Yield, Economic Benefit, Soil Water Balance, and Water Use Efficiency of Intercropped Maize/Potato in Responses to Mulching Practices on the Semiarid Loess Plateau

Abstract

Increasing agricultural productivity without undermining further the integrity of the Earth’s environmental systems such as soil water balance are important tasks to ensure food security for an increasing global population in rainfed agriculture. The impact of intercropping maize (Zea mays L.) with potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) on yield, land equivalent ratios (LER), water equivalent ratio (WER), water use, energy output, and net economic return were examined under seven planting systems: potato grown solely or intercropped on the flat field without mulching, maize grown solely or intercropped with potato on ridges or flat field with or without plastic film mulched. The three intercropping systems had 3–13% less water use than the monocropping. Among the intercropped systems, flat field caused more depletion of soil water than ridged field for both years. Compared to monocultures, intercropping with plastic film mulching and ridging significantly increased LER and WER. Meanwhile, intercropping with mulching and ridging significantly increased net economic return and energy output by 8% and 24%, respectively, when compared to monocropping. These results suggest that maize under plastic film mulched ridge-furrow plot intercropped with potato under flat plot without mulching increased energy output, net economic return, and water use efficiency without increasing soil water depletion, which could be an optimal intercropping system for the semiarid farmland on the western Loess Plateau.

"Influence of Intercropping Combinations on Growth, Components, Yield, and Quality of Faba Bean and Potato"

“…The yield difference between the two could be due to the decreased inter and intraspecific competition between potato and faba bean; which resulted from the low plant density of faba bean plants per unit area that allowed potato plants to get a greater domain, which is needed for enhanced yield performance. Similar to the present finding a significant increase in marketable tuber yield by intercropping pattern was reported by different researchers [57,59,[60][61][62]. But in contrast to this report, the finding of (Takim,et al [63]) reported that significant impact of intercropping on unmarketable yield than the marketable yield of sweet potato.…”

Intercropping Systems to Modify Bioactive Compounds and Nutrient Profiles in Plants: Do We Have Enough Information to Take This as a Strategy to Improve Food Quality? A Review

“…Many studies show that intercropping can offer different ecosystem services [ 34 ] because inputs and natural resources are better used to supply nutrients that protect plants against pathogens, pests, and weeds. It can also improve soil fertility, conserve biodiversity and natural habitats, and provide higher yields and more balanced production per unit area due to crop diversification [ 20 , 35 ]. Further research is necessary, but it has been suggested that the types of plants included in an intercropping system could increase or decrease the chemical composition of some bioactive compounds and nutrients.…”

“…Furthermore, farmers may also benefit from socioeconomic gains and greater food security, since multi-cropping can improve yield [ 19 ], which would increase the availability of food or allow them to sell more of their produce [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. All these characteristics have been widely studied over the years; nevertheless, few studies have analyzed the changes in the quantity and quality of nutrients and phytochemicals that benefit human health due to the interaction of the species involved in intercropping.…”

The Effects of Different Rotations of Beans, Maize, and Cabbage on Soil Moisture and Economic Benefits

“…The distribution of soil moisture during the critical reproductive period of crops has an important impact on their growth and development [12]. Drought and water scarcity, low soil quality, and low rainfall utilization are the primary factors limiting grain production in the Loess Plateau region [13]. Drylands cover over 41% of the world's land area, providing sustenance for approximately 40% of the global population.…”