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Title: Legume Addition to Perennial Warm‐Season Grass Swards Increases Harvested Biomass

Abstract

The adoption of perennial warm‐season grass crops for bioenergy production faces significant social, economic, and agronomic challenges. The inclusion of legumes in warm‐season grass swards may increase productivity, reduce weed pressure and the need for fertilizer inputs, and allow farmers greater management flexibility. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate whether the overseeding of red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) in warm‐season grass swards can improve biomass yields and reduce weed cover, (ii) to determine if biomass yield gains arise from increased N availability or the biomass production of the legume crop, and (iii) to determine whether switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) or big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii Vitman.) accessions respond differently to red clover overseeding. Once established, red clover addition increased biomass yields in unfertilized swards to levels equivalent to fertilization with 112 kg N ha −1 and reduced weed cover by 7%. The yield gains with clover addition were consistent irrespective of the warm‐season grass accession tested and were attributable to the production of biomass by the clover. The incorporation of legumes in mixtures with perennial warm‐season grasses can and should play a part in improving the viability of these cropping systems. Future studies should considermore » alternative planting, harvesting, and weed control in a long‐term experimental framework to refine management of legume and warm‐season grass mixtures.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Dep. of Agronomy and USDOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Univ. of Wisconsin‐Madison 1575 Linden Dr. Madison WI 53706
  2. Dep. of Agronomy and USDOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Univ. of Wisconsin‐Madison 1575 Linden Dr. Madison WI 53706, USDA‐ARS, US Dairy Forage Research Center 1925 Linden Dr. Madison WI 53706
Publication Date:
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1581846
Grant/Contract Number:  
DE‐FC02‐07ER64494
Resource Type:
Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Crop Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Crop Science Journal Volume: 57 Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0011-183X
Publisher:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Jakubowski, Andrew R., Casler, Michael D., and Jackson, Randall D. Legume Addition to Perennial Warm‐Season Grass Swards Increases Harvested Biomass. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0266.
Jakubowski, Andrew R., Casler, Michael D., & Jackson, Randall D. Legume Addition to Perennial Warm‐Season Grass Swards Increases Harvested Biomass. United States. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0266
Jakubowski, Andrew R., Casler, Michael D., and Jackson, Randall D. Thu . "Legume Addition to Perennial Warm‐Season Grass Swards Increases Harvested Biomass". United States. https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0266.
@article{osti_1581846,
title = {Legume Addition to Perennial Warm‐Season Grass Swards Increases Harvested Biomass},
author = {Jakubowski, Andrew R. and Casler, Michael D. and Jackson, Randall D.},
abstractNote = {The adoption of perennial warm‐season grass crops for bioenergy production faces significant social, economic, and agronomic challenges. The inclusion of legumes in warm‐season grass swards may increase productivity, reduce weed pressure and the need for fertilizer inputs, and allow farmers greater management flexibility. The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate whether the overseeding of red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) in warm‐season grass swards can improve biomass yields and reduce weed cover, (ii) to determine if biomass yield gains arise from increased N availability or the biomass production of the legume crop, and (iii) to determine whether switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) or big bluestem ( Andropogon gerardii Vitman.) accessions respond differently to red clover overseeding. Once established, red clover addition increased biomass yields in unfertilized swards to levels equivalent to fertilization with 112 kg N ha −1 and reduced weed cover by 7%. The yield gains with clover addition were consistent irrespective of the warm‐season grass accession tested and were attributable to the production of biomass by the clover. The incorporation of legumes in mixtures with perennial warm‐season grasses can and should play a part in improving the viability of these cropping systems. Future studies should consider alternative planting, harvesting, and weed control in a long‐term experimental framework to refine management of legume and warm‐season grass mixtures.},
doi = {10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0266},
journal = {Crop Science},
number = 6,
volume = 57,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Thu Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2017.04.0266

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
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