Effect of planting density on production performance of Italian ryegrassin the mulberry and grass intercropping

The improvement of technical points of the intercropping will benefit scientific production and application. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of planting density on production performance of Italian ryegrass in the Mulberry and Grass intercropping. This study showed that the plant height of Haiwan increased with the increase of planting density, while the plant height of Jiewei decreased with the increase of planting density. During the growth period, stem/leaf ratio of Italian ryegrass increased, and then decreased, finally increased, and it increased with the increase of planting density. The yield of Haiwan was higher than that of Jiewei in the intercropping conditions，but Haiwan showed a weak density tolerance and showed a lower yield at the high density conditions, and its optimal density was 25.020 kg/ha.Jieweishowed a strong density tolerance, and its optimal density ranged from 25.020 kg/ha to 30.015 kg/ha.