Study on Behaviour of Mixed Grasslands of White Bentgrass under the Central Balkan Mountain Conditions
Dimitar Mitev
Department of Forage Production, Research Institute of Mountain Stockbreeding and Agriculture, Troyan, Bulgaria.
Galina Naydenova
Soybean Experimental Station, Pavlikeni, Bulgaria.
Natalia Georgieva *
Department of Forage Production and Livestock, Institute of Forage Crops, Pleven, Bulgaria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Agrostis stolonifera is a species that is suitable mainly for cold and wet areas, but its distribution in warmer climatic regions increases during recent years. The purpose of the present experiment was to study the white bentgrass behavior in two-component mixtures with legumes (birth's-foot-trefoil, blue alfalfa, yellow alfalfa, red clover, white clover, sainfoins), which are typical for the Central Balkan Mountains region. In parallel, a combination of these species was compared with the most common meadow grasses (red fescue, cock's foot, timothy-grass, perennial ryegrass). Average for the fourth-year experimental periоd, the highest dry matter yield was found for the mixture of white bentgrass and bird's-foot-trefoil (1.61 t ha-1), followed by this one of red fescue and bird's-foot-trefoil, without significant difference between them. Also, the combination of white bentgrass and red clover demonstrated good performances. Its productivity slightly exceeded that of the “traditional” mixture of timothy-grass with red clover. As a whole, all studied mixtures of white bentgrass with legume crops (except for yellow alfalfa) showed similar or higher productivity compared to the "traditional" ones, which is a prerequisite for their inclusion in the establishment of artificial swards. In terms of yield stability, the highest stability was found for the mixtures of white bentgrass and cock's foot with blue alfalfa.
Keywords: White bentgrass, legumes, mixed grasslands, productivity.