Yielding Reliability of Legumes Grown as Stubble Catch Crop

Aims: The aim of the study was to determine the yielding reliability of serradella, field pea and yellow lupine, sown as stubble catch crop in August on a typical Alfisol.

Study Design: The randomized complete block design with four replications.

Place and Duration of Study: Field study was conducted in 2005–2009, at the Research Station in Mochełek near Bydgoszcz (17⁰51′ E; 53⁰13′ N) in Midwest Poland.

Methodology: The objects of the study were three leguminous plants: Serradella 'Igela', field pea 'Grapis' and yellow lupine 'Legat', grown as stubble catch crop on Alfisols formed of a sandy loam. The main studied features were yield of green matter and post harvest residues of plants. Moreover yield reliability in years for particular plants were calculated.

Results: The total yield of dry biomass of plants grown as stubble catch crop ranged from 1.76 Mg∙ha-1 in 2005, with shortage of rainfall, to 3.65 Mg∙ha-1 in 2006, which was characterized by a high rainfall in August and high temperatures in September. The total dry matter yield of field pea and yellow lupine was significantly higher than from serradella. The highest aboveground dry matter yield was obtained from pea, and the lowest from serradella. Proportion of post-harvest residues in the total dry weight yield usually amounted to 30-40%. Yellow lupine produced a significantly higher average from 5 years yield of post-harvest residues than field pea and serradella.

Conclusion: Serradella, field pea and yellow lupine sown as stubble catch crop within 3-12 August are characterized by a high reliability of dry matter yield, from approximately 80.5% (yellow lupine) to 83.8% (field pea). Serradella matched the other plants in terms of the yield reliability, but the yield of green mass of the plants was significantly lower than that of pea and lupine.