Phenological and growth response of legume cover crops to shading

Annual medics and clovers have distinct properties in terms of usage as cover crops in Mediterranean orchards, but little is known of their capacity to adapt to the level of shading encountered on an orchard floor. A 2-year field experiment was conducted in South–Eastern Sicily to investigate the effects of withholding 0•50 of sunlight on the phenology and growth pattern of four medic and five clover accessions, focusing on traits known to be important for cover cropping. Shading delayed both seedling emergence and the onset of flowering (by up to 5 and 9 days, respectively), while it extended both the growth period and the overall life-cycle duration (by up to 5 and 11 days, respectively). It also induced an increase in cover crop height (from 34 to 38 cm) and crop light use (from 0•60 to 0•94 g DW/m2/MJ), but a reduction in soil coverage, above-ground dry biomass, maximum growth rate and maximum relative growth rate (by up to 13, 18, 21 and 7%, respectively), so compromising the competitiveness of cover crops against weeds. The responses to shading varied between genotypes. Medicago polymorpha ecotype S. Rosalia, Medicago rugosa ecotype Piano Lauro and ecotype Zappulla were the strongest competitors against weeds, whereas Trifolium tomentosum ecotype Bucampello was interesting in terms of its biomass yield and crop light use. The performance was unstable over seasons, so any future attempt to improve the species’ performances under shade by breeding will need to focus on reseeding capacity.