Cereal+Legume Intercropping: An Option for Improving Productivity and Sustaining Soil Health

Layek, Jayanta; Das, Anup; Mitran, Tarik; Nath, Chaitanyaprasad; Meena, Ram Swaroop; Yadav, Gulab Singh; Shivakumar, B. G.; Kumar, Sandeep; Lal, Rattan

doi:10.1007/978-981-13-0253-4_11

Cited by 93 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Legume species like black gram (Vigna mungo), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and green gram (Vigna radiata) have much less effect on maize and these are tolerant to maize shade [6,7]. Cereal-legume intercropping is very common in the continents of Asia, Africa and South America [8], however, in tropical countries, maize based intercropping is practiced with a preference to cowpea [9]. In Central and South America and parts of East Africa intercropping of maize and bean is widely practiced [10].…”

Section: Choice Of Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential and Advantages of Maize-Legume Intercropping System

Maitra¹,

Shankar²,

Banerjee³

2020

Maize - Production and Use

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Intercropping provides enough scope to include two or more crops simultaneously in same piece of land targeting higher productivity from unit area. Maize, a cereal crop of versatile use, as planted in wide rows offers the opportunity for adoption of intercropping. The intercropping system with maize and legume is beneficial in multifaceted aspects. The success of maize-legume intercropping system largely depends on choice of crops and their maturity, density, and time of planting. Advantage of maize-legume combination of intercropping system is pronounced in the form of higher yield and greater utilization of available resources, benefits in weeds, pests and disease management, fixation of biological nitrogen by legumes and transfer of N to associated maize, insurance against crop failure to small holders, and control of erosion by covering a large extent of ground area. Though maize-legume intercropping system exhibits limitations like less scope of farm mechanization, dependence on more human workforce, and chance of achieving less productivity from maize, the system implies more advantages for small holders in developing countries where human workforce is not a constraint. The chapter has focused on beneficial impacts of maize-legume intercropping system.

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Section: Choice Of Cropsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential and Advantages of Maize-Legume Intercropping System

Maitra¹,

Shankar²,

Banerjee³

2020

Maize - Production and Use

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“…Intercropping is a traditional agricultural system developed by farming communities for food production that promotes mutualistic and commensalist interactions among different species and results in productive advantages that do not occur in monoculture systems. The crops arrangements should consider the management of interactions among species and seek to maximize growth, productivity and land use efficiency in order to become sustainable (Gaba et al 2015;Duchene et al 2017;Layek et al 2018). The interactions among plant species can be competitive, facilitative or both (Brooker et al 2015;Duchene et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When competitive, plants compete for resources, such as nutrients, water, light, and space, generating dominance of one species and limiting the productivity of another (Willey 1979). When facilitative, the intercropped species improve the environment of their neighbors; reduce the effects of nutrient deficiencies (Michel et al 2019) and increase growth and survival (Duchene et al 2017;Layek et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the soil, the activation of biological, physical, and chemical processes is due to the root growth and function (Duchene et al 2017;Layek et al 2018). Intercropping systems with higher plant species richness would be expected to produce more roots and stimulate soil biological processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A better soil physical structure is associated with improved water and air flow (Keyes et al 2016). In addition, roots benefit soil fertility because the release of organic acids alters the pH and the redox potential, promoting solubilization of the nutrients (Duchene et al 2017;Layek et al 2018). Therefore, the more equilibrated horizontal and vertical root distribution in intercropping systems, diminishes the competition for nutrients (Postma and Lynch 2012), increases linear root density, and promotes the interaction of mycorrhizal fungi with the plants, favoring the transfer of nutrients (Bargaz et al 2017;Lü et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil-Root Dynamics in Maize-Beans-Eggplant Intercropping System under Organic Management in a Subtropical Region

Gamboa

Vezzani

Kaschuk

et al. 2020

J Soil Sci Plant Nutr

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Intercropping is an agricultural system that facilitates mutualistic and commensalist interactions among crops. The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that intercropping with greater plant richness produces more roots that improves microbial activity, which in turn, contributes to soil physical structure that improves soil chemistry parameters, crop yield, and land use. We performed a field experiment in a randomized block design, utilizing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize (Zea mays), and eggplant (Solanum melongena), under monoculture or intercropping systems. Root and soil biological, physical and chemical parameters, crop yield and land equivalent ratios were analyzed. Increased plant richness as a function of the intercropping system did not affect root and soil parameters. However, principal component analysis indicated that intercropping affected root density, mass, and length, which, in turn, contributed to the formation of soil aggregates, increased microbial activity and to the improvement of soil chemical parameters. Furthermore, as consequence of increased plant richness, the maize-beans-eggplant intercropping facilitated the positive interactions among the species and led to a Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) 60% higher than the monoculture systems. The production of roots in the crop systems, regardless of species richness, stimulates soil biological activity and affects the quality of physical structure and fertility indicators of the soil. Crop systems with higher richness of plant species promote positive interactions between plants and soil and results in a better land use ratio.

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Nitrogen fertilizer rate effects on yield and botanical components of summer annual forage mixtures

et al. 2021

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Summer annual grass-legume mixtures may provide supplemental grazing for livestock when cool-season pastures are less productive, but nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for these mixtures are not well established. Inputs to these systems are often high, so optimizing N fertilizer rates may increase appeal to producers. This study evaluated the effects of increasing botanical diversity and N fertilizer application on the yield and botanical composition of summer annual mixtures in four environments in Kentucky. Nitrogen fertilizer rates of 0, 56, 112, 168, and 224 kg N ha -1 were applied to a sudangrass [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench × Sorghum sudanese (P.) Stapf] monoculture, a three-species mixture, and an 11-species mixture. In three out of four environments, sward biomass increased as N application increased (average of 15 kg dry matter (DM) ha -1 increase per kg N ha -1 ; p < .05). Mixture complexity had no effect on forage DM accumulation in three out of four environments (4,000, 5,830, and 7,280 kg DM ha -1 averaged over mixture for three environments; p > .05). Mixtures were overwhelmingly dominated by grasses, resulting in low functional diversity. Legumes did not respond to N (p > .05), but their contribution to sward DM was <4%. Species compatibility should be a priority when utilizing multi-species mixtures. If a stronger legume component is desired, care must be taken to provide management that favors these species, such as reduced grass-seeding rates to limit competition, especially during initial establishment.

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Cereal+Legume Intercropping: An Option for Improving Productivity and Sustaining Soil Health

Cited by 93 publications

References 104 publications

Potential and Advantages of Maize-Legume Intercropping System

Potential and Advantages of Maize-Legume Intercropping System

Soil-Root Dynamics in Maize-Beans-Eggplant Intercropping System under Organic Management in a Subtropical Region

Nitrogen fertilizer rate effects on yield and botanical components of summer annual forage mixtures

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