Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.

Rotation with dicotyledonous crops to break cereal monoculture has proven to be beneficial to successive cereals. In two fields where the soil had been subjected to prolonged, continuous cereal production, two 3-year rotation trials were established. In the first year, faba bean, turnip rape and bar...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ling Zou, Markku Yli-Halla, Frederick L Stoddard, Pirjo S A Mäkelä
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130765
_version_ 1829503033930678272
author Ling Zou
Markku Yli-Halla
Frederick L Stoddard
Pirjo S A Mäkelä
author_facet Ling Zou
Markku Yli-Halla
Frederick L Stoddard
Pirjo S A Mäkelä
author_sort Ling Zou
collection DOAJ
description Rotation with dicotyledonous crops to break cereal monoculture has proven to be beneficial to successive cereals. In two fields where the soil had been subjected to prolonged, continuous cereal production, two 3-year rotation trials were established. In the first year, faba bean, turnip rape and barley were grown, as first crops, in large blocks and their residues tilled into the soil after harvest. In the following year, barley, buckwheat, caraway, faba bean, hemp and white lupin were sown, as second crops, in each block and incorporated either at flowering stage (except barley) or after harvest. In the third year, barley was grown in all plots and its yield and grain protein concentration were determined. Mineral N in the plough layer was determined two months after incorporation of crops and again before sowing barley in the following year. The effect of faba bean and turnip rape on improving barley yields and grain protein concentration was still detectable two years after they were grown. The yield response of barley was not sensitive to the growth stage of second crops when they were incorporated, but was to different second crops, showing clear benefits averaging 6-7% after white lupin, faba bean and hemp but no benefit from caraway or buckwheat. The effect of increased N in the plough layer derived from rotation crops on barley yields was minor. Incorporation of plants at flowering stage slightly increased third-year barley grain protein concentration but posed a great potential for N loss compared with incorporation of crop residues after harvest, showing the value of either delayed incorporation or using catch crops.
first_indexed 2024-12-16T09:50:02Z
format Article
id doaj.art-e0f8591d1a9b4339a689550e40194e80
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-16T09:50:02Z
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-e0f8591d1a9b4339a689550e40194e802022-12-21T22:36:05ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01106e013076510.1371/journal.pone.0130765Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.Ling ZouMarkku Yli-HallaFrederick L StoddardPirjo S A MäkeläRotation with dicotyledonous crops to break cereal monoculture has proven to be beneficial to successive cereals. In two fields where the soil had been subjected to prolonged, continuous cereal production, two 3-year rotation trials were established. In the first year, faba bean, turnip rape and barley were grown, as first crops, in large blocks and their residues tilled into the soil after harvest. In the following year, barley, buckwheat, caraway, faba bean, hemp and white lupin were sown, as second crops, in each block and incorporated either at flowering stage (except barley) or after harvest. In the third year, barley was grown in all plots and its yield and grain protein concentration were determined. Mineral N in the plough layer was determined two months after incorporation of crops and again before sowing barley in the following year. The effect of faba bean and turnip rape on improving barley yields and grain protein concentration was still detectable two years after they were grown. The yield response of barley was not sensitive to the growth stage of second crops when they were incorporated, but was to different second crops, showing clear benefits averaging 6-7% after white lupin, faba bean and hemp but no benefit from caraway or buckwheat. The effect of increased N in the plough layer derived from rotation crops on barley yields was minor. Incorporation of plants at flowering stage slightly increased third-year barley grain protein concentration but posed a great potential for N loss compared with incorporation of crop residues after harvest, showing the value of either delayed incorporation or using catch crops.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130765
spellingShingle Ling Zou
Markku Yli-Halla
Frederick L Stoddard
Pirjo S A Mäkelä
Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
title_full Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
title_fullStr Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
title_short Effects of Break Crops on Yield and Grain Protein Concentration of Barley in a Boreal Climate.
title_sort effects of break crops on yield and grain protein concentration of barley in a boreal climate
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130765
work_keys_str_mv AT lingzou effectsofbreakcropsonyieldandgrainproteinconcentrationofbarleyinaborealclimate
AT markkuylihalla effectsofbreakcropsonyieldandgrainproteinconcentrationofbarleyinaborealclimate
AT fredericklstoddard effectsofbreakcropsonyieldandgrainproteinconcentrationofbarleyinaborealclimate
AT pirjosamakela effectsofbreakcropsonyieldandgrainproteinconcentrationofbarleyinaborealclimate