Syndromes of production in intercropping impact yield gains

Li, Chunjie; Hoffland, Ellis; Kuyper, Thom W.; Yu, Yang; Zhang, Chaochun; Li, Haigang; Zhang, Fusuo; Werf, Wopke Van der

doi:10.1038/s41477-020-0680-9

Cited by 309 publications

(223 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…They were 26.57, 29.39 and 32.68 for the corresponding treatments in the 2 nd season. These results are in agreement with those obtained by Li et al (2020) whom revealed that both the low-and high-yield intercropping strategies saved 16-29% of the land and 19-36% of the fertilizer compared with monocultures grown under the same management as the intercrop. Also, they found that the land savings in intercrops with maize were 13% larger than in intercrops without maize.…”

Section: Intercropping Efficiencysupporting

confidence: 92%

Appraisal of maize yield and its traits with different nitrogen fertilization levels under intercropping cultivation, Upper Egypt

Moghazy

Youssef

Dardiry

et al. 2020

Archives of Agriculture Sciences Journal

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A field experiment was conducted during summer season of 2017 and 2018 at the experimental farm of El-Mattaena Agricultural Research Station, Luxor Governorate, Upper Egypt, which is located at a 25  18-N latitude and 32  34-E longitude. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer levels on maize growth and its yield under sole and intercropping maize with green bean system as well as water productivity and saved land. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with four replicates. The main plots were assigned for two cropping system; (1) maize crop only and (2) maize intercropped with green bean. The split plots were occupied by urea fertilizer (46.5% N) levels of 90, 120 and 150 kg N/fed (fed = feddan = Acre). The maximum maize yield (grain and straw) and its component (plant height, stem diameter, leaves number/plant, grains number/cob and weight of 1000 grains) as well as NPK content in maize grain were observed under intercropping system that received 150 kg N/fed. The maximum value of partial land equivalent ratio (LER) of maize or green bean was recorded when they fertilized by 150 kg N/fed. The LERs of intercrops between maize and green bean showed that the saved lands were over 36%. The highest values of crop water productivity of 1.40 kg grain /m 3 under intercropping system and 1.18 kg grain /m 3 under mono-cropping system were recorded with application of 150 kg N/fed. In general, fertilization at 150 kg N/ fed. proved to be the most effective treatment for maize grain yield and its component as well as maize water relationships especially crop water productivity.

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Section: Intercropping Efficiencysupporting

confidence: 92%

Appraisal of maize yield and its traits with different nitrogen fertilization levels under intercropping cultivation, Upper Egypt

Moghazy

Youssef

Dardiry

et al. 2020

Archives of Agriculture Sciences Journal

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“…Any complementarity that exists in an intercropping combination can enhance another complementarity by improving plant performance as the plant functions as an integrated whole. It is therefore totally expected that, if plant growth is enhanced in intercropping due to competitive relaxation for one or more resources (Li et al 2020a), resource acquisition will be enhanced for multiple resources as a result of such feedback, with little chance to identify which resource complementarities were the original drivers and which were the consequence. As a matter of fact, the complementarity that is a driver at one phase of crop growth may be a consequence during another phase.…”

Section: Does Improved P Uptake Intercrops Cause Yield Increase?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercropping legumes and cereals increases phosphorus use efficiency; a meta-analysis

Tang

Zhang

et al. 2020

Plant Soil

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Aims Intercropping cereals with legumes may achieve high crop yields at reduced input levels. Several studies have indicated that intercropping increases phosphorus use efficiency but no overarching analysis exists on the role of species traits and input levels. Here we synthesize the available information on P use efficiency in cereal/legume intercropping. Methods Global data on yields, P uptake and nutrient input in cereal/legume mixtures were extracted from the literature and statistically analyzed. Co-variables explaining P uptake efficiency and yield were considered. Results P uptake was substantially increased with an average value of LERP, the land equivalent ratio for P uptake, of 1.24, and an average NEP (observed P uptake minus expected P uptake) of 3.67 kg P ha−1. The conversion efficiency of P uptake to biomass decreased with P uptake and was lower in intercrops than in sole crops but the conversion efficiency to yield was not affected by intercropping. The P fertilizer requirement was 21% lower in intercrops than in sole crops for the same yields. Conclusions Substantial improvements in land use efficiency and P uptake are obtained by cereal/legume intercropping. Cereal/legume intercropping has therefore potential to increase P fertilizer use efficiency in agriculture.

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“…Global agriculture is facing the need to maintain crop yields, but with lower synthetic fertilizer inputs and higher environmental safety (Tilman, Balzer, Hill, & Befort, 2011). Ecological intensification by intercropping with different varieties or different species is one way to achieve these goals (Bender, Wagg, & van der Heijden, 2016; Bommarco, Kleijn, & Potts, 2013; Li et al., 2020). Our data show that mixing maize varieties could be a promising strategy to enhance P fertilizer acquisition efficiency.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis increases phosphorus uptake and productivity of mixtures of maize varieties compared to monocultures

Wang

Hoffland

Feng

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Phosphorus (P) is one of the least available macronutrients to plants in soils, and P limitation is therefore a major constraint to crop productivity. Phosphate rock, as a source for P fertilizer, is non-substitutable (Vance, 2001). Therefore, agriculture needs to increase the efficiency with which P is acquired and used. There are two major ways to enhance P acquisition efficiency, viz., (a) plant breeding for root traits that allows improved acquisition of P, such as longer and denser root hairs, more efficient root architecture, higher specific root length and production of organic anions (carboxylates) or phosphatases (Lynch, 2007) and (b) harnessing the mutualistic relation between crops and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which form symbiotic relationships with about 80% of higher plants (Smith & Read, 2008). AMF play a major role in enhancing uptake of immobile nutrients, such as P, from the soil, transferring these nutrients to plants in exchange for photosynthetic carbon (C).

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Syndromes of production in intercropping impact yield gains

Cited by 309 publications

References 63 publications

Appraisal of maize yield and its traits with different nitrogen fertilization levels under intercropping cultivation, Upper Egypt

Appraisal of maize yield and its traits with different nitrogen fertilization levels under intercropping cultivation, Upper Egypt

Intercropping legumes and cereals increases phosphorus use efficiency; a meta-analysis

Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis increases phosphorus uptake and productivity of mixtures of maize varieties compared to monocultures

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