Funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership
(Government of Canada and Government of Alberta)
Pulse cereal mixtures provide an alternative option for forage crop production in the Peace Country (PC). Pulses added to cereals can improve yields and feed quality. Forage peas are the most common pulse added to cereal mixes but faba beans are an interesting alternative which is gaining popularity as a pulse crop amongst PC producers. Pulse cereal mixtures allow for symbiotic relationships, nitrogen fixation capabilities, and resource use complementarities amongst seeded cereal and pulse crop species. Such mixtures can be used for greenfeed, silage or grazing as an annual pasture. Forage peas are a valuable crop for forage. In the PC, cultivated as a pure crop, a few forage peas are prone to lodging and susceptible to biotic and abiotic stress. This can lead to diminished crop performance and inferior forage quality. This therefore shows the importance of intercropping peas with cereals.
Objective
To compare cereal/pulse mixtures to monocrops of oats, barley, and spring triticale in terms of forage DM yield and quality.
Methods
Location: This project was conducted at Garth Isaac’s farm in Teepee Creek.
Cropping history: Summer fallow.
Experimental design and treatments: A randomized complete block design was used in four replications on small plots measuring 8 m x 1.14 m and 0.65 m alleyways between plots. Three cereal monocrop varieties and 12 cereal pulse mixtures were seeded to determine the forage yield and quality advantages of the mixtures. Refer to Table 21 for the complete list of mixtures and monocrops and their seeding rates in lbs/acre.
Seeding
Cereal seeds were treated with Vibrance Quattro cereal seed treatment before seeding.
Cereal monocultures (controls) were seeded at 100% (300 plants/m2 for barley and oats and 370 plants/m2 for triticale), while mixtures were targeted at 50% of cereal crop and 75% for pulse crop in a mixture, as follows:
Barley and Oats: 150.0 plants/m2 (13.9 plants/ft2)
Spring Triticale: 185 plants/m2 (17.2 plants/ft2)
Peas: 68 plants/m2
Faba beans: 33 plants/m2
The target seeding rate calculation for the small plot area was based on 1,000 kernel weight, germination, plot area and 5% mortality rate.
This project was seeded on June 1, 2022, with a 6-row Fabro Plot drill and at a seed depth of 1’’.
The soil temperature and moisture measured in the top 6’’ was 22.0°C and 30.0% Volumetric water content (VWC), respectively.
Fertility
Fertilizer was applied through mid-row banding. The fertilizer rate was determined based on soil test results completed at 0-6’’ before seeding. The N, P, K, and S application rate was 0 lbs/acre, 20 lbs/acre, 0 lbs/acre, and 10 lbs/acre, respectively.
Spraying
A pre-pass spray was performed prior to seeding using StartUp® herbicide at a rate of 0.67 L/acre on May 20, 2022. No pre-emergence spray was carried out. In-crop spraying was performed with Basagran Forte at 0.8 L/acre on June 24, 2022.
Harvest
Time of harvest was determined based on crop development, which was when barley was at the soft dough stage, while oat was at the milk stage and triticale at the late milk stage. Plots were harvested on August 9, 2022, using a forage harvester. Forage samples for each variety were sent to A&L Laboratory in Ontario for quality analysis.
Results
Table 22 shows the summary results for pulse-cereal mixtures and cereal monocultures at Teepee Creek. Forage DM yields obtained from seeding monoculture cereals were mostly higher than those obtained with the same cereals seeded with pulses. Spring taza triticale monoculture was exceptionally higher than other cereal monocultures and their mixtures.
As expected, the CP contents of mixtures were mostly higher than those of cereal monocultures (Table 22). Surprisingly, fibre (NDF and ADF) contents of cereal pulse mixtures were mostly not different from those of the monoculture cereals (Table 22). The energy (TDN) values obtained from the pulse-cereal mixtures and monocultures were mostly above 65% and will meet the nutrient requirements of lactating as well as growing beef cattle stock. Calcium levels were generally higher for all treatments and greatly surpassed the needed 0.31% Ca by mature beef cattle (Table 23).
P ranged from 0.22 to 0.50% (Table 23). Mixtures containing faba beans produced forages with far more P content than other mixtures and cereal monocultures. The level of K in pulse cereal mixtures/monocultures ranged from 1.27 to 1.60% (Table 23) and will meet and surpass minimum nutrient requirements for all beef cattle stock.
Implications and Conclusions
Intercrops usually have a yield advantage over the same crops grown separately. This is not the case here in this trial, but the results of this trial can still help producers optimize the use of this type of intercropping. These intercrops are resilient and require no nitrogen fertilizer or herbicide applications. The cereal component prevents the pea component from lodging. Intercrops can contribute to low input systems in particular. We observed that in terms of lodging, spring triticale and semi-leafless forage are ideal intercropping partners; with no lodging expected even with strong winds.
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