The after-effect of chosen Fabaceae forecrops on the yield of grain and protein in winter triticale (Triticosecale sp. Wittmack ex A. Camus 1927) fertilized with mineral nitrogen

Abstract

Two-way field experiment was carried out in a split-plot design in 4 growing seasons at the Experimental Station of the Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology in Mochełek (Poland). The forecrops for winter triticale cv. Tulus were lupins: yellow, blue and white, field pea and spring barley. Nitrogen (N) fertilization in triticale after harvesting forecrops was: 0-60-120-180 kg N per ha. Average long-term yields of grain and protein in triticale after leguminous forecrops were statistically similar, by 0.84 t/ha and 86 kg/ha higher than after spring barley. On plots without mineral N fertilization, by over 1.5 t/ha more grain was obtained after leguminous forecrops, and by 142 kg/ha more protein than on the plot after spring barley. However, the rate of 180 kg N/ha guaranteed obtaining a significantly highest mean protein yield in triticale. The applied mineral N fertilization at rates from 60 to 180 kg N/ha did not significantly vary the average yield of winter triticale. Mineral nitrogen (Nmin) content in the layer 0-60 cm after harvesting the leguminous forecrop without mineral N fertilization was by 25.5% higher than after harvesting spring barley fertilized with a rate of 60 kg N per ha.