• Authors:
    • Bolotova, N. S.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 12
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: Techniques and standards for production of haylage and silage from high-protein fodder mixtures of pea, oat, rape, vetch, barley, beans, rye, wheat and maize are discussed. Plants should be cut into 15-20 mm pieces when the protein content of fodder mixture is over 30%, and into 40-50 mm pieces when the protein content of fodder mixture is less than 20%. Bales of silage mass are wrapped in film and roll size is 1.2 m wide and 0.8-1.6 m in diameter. The high yield of maize, vetch, and oat-rape mixture achievable in the conditions of European Russia is 10.8 t/ha of dry mass and 1.2 t/ha of protein.
  • Authors:
    • Reddy, K. C.
    • Reddy, S. S.
    • Nyakatawa, E. Z.
    • Raper, R. L.
    • Reeves, D. W.
    • Lemunyon, J.
    • Roberson, T.
  • Source: Journal of Environmental Quality
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Increased CO2 release from soils resulting from agricultural practices such as tillage has generated concerns about contributions to global warming, Maintaining current levels of soil C and/or sequestering additional C in soils are important mechanisms to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere through production agriculture. We conducted a study in northern Alabama from 2003 to 2006 to measure CO2 efflux and C storage in long-term tilled and non-tilled cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plots receiving poultry litter or ammonium nitrate (AN). Treatments were established in 1996 on a Decatur silt loam (clayey, kaolinitic thermic, Typic Paleudults) and consisted of conventional-tillage (CT), mulch-tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT) systems with winter rye [Secale cereale (L.)] cover cropping and AN and poultry litter (PL) as nitrogen sources. Cotton was planted in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Corti was planted in 2005 as a rotation crop using a no-till planter in all plots, and no fertilizer was applied. Poultry litter application resulted in higher CO2 emission from soil compared with AN application regardless of tillage system. In 2003 and 2006, CT (4.39 and 3.40 mu mol m(-2) s(-1), respectively) and MT (4.17 and 3.39 mu mol m(-2) s(-1), respectively) with, PL at 100 kg N ha(-1) (100 PLN) recorded significantly higher CO2 efflux compared with NT with 100 PLN (2.84 and 2.47 mu mol m(-2) s(-1), respectively). Total soil C at 0- to 15-cm depth was not affected by tillage but significantly increased with PL application and winter rye cover cropping. In general, cotton, produced with NT conservation tillage in conjunction with PL and winter rye cover cropping reduced CO2 emissions and sequestered more soil C compared with control treatments.
  • Authors:
    • Baker, B.
  • Source: Proceedings of the 5th Organic Seed Growers Conference, Salem, Oregon, USA
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The market for organic seed poses a great opportunity for both organic producers who want to diversify into new crops as well as for seed producers who want to enter into the rapidly growing organic market. While organic standards in the United States require the use of organic seed, organic producers are not able to find organic seed in sufficient quantity and of suitable quality to meet their production needs. Because commercial availability must be evaluated as part of the certification process, the certifying agents play an important role in assessing both the supply and demand for organic seed. Certifying agents were surveyed to identify how they assess commercial availability, what information resources are used, and what crops and varieties are considered commercially unavailable. More research is needed to forecast organic seed demand and overcome production obstacles.
  • Authors:
    • Blackshaw, R. E.
  • Source: Crop Protection
  • Volume: 27
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Cover crops may have a valuable role to play in developing improved dry bean production systems. A field experiment was conducted to determine the agronomic benefits of including various fall-seeded and spring-seeded cereal cover crops with and without in-crop herbicides in dry bean. Main plot treatments included fall-seeded winter rye, barley, oat, and spring rye; spring-seeded barley, oat, and spring rye; and a no-cover crop control. Subplot treatments consisted of in-crop sethoxydim/bentazon and an untreated control. Fall-seeded cover crops were often superior to spring-seeded cover crops in terms of providing sufficient ground cover to reduce the risk of soil erosion and reducing weed emergence and growth. Among the fall-seeded cover crops, winter rye provided the greatest ground cover and often resulted in the greatest weed suppression. Dry bean density was not affected by any of the cover crops, but fall-seeded cover crops delayed emergence by up to 5 days and delayed maturity by up to 4 days. Cover crop effects on dry bean yield were most evident in the absence of in-crop herbicides, where fall-seeded cover crops increased dry bean yield by 20-90%. Cover crops also increased dry bean yield in 2 of 3 years when in-crop herbicides were used but yield increases were much smaller, ranging from 5% to 13%. These yield increases occurred with fall-seed cover crops that aided in weed management but also with spring-seeded cover crops where weed suppression was not evident, suggesting that cover crops provided additional benefits beyond weed management. Information gained in this study will be utilized to advise farmers on the most suitable use of cover crops in sustainable dry bean production systems.
  • Authors:
    • Mbuya, O.
    • Chase, C.
  • Source: Weed Technology
  • Volume: 22
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Twelve winter cover crops were planted in Citra and Live Oak, FL, in 2004, to evaluate their potential for use as living mulches in organic vegetable production: black oat, rye, annual ryegrass, hard fescue, two cultivars of white clover, berseem clover, crimson clover, subterranean clover, arrowleaf clover, barrel medic, and a hybrid disc * strand medic cultivar. The best canopy development and weed suppression occurred with black oat, rye, and annual ryegrass. In 2005, black oat, two rye cultivars, and annual ryegrass were evaluated as living mulches in broccoli at Citra and Live Oak, using organic production methods. 'Florida 401' (FL 401) rye was tallest, black oat was intermediate, and 'Wrens Abruzzi' (WA) rye and 'Gulf' ryegrass were of similar height and were the shortest living mulches. Biomass harvested at 12 and 13 wk after planting at Citra and Live Oak, respectively, was greatest with FL 401 rye. At Live Oak, the three other mulches had similar amounts of biomass; however, at Citra, black oat biomass was greater than that of WA rye, and biomass of ryegrass was lowest. The greatest weed infestation occurred with the weedy control. Weed biomass was highest with the weedy control, intermediate with ryegrass, and lowest with rye and black oat. However, the biomass of the weedy control was lower than that of the living mulches plus any associated weeds. Marketable broccoli yield was highest with the weed-free control. Yields with black oat, WA rye, and ryegrass were similar to that of the weedy control, whereas yield with the FL 401 rye was lower than with the weedy control. Suppression of living mulches by mowing at 3 and 7 wk after planting had no effect on broccoli growth or yield.
  • Authors:
    • Dimitrova, T.
  • Source: Herbologia
  • Volume: 9
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: With the purpose of studying the weed suppressive capacity of some cover crops as an alternative for weed control in lucerne ( Medicago sativa) and the effect on its productivity, a study was carried out under field non-irrigated conditions on slightly leached medium-deep chernozem. During the 2005-2007 period, a trial was carried out with the following variants: V 1 - Lucerne ( Medicago sativa), pure stand (PS) - check, zero; V 2 - Lucerne, PS - check, weeded; V 3 - Lucerne, PS - with chemical control; V 4 - Lucerne+cover oat ( Avena sativa); V 5 - Lucerne+cover spring barley ( Hordeum sativum); V 6 - Lucerne+cover rye ( Secale cereale). As a result of the study the following conclusions were drawn: In the systems of environmentally friendly agriculture, the use of some cover cereal crops (spring barley, oat and rye) in the year of establishment of lucerne stands, under favourable agro-meteorological conditions, could be an alternative to conventional technology. The cover crops had a weed suppressive capacity and as a result they decreased weed infestation degree, though to a smaller extent, as compared to chemical control. The cover crops allowed more efficient area use in the first year of lucerne cultivation, when it had a slow rate of growth and development. In spite of lower seed yields from the lucerne stands with cover crops, as compared to the pure stands by conventional technology, they are of interest in ecological aspect. Under the conditions of the concrete study, the cover crops were in the following ascending order according to aggressiveness: spring barley, oat and rye.
  • Authors:
    • Hamaker, B.
  • Source: Technology of functional cereal products
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: This book reviews technologies for producing a wide range of cereal products with different health-promoting properties and more acceptable sensory quality. Part I discusses the health effects of cereals, with chapters on topics such as whole grain foods, cereal micronutrients and resistant starch. Consumer perception of health-promoting cereal products and regulatory and labelling issues are also described. Part II focuses on technologies to improve the quality of functional cereal products, reviewing issues such as grain improvement, novel cereal-derived ingredients and formulation of low Gl products. Chapters dedicated to a wide range of product types are also included, covering cereal foods made from oats, rye, barley and speciality grains and breads fortified with vitamins and minerals, soy and omega-3 lipids among others.
  • Authors:
    • Starkova, D. L.
    • Platunov, A. A.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The effect of soil moisture level on development of perennial leguminous grasses in conditions of the Kirov region, Russia, is considered. The results of previous field trials revealed that the soil moisture content was higher under winter rye compared with spring crops or the absence of crops. Growing of a vetch-oat mixture for green fodder resulted in the driest soil conditions compared with oat, barley and wheat. Advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under the cover of cereal crops are discussed as a way of weed control, also resulting in better soil water conditions. However, birdsfoot trefoil had more light and soil moisture content and showed more intensive above-ground growth in the absence of a crop cover. Field trials were conducted to study the complex relationship between the growth and yield of spring and winter crops, availability of water and light, and weed control and production of high yield of green fodder. Data are tabulated on development and green fodder yield of birdsfoot trefoil during the 1st and 2nd years of growth without plant cover compared with growth under the cover of winter rye, barley, wheat, oat and vetch + oat in 2005 and 2006. Overall results confirmed advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under spring crops, especially oat, a vetch-oat mixture and wheat for higher yield of green fodder.
  • Authors:
    • Pridham, J. C.
    • Entz, M. H.
  • Source: Agronomy Journal
  • Volume: 100
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The success of organic wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production can be severely inhibited by weed and disease pressures. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of wheat intercrop mixtures in suppressing weeds and diseases and increasing grain yield and net return. Field experiments were conducted on organically managed land in 2004 and 2005 and three representative intercrop systems were tested: wheat with other cereals [oats ( Avena sativa L.), barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), and spring rye ( Secale cereale L.)]; wheat and noncereal seed crops (flax [ Linum usitatissimum L.], field pea [ Pisum sativum L.], oriental mustard [ Brassica juncea L.]); and wheat and cover crops (red clover [ Trifolium pratense L.], hairy vetch [ Vicia villosa L.], annual ryegrass [ Lolium multiflorum Lam.]). The cereal intercrop systems provided no consistent yield benefit over wheat monocultures. Results from noncereal-wheat intercrops were variable. Wheat-flax reduced the wheat crop to unacceptable levels but was capable of reducing wheat flag leaf disease levels. Wheat-field pea resulted in the lowest disease levels, yet had inconsistent yields, and more weeds than wheat monoculture. Wheat-mustard did not reduce weeds or diseases, but it was capable of high grain yields and net returns, though usually hampered by flea beetle ( Phyllotreta cruciferae) attack. The effect of cover crops on wheat was affected by environment. Wheat-red clover and wheat-hairy vetch did demonstrate the ability to maintain high wheat grain yield in certain site-years. In conclusion, wheat intercrop mixtures provided little short-term benefit over monoculture wheat in this study.
  • Authors:
    • Gallandt, E.
    • Reberg-Horton, S.
    • Shearin, A.
  • Source: Weed Science
  • Volume: 56
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Cover crop systems were investigated in 2004 and 2005 for their effects on the activity-density (a function of movement and density) of a promising group of weed biological control organisms, the ground beetles collectively known as carabids, with particular emphasis on a beneficial carabid species Harpalus rufipes. Marked H. rufipes released into pea/oat-rye/vetch cover crop plots were more than twice as likely to be recaptured within the same plots as beetles released in nonvegetated fallow plots (18 and 8%, respectively). Marked beetles released into fallow plots were more than twice as likely to leave their plots and be recaptured in pea/oat-rye/vetch plots as vice versa (13 vs. 5%), indicating a clear preference for habitat with vegetative cover. Overall recapture rates were not different between treatments. Unmarked H. rufipes activity-density was also higher in pea/oat-rye/vetch compared to fallow plots. Additionally, five cover crop systems, including the fallow and pea/oat-rye/vetch treatments, and two residue management methods (conventional and zone tillage) were investigated from June to August in 2005 for their effects on H. rufipes activity-density. Maize was planted in 2005 into residues of the five cover crop systems grown in 2004. H. rufipes activity-density was higher in zone and conventionally tilled maize planted in pea/oat-rye/vetch residues and conventionally tilled maize planted in red clover/oat residues than in any other cover crop and residue management combination. Pea/oat-rye/vetch cover crop systems are apparently beneficial for H. rufipes during the cover crop year as well as in subsequent crops planted into this cover crop's residues. This system was not the least disturbed system but, based on the number of tillage events, represented a medium level of disturbance among the various systems. Thus, some level of disturbance might be beneficial for H. rufipes, but how and when that soil disturbance occurs requires further research to determine the best means of conserving this species.