Improving crop yield stability by intercropping
Problem
Extreme weather, biotic stresses and field-scale variability in soil quality increases the risk of crop yield losses in global sole crop production systems.
Solution
Intercropping is the simultaneous cultivation of more than one species on the same field. One crop in a mixture may compensate for the eventual loss of another crop.
Outcome
Pea and oat in sole and intercrop were exposed to severe drought in 2018. Pea did not survive, but the oat harvest in the inter-crop was 86 % of the oat sole crop yield.
Practical recommendations
-Intercropping is highly relevant for grain legume production in organic farming systems, other low input systems, but also conventional systems.
-Over three years of conventional field experiments, sole cropped peas yield variability was more than twice that of barley.
-N-fertilization reduced the yield variation in barley.
-The of the intercrop’s yield was moderate compared to the sole crops. -Intercropping can have a major economic impact at the farm scale, especially in drought years, by ensuring a certain amount of production under environmental stresses.
-Farmers also benefit from additional advantages of inter-cropping.
Practical testing/ Farmers’ experiences
Farmers or advisory organizations interested in determining the stabilizing effect of intercropping in stressful environments can monitor grain yields of sole crops and intercrops over at least three years and determine the variation.
ReMIX - Redesigning European cropping systems based on species MIXtures
Ongoing | 2017-2021
- Main funding source
- Horizon 2020 (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- France