Intercropping Corn with Lablab Bean, Velvet Bean, and Scarlet Runner Bean for Forage

This experiment was designed to determine if intercropping corn (Zea mays L.) with climbing beans is a viable option to increase crude protein (CP) concentration in forage rather than purchasing costly protein supplements for livestock rations. In these experiments, corn was intercropped with three beans—lablab bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet], velvet bean [Mucuna pruriens (L.) D.C.], and scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.)—or grown in monoculture near Arlington and Lancaster, WI. Corn was sown in early May and late April in 2004 and 2005, respectively, and later thinned to 55,000 (low density) or 82,500 (normal density) plants ha−1 Beans were sown in rows 8 cm on one side of the corn rows at 82,500 plants ha−1 2 or 4 wk after corn planting. Averaged over four environments, mixture forage dry matter (DM) yields were similar. However the velvet bean and scarlet runner bean mixtures produced significantly higher forage DM yield, 1.2 Mg ha−1 and 0.89 Mg ha−1 more, respectively, in the late bean planting treatment. Beans, except scarlet runner bean, which was damaged by mold and insects, increased the CP concentration of all mixtures, with the greatest increases from the lablab bean (13%) and velvet bean (16%). The experiments show that lablab bean grown with corn has the greatest potential of the three beans to increase CP concentration above monoculture corn, without compromising forage yield or calculated milk ha−1 and increasing forage nutrient value.