Abstract
Straw is a valuable by-product from cereal production. It is used for agricultural purposes as feed and bedding material for livestock. Additionally, cereal straw is a resource for the production of sustainable biomaterials and bio-energy. To meet the demands of these sectors substantial amounts of straw, with specific properties (e.g. water-holding capacity), are necessary. Since wheat breeding has mainly focused on grain yield rather than on straw yield other cereal species, such as triticale, can be of interest. Therefore, in this research the straw yield and water-holding capacity of four winter wheat and four winter triticale varieties were studied during two growing seasons. For both wheat and triticale there were differences in dry matter yield and percentage dry matter between growing seasons. Furthermore, depending on the growing season, there were significant differences in straw yield between the different wheat and triticale varieties. However, during both growing seasons, the straw yield obtained from the triticale varieties was significantly higher compared to the straw yield obtained from the wheat varieties. Concerning the water-holding capacity, it was concluded that the water absorption potential of triticale straw was higher compared to the water absorption potential of wheat straw. However, only in 2014 a significant difference between wheat and triticale was noted. So, it can be concluded that, besides the known advantages of triticale (performance on marginal soils, disease resistance, low fertilizer input, etc.), this crop has the potential to deliver high yields of high quality straw.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Alijošius, S., Švirmickas, G.J., Bliznikas, S., Gruzauskas, R., Šašyte, V., Raceviciute-Stupeliene, A., Klisevičiute, V., Dauksiene, A. 2016. Grain chemical composition of different varieties of winter cereals. Zemdirbyste-Agriculture 103:273–280.
Dai, J., Bean, B., Brown, B., Bruening, W., Edwards, J., Flowers, M., Karow, R., Lee, C., Morgan, G., Ottman, M., Ransom, J., Wiersma, J. 2016. Harvest index and straw yield of five classes of wheat. Biomass and Bioenergy 85:223–227.
Deininger, A., Tamm, M., Krause, R., Sonnenberg, H. 2000. Penetration resistance and water-holding capacity of differently conditioned straw for deep litter housing systems. J. of Agric. Engineering Res. 77:335–342.
Derycke, V., Haesaert, G. 2014. Rassenonderzoek triticale 2014. Landbouwcentrum Granen Vlaanderen (LCG) vzw (Triticale variety trial results 2014. Agricultural Centre for Cereal Research vzw), pp. 1–5. Online available at: http://www.lcg.begranen/teeltinfo/rassenonderzoek/rassen/. (in Dutch)
Derycke, V., Haesaert, G. 2015. Rassenonderzoek triticale 2015. Landbouwcentrum Granen Vlaanderen (LCG) vzw (Triticale variety trial results 2015. Agricultural Centre for Cereal Research vzw), pp. 1–4. Online available at: http://www.lcg.begranen/teeltinfo/rassenonderzoek/rassen/. (in Dutch)
Donaldson, E., Schillinger, W.F., Dofing, S.M. 2001. Straw production and grain yield relationships in winter wheat. Crop Sci. 41:100–106.
Estrada-Campuzanoa, G., Slafer, G.A., Miralles, D.J. 2012. Differences in yield, biomass and their components between triticale and wheat grown under contrasting water and nitrogen environments. Fields Crops Res. 128:167–179.
Engel, R.E., Long, D.S., Carlson, G.R. 2003. Predicting straw yield of hard red spring wheat. Agron. J. 95:1454–1460.
Haesaert, G., Latré, J., Derycke, V. 2007. Activiteitenverslag 2007 van de proefveldwerking te Bottelare. Rassenvergelijking triticale (Activity report of the experimental farm at Bottelare 2007. Triticale variety trial results). Bottelare, Belgium. pp. 2–4. (in Dutch).
Haesaert, G., Latré, J., Derycke, V. 2009. Activiteitenverslag 2009 van de proefveldwerking te Bottelare. Rassenvergelijking triticale (Activity report of the experimental farm at Bottelare 2009. Triticale variety trial results). Bottelare, Belgium. pp. 2–4. (in Dutch).
Larsen, S.U., Bruun, S., Lindedam, J. 2012. Straw yield and saccharification potential for ethanol in cereal species and wheat cultivars. Biomass and Bioenergy 45:239–250.
Lou, Y., Xu, M., Wang, W., Sun, X., Zhao, K. 2011. Return rate of straw residue affects soil organic C sequestration by chemical fertilization. Soil Tillage Res. 113:70–73.
Myer, R., Lozano del Rio, A.J. 2004. Triticale as animal feed. In: Mergoum, M., Gómez-Macpherson H. (eds), Triticale Improvement and Production. FAO Plant Production and Protection Paper No. 179. Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations. Rome, Italy. pp. 49–58.
Pearson, E.G., Leavengood, S., Reeb, J.E. 1999. Comparison of the absorptive capacity if the animal bedding materials: Western Juniper, Western red cedar, and Douglas fir. Oregon State University. 233 Magruder Hull, Corvallis, OR, USA.
R Core Team (2014). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria. URL. http://www.R-project.org.
Shaver, R., Hoffman, P. 2010. Use of straw in dairy cattle diets. Focus on Forage 12:2–10.
Sinkevičienė, A., Jodaugienė, D., Pupalienė, R., Urbonienė, M. 2009. The influence of organic mulches on soil properties and crop yield. Agron. Res. 7:485–491.
Spiehs, M.J., Brown-Brandl, T.M., Jaderborg, J.P., DiCostanzo, A., Purswell, J.L., Davis, J.D. 2013. Water holding capacity and evaporative loss from organic bedding materials used in livestock facilities. In: Proc. Am. Soc. of Agric. and Biol. Engineers Annual Int. Meeting, July 21–24, 2013. Kansas City, MO. ASABE Paper No. 131595738. [doi: http://dx.doi.org10.13031/aim.20131595738].
Sun, R.-C. 2010. Cereal Straw as a Resource for Sustainable Biomaterials and Biofuels. Elsevier. Oxford, UK.
Stallknecht, G.F., Gilbertson, K.M., Ranney, J.E. 1996. Alternative wheat cereals as food grains: Einkorn, emmer, spelt, kamut, and triticale. In: Janick, J. (ed.), Progress in New Crops. ASHS Press. Alexandria, VA, USA. pp. 156–170.
Townsend, T.J., Sparkes, D.L., Wilson, P. 2017. Food and bioenergy: reviewing the potential of dual-purpose wheat crops. GCB Bioenergy 9:525–540.
Tuyttens, F.A.M. 2005. The importance of straw for pig and cattle welfare: A review. Appl. Anim. Behav. Si. 92:261–282.
Wei, T., Zhang, P., Wang, K., Ding, R., Yang, B., Nie, J., Jia, Z., Han, Q. 2015. Effects of wheat straw incorporation on the availability of soil nutrients and enzyme activities in Semiarid Areas. PLoS ONE 10: e0120994.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by Landbouwcentrum Granen Vlaanderen vzw. Furthermore, we acknowledge the technical staff of the experimental farm in Bottelare.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by L. Bona
This article was presented on the 9th International Triticale Symposium, May 23–27, 2016, in Szeged, Hungary.
Rights and permissions
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
About this article
Cite this article
Derycke, V., Landschoot, S., Dewitte, K. et al. Straw Yield and Quality: An Extra Motivation for the Introduction of Triticale in Mixed Farming Systems. CEREAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 46, 158–168 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1556/0806.45.2017.062
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1556/0806.45.2017.062