Using a companion crop of barley to improve white clover production in the highlands of Turkey


Tan M., Erkovan H. İ.

NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, cilt.47, sa.2, ss.219-224, 2004 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

Özet

White clover was established with barley seeded at 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg ha I and cut at milk-dough and ripe grain stage. Sowing barley at 180 kg ha(-1) as a companion crop when establishing white clover increased hay production from 3242 kg ha(-1) to 6522 kg ha(-1). Cutting hay at the milk-dough stage of barley gave a better response than waiting until the grain was ripe. Although white clover and weeds were suppressed by the companion crop, white clover density was not reduced. There was no reduction in hay in the year following the companion treatments, but weed contamination continued to be less. There was no difference between cutting barley at the milk-dough stage and harvesting it for grain, in hay production in the second year. Therefore, white clover can be seeded with a barley companion crop sown at about 180 kg ha(-1) under irrigated highland conditions.