Nitrogen Management and Alfalfa Variety Effects on Yields in a Dual-Purpose Intercropped Intermediate Wheatgrass and Alfalfa System
Intercropping alfalfa with perennial grain crops like intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) has the potential to provide biologically fixed nitrogen to the IWG grain crop, enhancing forage and grain yields, limiting nitrogen fertilizer inputs required for IWG grain production, and providing economic benefits to farmers while harnessing the environmental benefits of a perennial system. IWG is a long-lived, cool-season perennial grass that produces both abundant forage and has been identified as a commercially viable perennial grain crop for its numerous advantageous traits including edible grain, grain taste, synchronous seed maturity, relatively low shattering, and disease resistance. The primary objectives of this research were to identify the effects of nitrogen application rate on the yield and long-term yield maintenance of grain and forage in alfalfa-IWG intercropping systems across different cropping regions and compare alfalfa variety success across three varieties of different Fall dormancy ratings. The experiment was planted in Fall 2021 in Ithaca, NY, Arlington, WI, St. Paul, MN, and Salina, KS. Treatments included cropping system (monoculture alfalfa, monoculture IWG, or intercropped IWG-alfalfa), three alfalfa varieties (Shockwave BR, Higest 360, WL 365HQ), and five nitrogen rates between 0 and 160 kg N ha-1. Response variables included grain yield, forage yield, and forage quality. Although response to nitrogen rate, cropping system, environment, and alfalfa variety varied across harvests, sites, and years, intercropping generally did not respond to nitrogen rate and maintained or increased total forage yield and forage quality compared to monoculture IWG and maintained comparable grain yield at half the seeding rate of monoculture IWG. Alfalfa variety did not have a significant effect on total forage yield, total forage quality, or grain yield except for total forage yield in Year 1 where Shockwave BR had significantly higher total forage yields than WL 365HQ in Year 1 Summer and Higest 360 in Year 1 Fall.