highest nitrogen yield in hay (474 kg ha-1) and in dry biomass (510 kg ha-1) values were obtained from berseem clover. The highest fresh root yield (18.1 t ha-1), dry root yield (3.7 t ha-1) and nitrogen yield in dry root (71.3 kg ha-1) values were obtained from annual ryegrass. The superior crude ash ratio was obtained at 11.2% from common vetch and the highest crude ash ratio in dry root (37.3%) was obtained from berseem clover+wheat mixture. In terms of total biomass production capacity, the common vetch+wheat, the berseem clover+triticale and the berseem clover+wheat mixtures provide the best results; in point of fresh and dry root residues deposited per unit area, wheat, annual ryegrass and triticale stand out, while the berseem clover+triticale and the berseem clover+annual ryegrass mixtures also deposit an abundance of root residues.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fabaceae ، Nitrogen ، Organic matter ، Poaceae ، Soil productivity