Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T23:17:09.988Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Maintaining grain yields of the perennial cereal intermediate wheatgrass in monoculture v. bi-culture with alfalfa in the Upper Midwestern USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2018

Nicole E. Tautges Open the ORCID record for Nicole E. Tautges [Opens in a new window] ,
Jacob M. Jungers ,
Lee R. DeHaan ,
Donald L. Wyse  and
Craig C. Sheaffer
Nicole E. Tautges*
Affiliation:
Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California-Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Jacob M. Jungers
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Cir., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Lee R. DeHaan
Affiliation:
The Land Institute, 2440 E. Water Well Road, Salina, KS 67401, USA
Donald L. Wyse
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Cir., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Craig C. Sheaffer
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Cir., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Nicole E. Tautges, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium; IWG) is a perennial cereal crop undergoing development for grain production; however, grain yield declines of >75% are often observed after year 2 of the perennial stand and may be linked to soil nutrient depletion. Intercropping IWG with a perennial legume such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa) could benefit nutrient cycling while increasing agroecological diversity. Intermediate wheatgrass was established at five environmentally diverse sites in Minnesota, USA in (1) bi-culture with alfalfa, (2) non-fertilized monoculture and (3) monoculture fertilized annually in the spring with 80 kg N/ha. At northern sites where alfalfa growth was favoured, IWG grain yields were reduced in year 2 by growing IWG in bi-culture with alfalfa, relative to the monoculture systems. Across all sites IWG grain yield decreased by 90% in the non-fertilized monoculture, 80% in the fertilized monoculture and 65% in the bi-culture from year 2 to 4 and plant macronutrient concentrations decreased by 25–70%. In year 4, IWG grain yield was similar or greater in the bi-culture than the fertilized monoculture at three of the five sites and alfalfa biomass was correlated positively with grain yield, harvest index and nutrient uptake in the year 4 bi-culture. Chemical-nitrogen fertilization increased grain yields in year 2 but did not mitigate the decline in yields as stands aged. Intermediate wheatgrass in the bi-culture had similar yields and nutrient uptake and lower yield declines than the chemically fertilized stand at sites where alfalfa growth was maintained throughout the life of the stand.

Keywords

Intercroppingintermediate wheatgrassmonoculturenitrogen
Type
Crops and Soils Research Paper
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 156 , Issue 6 , August 2018 , pp. 758 - 773
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acquaye, DK and MacLean, AJ (1966) Influence of form and mode of nitrogen fertilizer application on the availability of soil and fertilizer potassium. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 46, 23–28.Google Scholar
Aerts, R and Chapin, FS III (1999) The mineral nutrition of wild plants revisited: a re-evaluation of processes and patterns. Advances in Ecological Research 30, 1–67.Google Scholar
Bartlett, RJ and Simpson, TJ (1967) Interaction of ammonium and potassium in a potassium-fixing soil. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 31, 219–222.Google Scholar
Berg, WK, Cunningham, SM, Brouder, SM, Joern, BC, Johnson, KD, Santini, J and Volenec, JJ (2005) Influence of phosphorus and potassium on alfalfa yield and yield components. Crop Science 45, 297–304.Google Scholar
Caldwell, MM, Eissenstat, DM, Richards, JH and Allen, MF (1985) Competition for phosphorus: differential uptake from dual-isotope-labeled soil interspaces between shrub and grass. Science 229, 384–386.Google Scholar
Chapin, FS III (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 11, 233–260.Google Scholar
Chen, CR, Condron, LM, Davis, MR and Sherlock, RR (2002) Phosphorus dynamics in the rhizosphere of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and radiate pine (Pinus radiate D. Don.). Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34, 487–499.Google Scholar
Cox, TS, Van Tassel, DL, Cox, CM and DeHaan, LR (2010) Progress in breeding perennial grains. Crop and Pasture Science 61, 513–521.Google Scholar
Crews, TE and Brookes, PC (2014) Changes in soil phosphorus forms through time in perennial versus annual agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 184, 168–181.Google Scholar
Crews, TE and DeHaan, LR (2015) The strong perennial vision: a response. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 39, 500–515.Google Scholar
Crews, TE and Peoples, MB (2004) Legume versus fertilizer sources of nitrogen: ecological tradeoffs and human needs. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 102, 279–297.Google Scholar
Crutzen, PJ, Mosier, AR, Smith, KA and Winiwarter, W (2008) N2O release from agro-biofuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 8, 389–395.Google Scholar
Culman, SW, Snapp, SS, Ollenburger, M, Basso, B and DeHaan, LR (2013) Soil and water quality rapidly responds to the perennial grain Kernza wheatgrass. Agronomy Journal 105, 735–744.Google Scholar
DeHaan, LR, Wang, S, Larson, SR, Cattani, DJ, Zhang, X and Kantarski, T (2014) Current efforts to develop perennial wheat and domesticate Thinopyrum intermedium as a perennial grain. In Batello, C, Wade, L, Cox, S, Pogna, N, Bozzini, A and Choptiany, J (eds), Perennial Crops for Food Security: Proceedings of the FAO Expert Workshop. Rome, Italy: FAO, pp. 72–89.Google Scholar
Dewar, JA (2007) Perennial Polyculture Farming: Seeds of Another Agricultural Revolution? RAND/OP-179-RPC. Santa Monica, CA, USA: RAND Corporation.Google Scholar
Entz, MH, Bullied, WJ, Forster, DA, Gulden, R and Vessey, JK (2001 a) Extraction of subsoil nitrogen by alfalfa, alfalfa–wheat, and perennial grass systems. Agronomy Journal 93, 495–503.Google Scholar
Entz, MH, Guilford, R and Gulden, R (2001 b) Crop yield and nutrient status on 14 organic farms in the eastern portion of the northern Great Plains. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 81, 351–354.Google Scholar
Foley, JA, Ramankutty, N, Brauman, KA, Cassidy, ES, Gerber, JS, Johnston, M, Mueller, ND, O'Connell, C, Ray, DK, West, PC, Balzer, C, Bennett, EM, Carpenter, SR, Hill, J, Monfreda, C, Polasky, S, Rockström, J, Sheehan, J, Siebert, S, Tilman, D and Zaks, DPM (2011) Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature 478, 337–342.Google Scholar
Glover, JD and Reganold, JP (2010) Perennial grains: food security for the future. Issues in Science and Technology 26, 41–47.Google Scholar
Glover, JD, Reganold, JP, Bell, LW, Borevitz, J, Brummer, EC, Buckler, ES, Cox, CM, Cox, TS, Crews, TE, Culman, SW, DeHaan, LR, Eriksson, D, Gill, BS, Holland, J, Hu, F, Hulke, BS, Ibrahim, AMH, Jackson, W, Jones, SS, Murray, SC, Paterson, AH, Ploschuk, E, Sacks, EJ, Snapp, S, Tao, D, Van Tassel, DL, Wade, LJ, Wyse, DL and Xu, Y (2010) Increased food and ecosystem security via perennial grains. Science 328, 1638–1639.Google Scholar
Goering, HK and Van Soest, P (1975) Forage Fiber Analysis (Apparatus, Reagents, Procedures and Some Applications). Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Agricultural Research Service.Google Scholar
Hacker, JB and Jones, RJ (1971) The effect of nitrogen fertilizer and row spacing on seed production in Setaria sphacelata. Tropical Grasslands 5, 61–73.Google Scholar
Hauggaard-Nielsen, H, Jørnsgaard, B, Kinane, J and Jensen, ES (2008) Grain legume-cereal intercropping: the practical application of diversity, competition, and facilitation in arable and organic cropping systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23, 3–12.Google Scholar
Hayes, RC, Newell, MT, Crews, TE and Peoples, MB (2017) Perennial cereal crops: an initial evaluation of wheat derivatives grown in mixtures with a regenerating annual legume. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 32, 276–290.Google Scholar
Hebblethwaite, PD and Ivins, JD (1978) Nitrogen studies in Lolium perenne grown for seed: II. timing of nitrogen application. Grass and Forage Science 33, 159–166.Google Scholar
Hinsinger, P, Betencourt, E, Bernard, L, Brauman, A, Plassard, C, Shen, J, Tang, X and Zhang, F (2011) P for two, sharing a scarce resource: soil phosphorus acquisition in the rhizosphere of intercropped species. Plant Physiology 156, 1078–1086.Google Scholar
Howden, SM, Soussana, JF, Tubiello, FN, Chhetri, N, Dunlop, M and Meinke, H (2007) Adapting agriculture to climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104, 19691–19696.Google Scholar
Jungers, JM, DeHaan, LR, Betts, KJ, Sheaffer, CC and Wyse, DL (2017) Intermediate wheatgrass grain and forage yield responses to nitrogen fertilization. Agronomy Journal 109, 462–472.Google Scholar
Ledgard, SF (2001) Nitrogen cycling in low input legume-based agriculture, with emphasis on legume/grass pastures. Plant and Soil 228, 43–59.Google Scholar
Li, L, Tang, C, Rengel, Z and Zhang, F (2003) Chickpea facilitates phosphorus uptake by intercropped wheat from an organic phosphorus source. Plant and Soil 248, 297–303.Google Scholar
Li, L, Li, SM, Sun, JH, Zhou, LL, Bao, XG, Zhang, HG and Zhang, FS (2007) Diversity enhances agricultural productivity via rhizosphere phosphorus facilitation on phosphorus-deficient soils. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104, 11192–11196.Google Scholar
Liu, H, Hull, RJ and Duff, DT (1995) Comparing cultivars of three cool-season turf-grasses for phosphate uptake kinetics and phosphorus recovery in the field. Journal of Plant Nutrition 18, 523–540.Google Scholar
Loeppky, HA and Coulman, BE (2002) Crop residue removal and nitrogen fertilization affects seed production in meadow bromegrass. Agronomy Journal 94, 450–454.Google Scholar
Mangiafico, SS and Guillard, K (2006) Fall fertilization timing effects on nitrate leaching and turfgrass color and growth. Journal of Environmental Quality 35, 163–171.Google Scholar
Peoples, MB, Gault, RR, Scammell, GJ, Dear, BS, Virgona, J, Sandral, GA, Pau, J, Wolfe, EC and Angus, JF (1998) Effect of pasture management on the contributions of fixed N to the N economy of ley-farming systems. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 49, 459–474.Google Scholar
Peoples, MB, Brockwell, J, Herridge, DF, Rochester, IJ, Alves, BJR, Urquiaga, S, Boddey, RM, Dakora, FD, Bhattarai, S, Maskey, SL, Sampet, C, Rerkasem, B, Khan, DF, Hauggaard-Nielsen, H and Jensen, ES (2009) The contributions of nitrogen-fixing crop legumes to the productivity of agricultural systems. Symbiosis 48, 1–17.Google Scholar
Pinheiro, J, Bates, D, DebRoy, S, Sarkar, D and R Core Team (2017) nlme: Linear and Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models. R package version 3.1-131. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
R Core Team (2015) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Sanderson, MA, Archer, D, Hendrickson, J, Kronberg, S, Liebig, M, Nichols, K, Schmer, M, Tanaka, D and Aguilar, J (2013) Diversification and ecosystem services for conservation agriculture: outcomes from pastures and integrated crop–livestock systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 28, 129–144.Google Scholar
Scherer, HW (1993) Dynamics and availability of the non-exchangeable NH4+-N – a review. European Journal of Agronomy 2, 149–160.Google Scholar
Schipanski, ME and Drinkwater, LE (2012) Nitrogen fixation in annual and perennial legume-grass mixtures across a fertility gradient. Plant and Soil 357, 147–159.Google Scholar
Shenk, JS and Westerhaus, MO (1994) The application of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to forage analysis. In Fahey, GC Jr (ed.) Forage Quality, Evaluation and Utilization. Madison, WI, USA: SSSA, ASA, CSSA, pp. 406–449.Google Scholar
Suter, M, Connolly, J, Finn, JA, Loges, R, Kirwan, L, Sebastià, MT and Lüscher, A (2015) Nitrogen yield advantage from grass–legume mixtures is robust over a wide range of legume proportions and environmental conditions. Global Change Biology 21, 2424–2438.Google Scholar
Ta, TC and Faris, MA (1987) Species variation in the fixation and transfer of nitrogen from legumes to associated grasses. Plant and Soil 98, 265–274.Google Scholar
Thompson, DJ and Clark, KW (1993) Effects of clipping and nitrogen fertilization on tiller development and flowering in Kentucky bluegrass. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 73, 569–575.Google Scholar
Tracy, BF, Renne, IJ, Gerrish, JR and Sanderson, MA (2004) Effects of plant diversity on invasion of weed species in experimental pasture communities. Basic and Applied Ecology 5, 543–550.Google Scholar
United States Department of Agriculture-National Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) (2018) Web Site for Official Soil Series Descriptions and Series Classification. Washington, DC, USA: U.S. Department of Agriculture.Google Scholar
Vico, G, Manzoni, S, Nkurunziza, L, Murphy, K and Weih, M (2016) Trade-offs between seed output and life span – a quantitative comparison of traits between annual and perennial congeneric species. New Phytologist 209, 104–114.Google Scholar
Vitousek, PM and Howarth, RW (1991) Nitrogen limitation on land and in the sea: how can it occur? Biogeochemistry 13, 87–115.Google Scholar
Wagoner, P (1990) Perennial grain: new use for intermediate wheatgrass. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 45, 81–82.Google Scholar
Walley, FL, Tomm, GO, Matus, A, Slinkard, AE and van Kessel, C (1996) Allocation and cycling of nitrogen in an alfalfa-bromegrass sward. Agronomy Journal 88, 834–843.Google Scholar
Wedin, DA and Tilman, D (1990) Species effects on nitrogen cycling: a test with perennial grasses. Oecologia 84, 433–441.Google Scholar
Weik, L, Kaul, HP, Kubler, E and Aufhammer, W (2002) Grain yields of perennial grain crops in pure and mixed stands. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 188, 342–349.Google Scholar
Woodcock, BA, Savage, J, Bullock, JM, Nowakowski, M, Orr, R, Tallowin, JRB and Pywell, RF (2014) Enhancing floral resources for pollinators in productive agricultural grasslands. Biological Conservation 171, 44–51.Google Scholar
Zadoks, JC, Chang, TT and Konzak, CF (1974) A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14, 415–421.Google Scholar
Zhang, X, Sallam, A, Gao, L, Kantarski, T, Poland, J, DeHaan, LR, Wyse, DL and Anderson, JA (2016) Establishment and optimization of genomic selection to accelerate the domestication and improvement of intermediate wheatgrass. The Plant Genome 9, 1–18.Google Scholar