Productivity and forage quality of triticale-grain legume mixtures in the Trans-Baikal Territory
Mixtures of triticale and grain legumes were tested under field and lab conditions in 2014-2016. The research was aimed to compare triticale yield and nutritional value as monoculture and grass mixture. The investigation took place on meadow chernozem carbonate soil. It evaluated the adaptability and economically important traits of triticale and grain legumes. Cultivation of grain legumes (pea and vetch) with triticale improved stand performance. Mixtures exceeded monocultures in green mass productivity and nutritional value by 1.1-1.6 times, dry matter - by 1.1-1.8 times, geed units - by 1.1-1.6 times, digestible protein - by 1.1-1.9 times, gross energy - by 1.2-1.9 times. Mixtures of spring triticale with vetch performed the best: green mass yield was 20.2 t ha-1, dry matter - 4.63 t ha-1, feed units - 3.31 t ha-1, gross energy - 49.5 GJ and digestible protein - 168 g. Grain and grain legume crops were shown to be the good source of high-quality forage, meeting the Standard. Spring vetch had the highest productivity among the grain legumes and exceeded pea by 8-17%.