Farmer-participatory design and assessment of multispecies forage intercrops

Summary

Mixtures of forage species often yield more biomass and have fewer problems with weeds, pests, and diseases than monocultures, especially when combining different functional groups like grasses and legumes. This study tested and identified high-performing forage mixtures in Romania and Norway.
In Romania, mixtures of alfalfa with perennial grasses and dill were evaluated for yield, weed suppression, and alfalfa weevil infestation. Mixtures of alfalfa–dill with Festuca, Dactylis, or Phleum generally outperformed the alfalfa–Phleum mixture and showed no weevil attacks, making them promising options for organic systems.
In Norway, the research tested replacing red clover with bird’s foot trefoil in grass-legume and grass-legume-herb mixtures and adding bird’s foot trefoil, chicory, or ribwort plantain to a standard grass-red clover mix. Bird’s foot trefoil yielded less dry matter and protein than red clover but increased NDF and metabolizable energy. Adding bird’s foot trefoil, chicory, or ribwort plantain did not significantly affect dry matter yield or forage quality in the grass-red clover mixtures.