Compatibility of Kura Clover and Cool Season Grass Mixtures in Michigan

Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.) is an alternative forage legume for rotational grazing in cool-season grass mixtures. However, compatibility with cool-season grasses is unknown. Seven cool-season perennial grasses were seeded into Kura clover in a rotational grazing experiment. The objectives of this study were to evaluate botanical composition, forage yield and quality of binary mixtures of cool-season grass with Kura clover. Field studies were conducted on a Nester (fine sandy loam) soil at Lake City Experiment Station, Lake City, MI. Botanical compositions in the first year of the study heavily favored grasses (avg. 74%) and Kura clover accounted for less than 20%. Crude protein (CP) concentration was negatively related with grass composition (r = -0.69**), however, positively related with Kura clover composition (r = 0.60**). Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) was superior in total forage yield and good forage quality, while reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) was the least desirable species

Nitrogen effects on maize yield following groundnut in rotation on smallholder farms in sub-humid Zimbabwe

Rotating maize (Zea mays L.) with groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) has been proposed as a way to maintain soil fertility and prevent maize productivity declines in the smallholder cropping systems ofsub-humid Zimbabwe. Field experiments with fertilizer-N on maize in rotation with groundnut were conducted at three locations with sandy typic Kandiustalf soils. The specific objectives were to (i) evaluate the response to fertilizer-N of maize in rotation with groundnut compared with continuous maize and, (ii) determine the fertilizer-N replacement value of groundnut. Maize grain yields were increased up to 0.7 tha-1 following groundnut compared with continuous maize when no fertilizer was applied to both cropping systems. Maize yield response to fertilizer-N was higher after groundnut than continuous maize. The small groundnut yields were associated with little yield improvement for a subsequent maize crop. Fertilizer needs on maize were reduced by 0 - 64 kgNha-1 when maize followed groundnut

Impact of potassium sulfate salinity on growth and development of cranberry plants subjected to overhead and subirrigation 1

New recommendations in cranberry production suggest reducing overhead irrigation and the use of subirrigation as an alternative irrigation method, two strategies suspected to increase the risk of salt build-up in soil. Since very little is known about cranberry tolerance to salinity, this study was conducted to determine if deficit irrigation and subirrigation could cause salinity issues and affect plant yield. In a greenhouse, cranberry plants were submitted to eight different treatments combination from two irrigation methods (overhead irrigation and subirrigation) and four salinity levels created by increasing amounts of applied K2SO4 (125 (control), 2 500, 5 000 and 7 500 kg K2O ha-1). Irrigation methods showed no significant difference in measured ECss (electrical conductivity of soil solution). Meanwhile, growth and yield parameters decreased significantly with soil salinity in both irrigation treatments and an average ECss of 3.2 dS m-1 during flowering caused a 22% drop in relative photosynthetic rate and a 56% decrease in yield when compared to control. Cranberry seems to be salt sensitive and further work should investigate ECss levels under different field and irrigation practices, to make sure that it does not reach critical levels.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author