Yield Potential of Newly Introduced Energy and Fodder Crop <i>Galega orientalis</i> Lam. on Marginal Heavy Soils under Moderate Central European Continental climate

Abstract This research verifies the production potential of Galega orientalis Lam. grown on marginal heavy soils with the following intensities of mineral nutrition: (1) 245.0 kg/ha NPK, (2) 122.5 kg/ha NPK and (3) 0.0 kg/ha NPK. A large-scale pilot experiment with the cultivar Gale was carried out on two sites under a semi-humid to humid temperate climate in Central Europe for 4 years. Overall, 14.56 t/ha of dry matter yield on average was achieved, with 10.92 t/ha in the first cut and 3.65 t/ha in second cut; the yields varied from 4.61 t/ha to 24.65 t/ha for both the cuts, and 2.69 – 21.30 t/ha and 1.05 – 9.06 t/ha for the first and second cuts, respectively. In the year of establishment (2017), the crop reached an average yield of 0.52 t/ha; due to slow development. The yield during the three productive years (2018 – 2020) was affected mainly by the cuts (F-ratio 218.97, P -value &lt;0.01), then by years (F-ratio 178.38, P -value &lt;0.01), followed by nutrition (F-ratio 4.81, P -value &lt;0.01), sites (F-ratio 1.34, P -value &gt;0.05), and finally by replications (F-ratio 0.17, P -value &gt;0.05). In general, eastern galega productivity increased as the nutrition increased and the utility year approached, but the impact of nutrition seems to be more complicated due to the legume crop’s biological specifics. The study includes no sites with arid or semi-arid climate, where the productivity may be different, especially on light soils with drying water regime, which can be assumed as a limiting factor for the crop with slow initial growth.