Change in oil fatty acids composition of winter oilseed rape genotypes under drought stress and different temperature regimes | Nadia Gharechaei, Farzad Paknejad, Amir Hossein Shirani Rad, Ghasem Tohidloo, Hamid Jabbari | Agricultural Journals

Problem statement: Mixed cereal-legume cropping can supply valuable forage in dry areas, as well as improving soil characteristics to approach sustainable farming systems in these regions. Approach: In order to comprise quality and quantity of produced forage and to determine the best planting ratio in a hairy vetch and barley mix cropping, a two year study was conducted during 2008 and 2009 in Zanjan Center for Research of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Zanjan, Iran, using these two forage crops in a completely randomized block design with five treatments and four replications. Hairy vetch and barley were single- or mix cropped at 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 ratios. Results: Analysis of variance of two years data showed hay yield, absorbed N, P and K amounts and crude protein content varied among years and different planting ratio, significantly, with higher amounts in the second year. The highest dry matter yield, absorbed N, P and K and crude protein content were obtained in 50:50 planting ratio. The land equivalent ratio was more than one for all mix cropping treatments, with the highest value in 50:50 planting ratio, which also led to the highest LER in respect to crude protein. Conclusion: A 50:50 mixture of barley-hairy vetch can produce the highest dry forage yield, with a higher LER and the highest forage quality than sole cropping

Addressing water scarcity and the need for high-quality forage in arid regions necessitates the development of efficient irrigation techniques. This study assesses the impact of various irrigation methods on the performance and irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE) of sorghum cultivars under water-deficit conditions in a semi-arid region of Iran during the 2019 and 2020 cropping seasons. Three irrigation methods—variable alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), fixed alternate furrow irrigation (FFI), and conventional furrow irrigation (CFI)—were evaluated alongside three levels of drought stress (severe stress: I₅₀, moderate stress: I₇₅, and full irrigation: I₁₀₀) and two sorghum cultivars. The results indicated that increasing drought stress, as well as the transition from CFI to AFI and FFI, led to reductions in metabolizable energy yield (MEY), plant height, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Conversely, there were increases in leaf-to-stem ratio, digestible organic matter, metabolizable energy content, crude protein content, and IWUE for metabolizable energy production (IWUE_ME). The highest MEY (211.68 GJ ha^-1) was recorded under CFI×I₁₀₀, albeit at the expense of maximum water consumption (7261 m³ ha^-1). Meanwhile, the AFI×I₅₀ and FFI×I₅₀ treatments exhibited the highest IWUE_ME (44.46 MJ m^-3) and metabolizable energy content (8.736 MJ kg^-1), respectively, while conserving over 60% of water. Hybrid Speedfeed outperformed in forage yield and IWUE_ME, while cultivar Pegah excelled in forage quality. Transitioning from CFI to AFI or FFI resulted in decreased forage yield but improved forage quality and IWUE_ME. Principal component analysis revealed that leaf-to-stem ratio and plant height serve as effective indicators for assessing the nutritive value and forage yield of sorghum, respectively. Considering the overall results, cultivating the hybrid Speedfeed under AFI×I₇₅ conditions is recommended for optimal water utilization, achieving satisfactory forage yield and quality, and enhancing IWUE.