GRAIN YIELD AND QUALITY OF SPRING BARLEY AFTER CATCH CROPS

Growing catch crops has many positive effects. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effect of catch crops on the grain yield and quality of spring barley. The field trial was set up in Zabcice, one of the driest and warmest places in the Czech Republic. The trial examined the following crops: Sinapis alba and Secale cereale v. multicaule. The trial also included a control variant without catch crops. Catch crop growths were planted after winter wheat and left on the field until the spring. Spring barley was sown after the catch crops. Sinapis alba produced more biomass than Secale cereale v. multicaule. The grain yield of spring barley is mainly influenced by the species of catch crops and in combination with a particular year. Sinapis alba, except a drier beginning of the year, had no negative effect on the grain yield of spring barley. Secale cereale v. multicaule regularly reduced the grain yield of spring barley. The content of nitrogen compounds in grains in comparison with the control was lower after Sinapis alba and higher after Secale cereale v. multicaule, but with the exception of 2014, none of these results were statistically significant.