Location: Water Management Research
2022 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Forage yield and quality of a winter canola–pea mixed cropping system. Forage crop–dairy farming is an important agricultural industry that involves an intensive system requiring high-input forage crops, primarily annual grass-type crops in monocropping approaches. Winter canola and pea have the potential to provide forage crop diversity options, but information on yield and quality of the canola–pea mixed cropping system is limited. ARS scientists in Parlier, California, collaborated with researchers at New Mexico State University to study winter canola and pea in mono- and mixed-cropping using different seeding ratio combinations to assess yield and quality. Canola–pea mixed cropping achieved high yields and land productivity. This cropping strategy has potential to improve mechanical harvestability of vining pea and strengthen the diversity and sustainability of forage crop–dairy farming in the Southern Great Plains under limited irrigation and may be applicable in other regions with similar agroecosystems. This cropping strategy can be used by dairy and crop producers to diversify their forage crops and strength forage crop-dairy farming systems.
Review Publications
Kelley, J.R., Olson, B. 2022. Interannual variability of water productivity on the Eastern Snake Plain in Idaho, United States. Agricultural Water Management. 265. Article 107532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107532.
Angadi, S., Umesh, M., Begna, S.H., Gowda, P.H. 2021. Light interception, agronomic performance, and nutritive quality of annual forage legumes as affected by shade. Field Crops Research. 275. Article 108358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2021.108358.
Paye, W., Begna, S.H., Ghimire, R., Angadi, S., Singh, P., Umesh, M., Darapuneni, M. 2021. Winter canola yield and nitrogen use efficiency in a semiarid irrigated condition. Agronomy Journal. 113(2):2053-2067. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20611.
Begna, S.H., Angadi, S., Mesbah, A., Umesh, M., Stamm, M. 2021. Forage yield and quality of winter canola-pea mixed cropping system. Sustainability. 13(4). Article 2122. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042122.
