The Impact of Perennial Legumes on Sward Productivity

Abstract

The study was aimed impact of three perennial legumes species Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens and Lotus corniculatus in mixture with Festuca arundinaceea on efficiency and productivity elements, at first harvest cycle. Leaf area index (LAI), net assimilation rate (NAR) and crop growth rate (CGR) has higher values 0.5-0.7 units in mixtures compared to pure grass. The highest values LAI, NAR and CGR are recorded Trifolium pratense, LAI = 8,2 m2/ m2; NAR = 4.4 g/m2 leaf/day and CGR = 8,0 g/m2/ day. Elements studied yield is positively correlated with each other, resulting LAI, NAR and CGR at a rate of 80-93 %. Yield of dry matter (DM) is positively correlated with LAI obtained for all species of legumes. High yield values indicate increase in the amount of organic matter in the canopy, depending on the species of legumes, with 1.3 to 4.4 t / ha.

Keywords

• crop growth rate
• elements yield
• leaf area index
• net assimilation rate
• productivity