Bi-cropping white lupins (Lupinus albus L.) with cereals for wholecrop forage in organic farming: The effect of seed rate and harvest dates on crop yield and quality

Bi-crops of spring white lupin (Lupinus albus) cv. Dieta with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv. Paragon and spring triticale (Triticosecale Wittmark) cv. Logo grown on clay loam on Soil Association registered organic land near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in the UK, gave higher dry matter (DM) yields across different seed rates for the crop mixtures than constituent monocultures. The lupin/triticale mixes gave the highest yields of forage, approaching 20 t ha(-1) DM. Lupin contributions to yield increased with increasing seed rate and later harvest dates (from mid July to late August). Calculated Land Equivalent Ratios exceeding 1 occurred for all lupin/cereal bi-crop treatments across all harvest dates, indicating a competitive resource advantage of the crop mixtures. All lupin/cereal bi-crops were nutritionally superior to the monocrops in chemical quality for crude protein, fibre, and ether extracts.