Contribution of N from frequently chopped green manure to a succeeding crop of barley

Summary

The aim of the present work was to study to what extent N in mulched green manure herbage contributes to spring barley grain yield the subsequent year. The green manure herbage was either chopped and left on stubble (GML) or removed (GMR). On silty clay loam with spring incorporated green manure the subsequent barley grain yield was 10% higher with GML than with GMR. The additional grain N yield of 4 kg ha-1 with GML corresponded to only 3 % of N in above-ground green manure biomass. On loamy soil with late autumn incorporated green manure the treatments did not affect the grain yield the subsequent year. How large part of the N that was lost through leaching or gaseous emissions and how large part that was built into soil organic matter was not measured. However, this investigation confirms that potential N losses from mowed green manure might be large. Alternative ways of using the herbage should be found.