Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

Résumé de l'auteur : "Intercropping cereals with legume crops is a potential means to diversify cereal-based systems of the Mediterranean area. Legumes can provide nitrogen through biological fixation but are characterised by low and unstable yields. Associating cereals and legum crops can help achieve higher yields than sole cropping by improving the use of resources through complementarity between species. The aim of this study was to assess intercrop resource use efficiency and productivity depending on nitrogen fertilisation. An on-farm field experiment was carried out during 2022-2023 in an irrigated area of Catalonia, Spain with durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) and two different legumes : winter faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and winter pea (Pisum sativum L.). Each crop was grown i[...]

Résumé de l'auteur : "Intercropping cereals with legume crops is a potential means to diversify cereal-based systems of the Mediterranean area. Legumes can provide nitrogen through biological fixation but are characterised by low and unstable yields. Associating cereals and legum crops can help achieve higher yields than sole cropping by improving the use of resources through complementarity between species. The aim of this study was to assess intercrop resource use efficiency and productivity depending on nitrogen fertilisation. An on-farm field experiment was carried out during 2022-2023 in an irrigated area of Catalonia, Spain with durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) and two different legumes : winter faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and winter pea (Pisum sativum L.). Each crop was grown in sole cropping, and wheat/faba pea bean and wheat/pea intercerops were grown in a replacement design ar 50% sowing rate. The five cropping systems were implemented under two N fertilisation scenarios : no N fertilisation of the usual N fertilisation comprising 165 kg N ha-1 of sow slurry before sowing and 75 kg N ha-1 of urea-ammonium nitrate at the end of winter. The cropping season was characterised by high temperatures notably in autumn and a long drought from October to March. In unfertilised conditions, bother intercrops produced on average as much dry biomass and grain yield than sole crops with an average LER of 1.13. The wheat/pea intercrop even reached higher yields than sole wheat. In fertilised conditions, the yield achieved was lower than in unfertilised conditions and was low compared to sole crops (LER = 0.81 on average), although biomass production was similar. No improvement was observed in light interception and nitrogen use compared to sole crops. Those results suggest that though intercrops are more advantageous in low nitrogen availability conditions, the benefits provided are not always substantial.