Performance of crops under Eucalyptus tree-crop mixtures and its potential for adoption in agroforestry systems

Abstract

Competition for scarce land resources between food crops and trees has intensified and there is need for a balance to accommodate both, either in rotation programs or in agroforestry systems. Successful intercropping of Eucalyptus trees with crops is hindered by competition for light between trees and crops, soil nutrient dynamics and the allelopathy from Eucalyptus trees. The aim of this study was to establish and assess the performance of farm crops under Eucalyptus grandis tree plantations so as to evaluate the potential of the trees for agroforestry. The crops i.e. common beans, Irish potatoes and black Nightshade (Solanum villosum) were planted along rows of Eucalyptus trees (3 and 6 years) in plot sizes of 4 m by 2 m adopting a factorial arrangement in RCBD with open field as control. The assessment of the performance of the crops was mainly on; germination, Leaf Area Index (LAI) and possible yields. In addition, the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reaching the understory crops was measured. From the results, Germination of crops under trees was higher than in the open field. Germination was delayed under trees when compared to those grown in the open field. The age differences in the Eucalyptus tree plantations had no significant effect on the amount of PAR reaching the understory crops. The leaf area index (LAI) of the understory crops was significantly affected by Eucalyptus trees of different ages (p < .001). The crops grown under Eucalyptus trees gave higher yields compared to crops grown in open fields but not fertilized. The effect of Eucalyptus plantation age significantly affected the yields of beans and potatoes (p < .001) but not nightshade; therefore, the vegetable can be grown under Eucalyptus tree shade without reduction in yield. Irish potato and common beans are potential crops for agroforestry with Eucalyptus trees but need further research as their yields were low and had selected disease incidences.

Phosphorus uptake and PSR gene expression in eucalypts plants under split root system

“…Crops of common bean, Irish potato and nightshade (Solanum villosum) were planted along rows of E. grandis (3 and 6 years old). From the results, germination of crops under trees was higher than that in open field, and crops grown under eucalyptus trees gave higher yields compared to crops grown in open fields but not fertilized (Nadir et al 2018).…”

“…Eucalypt forests occupy an area of about 18 million hectares global and have superior silvicultural characteristics compared to other forestal genera, such as rapid growth, the ability to adapt to a wide variety of climates and soils, and good quality wood for pulp production (Grattapaglia and Kirst 2008;Pérez-Cruzado et al 2011). Competition for scarce terrestrial resources between food crops and trees has intensified and agroforestry systems with eucalyptus are an alternative to balance this competition (Nadir et al 2018). Eucalyptus is a fast-growing tree widely planted throughout the world.…”

“…Several studies report the performance of agricultural crops under Eucalyptus tree plantations, in order to evaluate the trees' potential for agroforestry (Nadir et al 2018;Pezzopane et al 2021;Chavan et al 2023). Crops of common bean, Irish potato and nightshade (Solanum villosum) were planted along rows of E. grandis (3 and 6 years old).…”

Caracterização Macroscópica Do Fuste De Eucalipto Em Diferentes Densidades De Plantio

“…Além da produção de madeira sólida com árvores de maiores diâmetros, plantios menos adensados favorecem a implementação de outras culturas entre árvores (Nadir et al 2018). Alguns estudos já comprovaram a melhor qualidade de grãos de café como exemplo, plantados em sistemas agroflorestais em consórcio com Eucalyptus spp., que favorecidos pela sombra, resultarão em uma produtividade mais contínua e sustentável (Ehrenbergerová et al 2016;Petit-Aldana et al 2017).…”

Sustainable Cropping Systems

“…Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a shade-tolerant food crop [22] that is commonly intercropped with trees in tropical and sub-tropical regions where there are high levels of solar irradiance. In these regions, shading has been shown to have minimal effect on potato tuber yield [22][23][24][25]. However, little is known about the performance of potato under shade at higher latitudes where solar irradiance is less.…”