Effects of intercropping of winter wheat with pea and fababean on grain yield and baking quality of wheat
Description:
The effects of cultivation form (monocropping/intercropping), row distance (15, 30 or 75 cm) and intercropping partner (winter faba bean 'Hiverna', Vicia faba L.; winter pea 'Cheyenne', Pisum sativum L.) on yield formation and grain quality of winter wheat 'Bussard' (Triticum aestivum L.) were evaluated in two consecutive vegetation periods (2003/04, 2004/05) at three different field sites. Monocropped wheat was grown with 300 K m-² (100 %) or 60 K m-² (20 %), field bean with 30 K m-² and pea with 80 K m-². The substitutive intercrops (20 % wheat, 80 % grain legumes) were sown in different spatial arrangements (mixed intercropping, row intercropping or row strip intercropping). Monocropped wheat with only 20 % sowing density achieved equal grain yields as wheat with normal sowing density as a result of a high compensation capacity (tillering, grains per ear). The individual yields of the species grown in mixture were generally lower than in monocrop. Relative yield total was usually greater than 1. Wheat grown in mixtures achieved very high grain qualities. In mixtures with faba bean up to 15,4 % protein content were determined (row strip intercrop). The other quality parameters (gluten content, SDS sedimentation value and micro rapid mix test) were correlated positively with protein content. For loamy soils the faba bean can be recommended as an intercropping partner for the production of high quality wheat, merely on very heavy soils the competition between wheat and faba bean can be too intense. On sandy soils, the pea seems to be an adequate partner in mixture. A gradient in the spatial and temporal use of mineral soil nitrogen (Nmin) by the wheat was found, possibly resulting in higher grain protein content. Moreover, up to 10,2 and 13,1 kg N ha-1 were symbiotically fixed and transferred to the wheat by faba bean and pea, respectively. The highest contribution margins were reached in the mixtures with faba bean with an average of 552,30 Euro ha-1.
Executive Institute:
Faculty of agriculture / landscape management Details of Faculty of agriculture / landscape management
Parent institution:
Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Details of (HTW) (Saxony)
Contract period:
22. 01. 2004 - 31. 12. 2006
Project budget:
136,888 €
Participating Institutions:
- Department of Agronomy Details of Department of Agronomy
Funding Programme:
- BMELV - BÖLN - Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture Details of BMELV - BÖLN - Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture
Subject:
- Crop Production
Purpose of research:
Applied research
Funding Institutions:
- Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) Details of (BMELV)
Project Management Agency:
- Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) Details of BLE