Productivity of four annual legumes as green manure in dryland cropping systems

Integration of green manuring as fallow replacement in dryland cereal production requires selection of well-adapted legumes. The objectives of this study were to (i) analyze vegetative growth of annual legumes and (ii) assess the relative merits of each legume as short-term green manure crop. Inoculated black lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus), Tangier flatpea (Lathyrus tingitanus L.), chickling vetch (Lathyrus sativus L.), and feedpea (Pisum sativum L.) were tested on an Orthic Brown Chernozem soil (Aridic Haploborolls) at Swift Current, SK, Canada, from 1984 to 1990. Legume species and years differed significantly in dry matter (DM) production of shoots, roots, and nodules; DM partitioning; growth habit; relative growth rate; and weediness [...]