Cereal/grain legume intercropping in rotation with durum wheat in crop/livestock production systems for Mediterranean farming system

• Published in: Field crops research 2019-07, Vol.240, p.23-33
• Main Authors: Monti, Michele, Pellicanò, Antonio, Pristeri, Aurelio, Badagliacca, Giuseppe, Preiti, Giovanni, Gelsomino, Antonio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Durum wheat; Grain legume; Intercropping; N balance; Succeeding crop
• ISSN: 0378-4290; 1872-6852
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fcr.2019.05.019

•Pre-crop benefits on grain yields in wheat succeeding pea-barley intercrops were appreciated.•Pea-based intercrops were more beneficial than faba bean-based combinations to the succeeding wheat.•The legume in intercrop highly contributed to the N economy of the rotation through inputs of fixed N2.•Intercropping in Southern Mediterranean can sustain wheat production in livestock/cereal agroecosystem Increasing home-grown production of legumes can contribute to the sustainable development of the agriculture in Europe. The adoption of mixed crop/livestock systems could be a tool to increase the cultivation of legume crops in cereal farming systems, particularly in the smallholder farming systems of Southern Europe. This study proposes cereal-legume intercropping as a sustainable intensification tool specifically suitable for crop/livestock mixed systems under rainfed condition. The cereal/grain legume intercropping is used in this study as an alternative to the sole crops in rotation with durum wheat with the assumption that this agronomic technique can still provide the benefits of legume crops in rotation sustaining the subsequent cereal crop production and overcoming the well-known limitations affecting grain legumes sown as sole crop. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.) were respectively intercropped with barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for grain production and grown in rotation with durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) in an area in Southern Italy with typical Mediterranean climate. The present study has demonstrated that cereal-legume intercropping can be a source of fodder (both pea and faba bean combinations) and still support yields of the following wheat cash crop. Pea-barley combinations (either additive or replacement design) enabled a better yield performance of the succeeding durum wheat as compared to faba bean-based intercropping. Pea-barley intercrops also reached a greater complementarity in the use of N sources and increased the overall sustainability of the rotation.