Effects of silage maize and Dolichos lablab intercropping on quality and yield of silage maize

To develop new methods and technologies for improving the quality and increasing the yield of silage maize, intercropping of silage maize (Zheng Silage No. 1) and Dolichos lablab was examined in Jiujiang Township, Songtao County, Guizhou Province. The effect of intercropping of multiple rows of D. lablab with silage maize on the yield and quality of silage maize was evaluated after three treatments: no intercropping (A₀), a row of silage maize + a row of D. lablab (A₁), and a row of silage maize + two rows of D. lablab (A₂). The results showed that the yield, crude protein, crude ash, leaf length, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total calcium content of silage maize increased significantly with increasing rows of D. lablab intercropped with silage maize. The highest yield of silage maize was 55 350.00 kg·ha^–1, which can increase farmers' income by 10 520.50 CNY·ha^–1 over that from silage maize cultivated alone. The crude fat, dry matter weight, and plant height of silage maize were highest when intercropping one row of D. lablab with silage maize, and significant differences were detected among different treatments (P < 0.05). The leaf width and leaf number of silage maize decreased with increasing row numbers of intercropping D. lablab. There was no significant difference between neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber in the three treatments. The yield, crude protein, crude ash, N, P, Ca, Mg, nitrogen-free extract, and leaf number of silage maize varied considerably with different interplanting treatments, and the coefficient of variation ranged from 10% to 32.9%. The intercropping of silage maize and D. lablab showed strong interplanting advantages. Therefore, to increase yield and interplanting advantages, the silage maize and D. lablab interplanting row number ratio should be 1∶2. However, based on the highest content of crude ash under this treatment, it is necessary to further evaluate intercropping treatment.