Mixtures of legumes for forage production

Abstract

In Europe, legumes are mostly grown as single species or in mixtures with cereals or grasses. As an alternative cropping strategy, mixtures of legumes for forage have been developed in Serbia. This novel approach can be applied in many other temperate regions of Europe. This chapter provides an overview of these cropping systems, their use and their development. Carefully designed mixtures of forage crop species offer advantages over the component species grown separately. These advantages include higher yield, enhanced weed control and reduced soil erosion. In addition, the use of legumes in forage mixtures has benefits for feed quality due to the high protein content of the legume. This chapter examines the use of annual legumes mixed with perennial legumes to boost firstyear yields in particular. Our research has shown that an annual forage legume can provide a yield benefit when sown as the companion crop during the establishment phase of a perennial legume. This research also shows that including field pea as a companion crop significantly increased overall dry matter yields and reduced weeds in red clover stands. Similar research is in progress for the establishment of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.). We also examined the intercropping of annual temperate legumes with each other for forage production, and found that all mixtures out-yielded their components grown as pure stands. The evidence in the literature that explains this is reviewed.