| dc.description.abstract | Biomass productivity, nitrogen recovery fraction and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) cultivar Tainung 2 were tested, under three Lens culinaries treatments (incorporated, harvested before the sowing of the energy crop and mono-cropping) and four nitrogen dressings (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha(-1)), in two field experiments carried out on a fertile, clayey to loamy soil, and on a sandy soil of moderate fertility, in central Greece, over the period 2007-2009. The obtained results showed a positive response in L. culinaries cover cropping on kenaf total yield, on both experimental sites. Total dry biomass fluctuated from 16.07 to 21.46 t ha(-1) for incorporated plots and from 13.63 to 16.55 t ha(-1) for control treatments (relied only on applications of N-fertilization) for sandy soil, and from 14.98 to 19.28 t ha(-1) in case of legume incorporation and from 12.34 to 16.69 t ha(-1) for control plots, for clayey soil, respectively. The evaluated NUE was 76 kg kg(-1), for sandy soil, and 72 kg kg(-1), for clay soil. The recovery fraction escalated from 41% in control plots to 70% in plots with previous L culinaries cultivation for sandy soil, while for clayey soil an increase of 20% was recorded, indicating a prominent effect of legume cover-cropping management. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. | en |