Piché, I.

Schellenberg, M.P.

English

eCommons@USASK

First year results of 12 annual species polyculture

University of Saskatchewan Research Archive

Michael P. Schellenberg1, Isabelle Piche1 First year results of 12 annual species polyculture 1 Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada located in Swift Current, Saskatchewan   Table 1 Biomass estimations of 12 species mix ; averages from 3 X 1m2 clips • The treatment plots were placed within the 65 year old rotation study ongoing at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre located in Swift Current, Saskatchewan • Plant species were selected from four functional groupings:                          ○ Cool season grasses (triticale, barley, oats)                                                             ○  Warm season grasses (corn, sorghum, German         millet)                                                                                                             ○  Legumes (hairy vetch, field pea, forage pea)                   ○  Root crops (tillage radish, purple top turnip, kale) • All species were seeded together at a seeding ratio of  1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1 • Seeding occurred late June, 2012 with no fertilizer applied to this treatment • The 2011 year was fallow; 2010 the plots were in wheat, and 2009 they were in an alfalfa/grass mix that was terminated in August of 2009 • Plots were cut and baled mid September, 2012 • Turnip and Radish plants were sampled from each plot in September, dried down, ground and sent for analysis to assess micronutrient accumulation • The same plots will be seeded again in spring 2013 Funding for this came from AAFC internal funds for long term rotations. We would like to thank K. Brandt, E. Powell, I. Ruest and several summer students for the help with seeding and data collection. Abstract Materials & methods Acknowledgements © 2013 •  Further research is required to make any conclusions •  Weeds were limited within plots despite no herbicide usage • Flea beetles were minimal compared to surrounding canola                fields •  Root crops appear to be concentrating elements possibly to be                                                                        released for next year’s crop  • Yields were respectable despite no additional precipitation following mid-July •  There was no effect on soil phosphorous (results not shown) Introduction Diversity has been suggested as a means for stabilizing yields in times of extreme weather events such as drought. Typically this discussion has centred around perennial species and not annuals. In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in benefits of diverse annual species seeded mixtures. These suggested benefits have included improved soil quality, improved weed control, reduced insect damage and increased yields to name a few. But most of this work has occurred in the more humid regions of North America. This study is an attempt to compare the possible value a twelve species mixture might provide compared to a typical monoculture rotation system. This poster provides the first year’s results. Initial observations Biomass  gms/m2 Plant Type Clip Date C31 Grasses C42 Grasses Legumes3  Root Crop4  Weeds Total  24-Jul-12 July clips were bulked 195.87 11-Sep-12 308.85 296.59 78.43 3.95 19.45 707.27 Average Bale Weight kg/m2 lb/acre short ton/acre 0.45 4052.74 2.02             Soil Analysis NO3-N in lb/acre Sampling  Depths Rotation 12 Species Mix 12 Species  Sampling Time 0-15cm 15-30cm 30-60cm 60-90cm 90-120cm Spring 15.42 27.06 34.89 15.61 7.53 Harvest 3.11 1.76 5.35 14.32 12.39 Fall 9.98 2.53 7.20 15.61 12.33 Lentil  Wheat Lentils Spring 15.08 5.20 2.89 6.92 27.85 Harvest 8.43 2.40 6.25 11.80 19.28 Fall 11.77 2.38 5.45 11.91 27.29 Wheat Spring 6.47 9.13 21.73 10.28 8.77 Harvest 3.89 1.27 4.79 24.43 29.24 Fall 5.15 1.49 2.53 6.61 17.51 Fallow  Wheat Fallow Spring 2.72 1.93 6.56 1.11 2.16 Harvest since fallow nothing harvested Fall 19.66 7.45 13.41 8.87 8.75 Wheat Spring 4.86 35.72 19.64 8.57 6.05 Harvest 5.45 1.28 2.55 2.76 6.68 Fall 3.67 0.95 1.64 1.49 2.80 Root Crop Micronutrient Analysis Turnip Radish Ca HClO4  (ppm) 9609.52 9448.94 Cu HClO4 (ppb) 3837.12 2449.12 Fe HClO4 (ppm) 620.44 161.24 Mg HClO4 (ppm) 6632.40 6349.05 S HClO4 (ppm) 8584.14 5664.32 Mn HClO4 (ppm) 48.90 26.17 ZnHClO4 (ppm) 31.39 16.88   There has been a generally strong interest in the potential of multi-crop cocktail mixes as a means of improving soil quality, biomass yields and pest control. Therefore, within the long term rotation study located at Swift Current, a 12 species (triticale, barley, oats, corn, sorghum, German millet, hairy vetch, field pea, forage pea, tillage radish, purple top turnip, kale) cocktail mixture was seeded. This poster reports some of the first year findings. Table 2 10 m X 45 m plots were cut (Sept. 17), baled (Sept. 20) and bale weights recorded Table 3 Turnip and radish sampled in fall , ground and analysed for micronutrient content 1-cool season grasses are triticale, forage oats, feed barley 2-warm season grasses are sorghum, German millet, corn 3-legumes are hairy vetch, field pea, forage pea 4-root crops are forage radish, forage turnip and kale Soil samples were taken prior to seeding, at harvest and in the fall and results compared to other rotations in the study   Table 4 Bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorous in soil at different times in season Photo on left taken July 11, 2012 and photo on right taken July 18, 2012  

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First year results of 12 annual species polyculture

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