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Intercropping enhances productivity and maintains the most soil fertility properties relative to sole cropping.

ABSTRACT: Yield and nutrient acquisition advantages are frequently found in intercropping systems. However, there are few published reports on soil fertility in intercropping relative to monocultures. A field experiment was therefore established in 2009 in Gansu province, northwest China. The treatments comprised maize/faba bean, maize/soybean, maize/chickpea and maize/turnip intercropping, and their correspoding monocropping. In 2011 (the 3rd year) and 2012 (the 4th year) the yields and some soil chemical properties and enzyme activities were examined after all crop species were harvested or at later growth stages. Both grain yields and nutrient acquisition were significantly greater in all four intercropping systems than corresponding monocropping over two years. Generally, soil organic matter (OM) did not differ significantly from monocropping but did increase in maize/chickpea in 2012 and maize/turnip in both years. Soil total N (TN) did not differ between intercropping and monocropping in either year with the sole exception of maize/faba bean intercropping receiving 80 kg P ha-1 in 2011. Intercropping significantly reduced soil Olsen-P only in 2012, soil exchangeable K in both years, soil cation exchangeable capacity (CEC) in 2012, and soil pH in 2012. In the majority of cases soil enzyme activities did not differ across all the cropping systems at different P application rates compared to monocrops, with the exception of soil acid phosphatase activity which was higher in maize/legume intercropping than in the corresponding monocrops at 40 kg ha-1 P in 2011. P fertilization can alleviate the decline in soil Olsen-P and in soil CEC to some extent. In summary, intercropping enhanced productivity and maintained the majority of soil fertility properties for at least three to four years, especially at suitable P application rates. The results indicate that maize-based intercropping may be an efficient cropping system for sustainable agriculture with carefully managed fertilizer inputs.

SUBMITTER: Wang ZG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4259307 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Intercropping enhances productivity and maintains the most soil fertility properties relative to sole cropping.

Wang Zhi-Gang ZG Jin Xin X Bao Xing-Guo XG Li Xiao-Fei XF Zhao Jian-Hua JH Sun Jian-Hao JH Christie Peter P Li Long L

PloS one 20141208 12

Yield and nutrient acquisition advantages are frequently found in intercropping systems. However, there are few published reports on soil fertility in intercropping relative to monocultures. A field experiment was therefore established in 2009 in Gansu province, northwest China. The treatments comprised maize/faba bean, maize/soybean, maize/chickpea and maize/turnip intercropping, and their correspoding monocropping. In 2011 (the 3rd year) and 2012 (the 4th year) the yields and some soil chemica ...[more]

PMID: 25486249

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Project description:Although humic acid has been demonstrated to improve the quality of some soil types, the long-term effects of humic acid on soil under continuous cropping peanut are not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the continuous effects of humic acid on the physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, and enzyme activities of soil under continuous cropping peanut. In this study, a three-year consecutive experiment of cropping peanut was conducted in the North China Plain. In addition to the equal nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium inputs, humic acid treatment was applied with inorganic fertilizers. Compared with control experiments, humic acid increased the yield and quality of continuous cropping peanut. To elucidate the mechanism of humic acid affecting the soil quality, various soil quality indicators were evaluated and compared in this study. It was found that humic acid increased soil nutrient contents, including the total soil nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, and organic matter contents, which exhibited the maximum effect in the third year. Meanwhile, the urease, sucrase, and phosphatase activities in the soil significantly increased after treated with humic acid, of which the maturity period increased most significantly. The same results were observed for three consecutive years. Microbial diversity varied considerably according to the high throughput sequencing analysis. Specifically, the number of bacteria decreased while that of fungi increased after humic acid treatment. The abundance of Firmicutes in bacteria, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota in fungi all increased, which have been reported as being beneficial to plant growth. In contrast, the abundance of Ascomycota in fungi was reduced, and most of the related genera identified are pathogenic to plants. In conclusion, humic acid improved the yield and quality of continuous cropping peanut because of improved physicochemical properties, enzymatic activities, and microbial diversity of soil, which is beneficial for alleviating the obstacles of continuous cropping peanut.

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Intercropping enhances productivity and maintains the most soil fertility properties relative to sole cropping.

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Intercropping enhances productivity and maintains the most soil fertility properties relative to sole cropping.

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