Compatibility of Cicer Milkvetch in Mixtures with Cool‐Season Grasses

Abstract Cicer milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.) is a promising forage legume, but little information is available on its forage production potential, particularly in mixtures with grasses. The objectives of these studies were to: (i) determine the compatibility of irrigated cicer milkvetch (CMV) with seven cool‐season grasses each planted in alternate rows, and (ii) compare the influence of three planting patterns on the compatibility of irrigated CMV with each of four cool‐season grasses. The seven grass species used in the first study were: smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), meadow bromegrass (B. biebersteinii Roem. and Schult.), crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Beauv. ssp. pectinatum (Bieb.) Tzvel.], intermediate wheatgrass [Thinopyrum intermedium (Host.) Barkworth & Dewey], pubescent wheatgrass [T. intermedium ssp. barbulatum (Schur.)], tall wheatgrass [T. elongatum (Host.) Dewey], and creeping foxtail (Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir.). The grasses used in the second study were smooth bromegrass, meadow bromegrass, intermediate wheatgrass, and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.). The soil was a Nunn clay loam (mesic Aridic Agriustoll). Tall wheatgrass did not persist beyond the second harvest year. There was little, if any, difference among the other six grasses for compatibility with CMV because by the sixth harvest year the amount of CMV in the mixtures ranged from 76 to 83%. By the third harvest year, the legume content of the forage for the three planting patterns was similar and ranged from about 80 to 90%. Once established, CMV was very competitive with all cool‐season grasses and its forage yields alone and in grass mixtures were very similar to those of alfalfa.