Yield performance of cultivar mixtures of spring triticale

Ab s t r a c t . An experiment on a cereal mixture of two spring triticale cultivars, ‘Gabo’ ‘Wanad’, included two factors, notably: I. Sowing method of spring triticale cultivars – A. Sole cropping of cv. ‘Wanad’, B. Sole cropping of cv. ‘Gabo’, C–G. Mixed cropping of cvs. ‘Gabo’ and ‘Wanad’; II. Crop protection method in spring triticale stand: a) mechanical – harrowing after sowing as well as at the cracking stage and at the 4-5 leaves stage of spring triticale, b) mechanical and chemical – harrowing after sowing as well as at the cracking stage and at the 4-5 leaves stage of spring triticale, and also additionally herbicide, retardant and fungicide application, c) chemical – application of plant protection products. Mixed croppings of the spring triticale cultivars ‘Wanad’ and ‘Gabo’ produced significantly higher yields than in the case of sole cropping of these cultivars. Mixtures of these cultivars composed of at least 50% of cv. ‘Wanad’ produced the highest yield. Intercropping of the spring triticale cultivars had a beneficial effect on canopy and ear parameters of the crop plant in question, such as: grain weight per ear, number of ears per 1 m 2 , and plant lodging. Spring triticale grain yield was also significantly differentiated by crop protection method. The highest grain yield was obtained in the chemically treated plot (4.68 t ha -1 ), the treatment with chemical and mechanical crop protection produced a significantly lower yield (4.34 t ha -1 ), whereas grain yield was the lowest in the case of mechanical crop protection (4.11 t ha -1 ).