Author
Listed:
- Metekia Tamiru
(Department of Veterinary and Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Heidestraat 19, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium
Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 307, Ethiopia)
- Ashraf Alkhtib
(School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, UK)
- Basha Belachew
(Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 307, Ethiopia)
- Solomon Demeke
(Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 307, Ethiopia)
- Zemene Worku
(Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma P.O. Box 307, Ethiopia)
- Jane Wamatu
(International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 5689, Ethiopia)
- Emily Burton
(School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, UK)
Abstract
The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of Oat–field pea intercropping on the yield, nutritive value, and environmental impact of oat grown under a reduced level of nitrogen fertilisation. The trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design with the following treatments: oat-0 (oat ( Avena sativa L., SRCP X 80 Ab 2291 variety) without N fertilization (urea)), oat-23 (oat fertilised with 23 kg N/ha), oat-46 (oat fertilised with 46 kg N/ha), O1P1 (oat intercropped with field pea ( Pisum sativum L., local variety) a ratio of 1:1), O1P2 (oat intercropped with field pea a ratio of 1:2), and O2P1 (oat intercropped with field pea at a ratio of 2:1). All of the experimental plots received standard husbandry practices except for nitrogen fertilisation. Soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and organic carbon were determined before and after planting. The effect of nitrogen fertilization and intercropping of oat with field pea on carbon footprint, acidification footprint, eutrophication footprint, and human toxicity footprint was calculated for each plot. Oat-0 significantly reduced the total nitrogen content of the soil, while there was no significant effect of the other treatments. O2P1 significantly out-yielded all control groups; however, it was not significantly different from fertilisation treatments. Intercropping with field pea did not significantly increase the cost of production of dry matter, crude protein, or dry matter digestibility compared to control groups. Intercropping with field pea significantly reduced the carbon footprint, acidification, eutrophication, and human toxicity footprint compared to the control groups. Therefore, oat–field pea intercrops are recommended for the production of high-quality forage at low N input with reduced environmental impact.
Suggested Citation
Metekia Tamiru & Ashraf Alkhtib & Basha Belachew & Solomon Demeke & Zemene Worku & Jane Wamatu & Emily Burton, 2023.
"Oat–Field Pea Intercropping for Sustainable Oat Production: Effect on Yield, Nutritive Value and Environmental Impact,"
Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-9, February.
Handle:
RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3514-:d:1068276
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3514-:d:1068276. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.