مجلة الأنبار للعلوم الزراعية (Jun 2024)
THE IMPACT OF VARIOUS MIXING RATIOS AND MICROELEMENT SPRAYING ON THE GROWTH, YIELD, AND QUALITY OF FODDER MIXES OF EGYPTIAN CLOVER (TRIFOLIUM ALEXANDRINUM L.) AND OATS (AVENA SATIVA L.)
Abstract
A field experiment was carried out in the fields of the Agricultural Research Station - Karma Ali site, College of Agriculture, University of Basra, during the winter season of 2021-2022. The aim was to study the effect of seeding rates of both oats and Egyptian clover with mixing percentages of 100% oats, 75% oats + 25% clover, 50% oats + 50% clover, 25% oats + 75% clover, and 100% clover as the first factor, and spraying with microelements at concentrations of 1500, 3000, and 4500 ppm as the second factor. The spraying with microelements was done during the branching stage and after the first and second cuttings, 7-10 days apart. The experiment was conducted in a factorial manner according to a randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D.) with three replications. Three cuttings were taken during the growing period of the crop, and the number of oats and clover leaves, the yield of green and dry forage, and the percentage of protein, fiber, and carbohydrates were measured for each of the three cuttings. The results of the study showed that the different ratios of mixing oats and clover crops contributed to an increase in all the studied traits. The 50% oats + 50% clover mixture in the second cutting recorded the highest green fodder yield (66.84 tons ha-1) and dry fodder yield (22.37 tons ha-1). The 100% clover mixture had the highest percentage of protein during the three cuttings, while the 100% oats and 50% oats + 50% clover mixtures had the highest percentage of fiber. The mixing ratio of 50% oats + 50% clover was superior to 100% oats in the percentage of carbohydrates. Regarding the effect of the concentrations of microelements, the 4500 ppm level was superior in all growth characteristics and forage quality for all mixtures, recording the largest yield of green fodder (65.57 tons ha-1) and dry forage (22.44 tons ha-1) at the second cutting. For the interaction, the 50% oats + 50% clover mixture at the 4500 ppm level gave the highest yield of green forage (69.66 tons ha-1) and dry forage (24.81 tons ha-1).
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