Interspecific competition and productivity in a dryland silage maize/alfalfa intercropping system

This study was conducted to evaluate the interspecific interaction and yield performance of silage maize (Zea mays L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) intercropping in response to N management and row arrangement under the rain-fed conditions on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Five planting arrangements, namely, sole maize, sole alfalfa, and maize and alfalfa intercropping in rows of 1:2 (I12), 2:2 (I22), and 2:4 (I24), were compared over a period of 4  years (2018–2021). Two N-levels (150 and 90 kg N ha−1) were applied to maize in each planting arrangement. Our results show that maize was the dominant species in 2018. In the next 3  years (2019–2021), maize was outcompeted by alfalfa during the first and second cuts of alfalfa, and complete recovery growth of maize was recorded at the third cut. The interspecific competition of I24 was less severe, resulting in a higher yield than I12 and I22. Although the reduction of N a pplication reduced the biomass and crude protein (CP) yield, it weakened the interspecific competition and substantially increased the land equivalent ratio (LER). I24 under low N yielded more than sole cropping, with the LER based on biomass and CP yield of 1.01–1.12 and 1.08–1.18, respectively . In addition, I24 had the highest net revenue of 24,251 ¥ ha−1 on average. Therefore, maize/alfalfa intercrop with a higher alfalfa proportion and a wide strip arrangement (I24) in combination with low N application could alleviate interspecific...
Source: Food and Energy Security - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research