EFFECTS OF USING OATS AS A COMPANION CROP WITH ORCHARDGRASS, DACTYLIS GLOMERATA L., AND WHITE CLOVER, TRIFOLIUM REPENS L., SOWN FOR PASTURE

Abstract

The effect of an oat companion crop upon the establishment and subsequent pasture yield of orchardgrass and Ladino clover was studied at Agassiz, British Columbia. In the year of seeding, oats, irrespective of stage of harvest, provided a degree of weed control and reduced the dry matter yield of orchardgrass and white clover. The reduction in yield for grass and clover persisted into the second year under the silage and grain management, whereas when the oats were harvested for pasture the yields of grass and clover were equal to or greater than the yields of grass and clover grown without a companion crop. Management was more important than rate of seeding the companion crop with respect to the yield of oats, grass, and clover. The herbicide MCPA caused a reduction in dry matter yield for grass and clover in the year following application and was generally less effective for weed control than the oat companion crop.