Track 1-15: Pastures in Integrated Crop/Livestock Production Systems
Description
The depletion of fossil fuels, the high demand of food for a constantly growing human population and, more recently, the strong expansion of biofuel crops, are causing sharp increases in the prices of fertilizers particularly nitrogen (N)(Crews and Peoples 2004; Jensen et al. 2011). Faced with this future scenario of high cost of N fertilizer, there is increasing interest in using legumes as N sources for sustainable agriculture and livestock. In the dryland (rainfed) cropping area of the Mediterranean climatic region of central Chile, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is predominantly grown in rotation with oats (Avena sativa); a system that relies heavily upon N fertilizers applied at sowing and tillering to support growth. The objectives of the study were to: (1) quantify the inputs of fixed N by two mixtures of annual legumes pastures; (2) determine the impact of including legume pastures in a cropping sequence on wheat N uptake and grain yield; and (3) compare the performance of wheat after legumes with standard farmer practice of applying N fertilizer to wheat grown following oats.
Citation
Ovalle, Carlos; Espinoza, Soledad; del Pozo, Alejandro; and Barahona, Viviana, "Contribution of Annual Legumes Pasture to the Cereal in Mediterranean Agriculture Systems" (2020). IGC Proceedings (1997-2023). 17.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/22/1-15/17
Included in
Contribution of Annual Legumes Pasture to the Cereal in Mediterranean Agriculture Systems
The depletion of fossil fuels, the high demand of food for a constantly growing human population and, more recently, the strong expansion of biofuel crops, are causing sharp increases in the prices of fertilizers particularly nitrogen (N)(Crews and Peoples 2004; Jensen et al. 2011). Faced with this future scenario of high cost of N fertilizer, there is increasing interest in using legumes as N sources for sustainable agriculture and livestock. In the dryland (rainfed) cropping area of the Mediterranean climatic region of central Chile, bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is predominantly grown in rotation with oats (Avena sativa); a system that relies heavily upon N fertilizers applied at sowing and tillering to support growth. The objectives of the study were to: (1) quantify the inputs of fixed N by two mixtures of annual legumes pastures; (2) determine the impact of including legume pastures in a cropping sequence on wheat N uptake and grain yield; and (3) compare the performance of wheat after legumes with standard farmer practice of applying N fertilizer to wheat grown following oats.
