Forage yield of grass-legumes mixtures under cutting in a drought year

Abstract

Grasses-legume mixtures have proven successful at improving the sustainability of grasslands. The objective of this study was to compare forage yield of forage mixtures between alfalfa and seven different perennial grasses at different cutting stages. A field split plot experiment design was conducted to determine the effects of cutting on forage yield of grass-legumes mixtures near the Swift Current Research and Development Centre (SCRDC) of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in 2018. The results showed, (1) the dry matter yield (DMY) of yellowhead alfalfa cultivar + crested wheatgrass was significantly higher (P<0.0001) than other mixtures at the Swift Current site in 2018 (a dry year); (2) all treatments for total DMY were not obviously different between different cutting stages (P>0.05). Based on the results, the forage mixture of Yellowhead and crested wheatgrass may be more productive than Yellowhead monoculture and the mixtures of Yellowhead and the other grasses under semiarid conditions of southwestern Saskatchewan, whether at early bud stage or early bloom stage of the alfalfa.