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Agronomy
Special Issues
Intercropping Solutions for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems
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Intercropping Solutions for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 6626

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emanuele Radicetti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences (DOCPAS), University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Interests: sustainable cropping systems; crop management; crop yield; weed management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Roberto Mancinelli

E-Mail Website1 Website2 Website3
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (DAFNE), University of Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: agro-ecology; fertilizer management; greenhouse gas emissions; carbon cycle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The current food crisis requires innovations in agricultural systems based on new practices and technologies oriented toward sustainable intensification of agro-ecosystems. Intercropping is based on two or more crop species, or genotypes, growing together and coexisting for a time placed in strips, mixed, or in relay intercropping. In addition, intercropping supports a series of ecological advances that include a better understanding of plant interactions, competitive systems against weeds, the mechanisms behind disease and pest avoidance, in addition to possible crop production sustainability in the context of climate change. Although over the past two decades, there has been an increased interest in the development of knowledge and technologies suitable for intercropping (new varieties, weed and other pest management strategies, and the design of alternative systems), there is a need for more effective interdisciplinary research, including better assessment of the wider benefits of intercropping in terms of multiple ecosystem services and collaboration with agricultural engineering.

The main objective of this Special Issue is to collect original research or reviews that report the benefits obtained from the adoption of intercropping systems and address practical problems derived from their application in agro-ecosystems. Therefore, to achieve this goal, the submission of relevant articles is welcome and encouraged. 

Dr. Emanuele Radicetti
Prof. Dr. Roberto Mancinelli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable agroecosystems
  • agroecological benefits
  • living mulch
  • plant competition
  • yield advantage
  • ecological services
  • pest management

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1258 KiB  
Article
Agronomic and Yield Performance of Maize-Mungbean Intercropping with Different Mungbean Seed Rates under Loamy Sand Soils of Cambodia
by Sophoanrith Ro, Siranet Roeurn, Chav Sroy and P. V. Vara Prasad
Agronomy 2023, 13(5), 1293; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13051293 - 30 Apr 2023
Viewed by 2661
Abstract
Increasing crop productivity through crop diversification under the same unit area has been considered as a way for sustainable intensification of cropping systems. This research was conducted on loamy sand soil at the Crop Research Station of Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in [...] Read more.
Increasing crop productivity through crop diversification under the same unit area has been considered as a way for sustainable intensification of cropping systems. This research was conducted on loamy sand soil at the Crop Research Station of Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia. The objective was to evaluate the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) crops and land-equivalent ratio (LER) of maize-mungbean intercropping system using different seed rates of mungbean at 0% (0 kg ha−1), 25% (10 kg ha−1), 50% (20 kg ha−1), 75% (30 kg ha−1), 100% (40 kg ha−1) of recommended rates. The experiment was laid out using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The agronomic traits and yield of both crops were measured at harvest. The weeds were removed three times to measure biomass. The results showed that there was no significant difference in agronomic traits and yield of maize under either maize-mungbean intercropping or maize monocropping irrespective of different mungbean seed rates. The highest mungbean seed rates as recommended did not decrease the growth and yield of intercropped maize. In contrast, the presence of mungbean in the intercropping suppressed weed growth significantly and the trend of weed biomass decreased with increasing mungbean seed rates. The intercropped mungbean grain yield decreased in comparison with monocropping mungbean. Overall, the land equivalent ratio (LER) was higher than 1 under the intercropping, showing its agronomic benefits, compared to monocropping. Therefore, maize-mungbean intercropping is a potential practice for improving productivity and managing weeds. Further research needs to be investigated under different ecological and social-economical niches to determine overall potential benefits and opportunities for scaling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intercropping Solutions for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems)
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15 pages, 1671 KiB  
Article
Interseeding Wide-Row Corn with Forage Cover Crops: Investigating System Potential for Expanded Economic Opportunities in Corn Production Systems
by Katie L. Black, Samantha Wells, Gregg A. Johnson, William F. Lazarus and Alan Kraus
Agronomy 2023, 13(2), 307; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13020307 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1470
Abstract
Intercropping forages with corn can improve cropping system productivity relative to single crop systems. However, limited light resources in 76 cm corn rows may impede successful forage establishment. This study assessed whether the combination of intercropped high value forage cover crops and wider [...] Read more.
Intercropping forages with corn can improve cropping system productivity relative to single crop systems. However, limited light resources in 76 cm corn rows may impede successful forage establishment. This study assessed whether the combination of intercropped high value forage cover crops and wider corn rows could result in economically viable crop production systems in the Upper Midwest. A high value forage mixture was interseeded into standing corn at three working farms in the Rice and Goodhue Counties, MN, USA. Treatments were comprised of four row widths: 76 cm with no forage cover crop (best management practices, BMP), 76 cm with a forage cover crop (BMP + CC), 76 cm + CC, and two skip rows every fourth row (Balanced), and 152 cm + CC (WIDE). The WIDE, Balanced, and BMP + CC corn treatment reduced corn yields relative to the 76-cm treatments. However, the forage cover crop yields for all treatments optimized for light resources (Balanced and WIDE) ranged from 945 to 1865 kg ha−1 a forage quality (CP and RFV) equivalent to alfalfa. Our economic analysis revealed that high yielding, quality forage crops can offset up to 12.6% of economic losses caused by grain reductions. Wide-row intercropped systems may be economically viable for producers looking for opportunities to reintegrate their crop and livestock production systems, but further work is needed to refine this system for farm use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intercropping Solutions for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems)
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17 pages, 3070 KiB  
Article
Ecological and Agronomic Benefits of Intercropping Maize in a Walnut Orchard—A Case Study
by Helena Žalac, Goran Herman, Lara Ergović, Jurica Jović, Vladimir Zebec, Ante Bubalo and Vladimir Ivezić
Agronomy 2023, 13(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010077 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1940
Abstract
The incorporation of trees on traditional agricultural land has the potential for providing beneficial conditions for understory crops by altering the microclimate. Under these assumptions, we conducted a study on maize productivity intercropped in a 14-year-old walnut orchard by measuring growth and yield [...] Read more.
The incorporation of trees on traditional agricultural land has the potential for providing beneficial conditions for understory crops by altering the microclimate. Under these assumptions, we conducted a study on maize productivity intercropped in a 14-year-old walnut orchard by measuring growth and yield parameters, and water and nutrient uptake. Overall, we found that walnut trees decreased maximum air temperature and increased air humidity, especially during hot summer months characterized by precipitation deficit. A 30% reduction in maize yield per total area was a result of significantly reduced plant density, which could be a walnut-specific effect due to juglone excretion. Productivity per plant increased as shown by a significantly higher harvest index and 1000 kernel weight. No meaningful differences were found in terms of maize grain nutrient productivity, nutrient recovery, or nutrient use efficiency. On the systems level, we observed an advantage of the walnut-maize system compared to its respective monoculture systems—land and water equivalent ratios showed that for gaining the same yields as in intercropped system, walnut and maize grown separately would need 32% more land and 31% more water. Our study implies there are some beneficial outcomes to growing maize with trees, although further research should focus on investigating walnut as an option, due to its possible allelopathic effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intercropping Solutions for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems)
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