Trial Report Summary

Pea-Cereals Intercrops for Silage Production

Crop Type(s):
Barley, Oats, Peas
Centre(s):
PCDF
Year(s):
2019
Collaborators(s):

James Frey – Diversification Specialist, Manitoba Agriculture
Jessica Frey – Research Technician, PCDF

Objective(s):

To evaluate the potential for intercropping with peas

Project Findings:

PCDF tested cereal and pea-cereal mixtures for their potential in producing silage. Table 1 shows the performance of the treatments.

Overall, mixtures including peas yielded lower than cereals-only varieties. Table 2 shows the
comparison of statistical significance for yield, crude protein and TDN.

Background:

The use of corn and barley for silage is well-established in the Parkland region and beyond. Interest in producing high-yielding, high-value silage crops has motivated researchers and farmers to experiment with mixtures of annual cereals and legumes.
The cost of seed is higher for corn silage over cereal silage. The Manitoba Agriculture 2020 cost of
production for corn silage estimates the cost of corn seed and treatment at $92.80/ac, over $16.88/ac for barley. Producers are motivated to pay higher seed costs for higher anticipated yields for corn silage (averaging 13.03 t/ac for corn over 4.77 t/ac for barley).
Generally, previous studies have found that the dry matter yields for silage mixtures are highest for
cereals-only mixtures, and lower when a legume such as pea is included in the mixture. However,
including legumes in the mixture can increase crude protein values for silage.

PDF:

Entire findings are available by downloading the report PDF.

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