scholarly journals Land Equivalent Ratio in the Intercropping of Cucumber with Lettuce as a Function of Cucumber Population Density

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Gustavo Teixeira Ribas ◽  
Arthur Bernardes Cecílio Filho ◽  
Alexson Filgueiras Dutra ◽  
José Carlos Barbosa ◽  
Glauco de Souza Rolim

Lettuce and cucumber are two important vegetables cultivated in greenhouses. Intercropping can increase the yield without increasing the demands for inputs. A more efficient use of resources in production systems can reduce costs and environmental impacts. We evaluated the land equivalent ratio (LER) of intercropping cucumber and lettuce as a function of the cucumber population. An experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to evaluate the cucumber population density (100, 85, 70, and 55% of 2.35 plants m−2) and two lettuce cultivars, ‘Lucy Brown’ and ‘Vanda’. The cucumber population density affected the amount of photosynthetically active radiation that reached the lettuce. The higher the density, the lower the total fresh mass and yield of the two lettuce cultivars. Fruit yield per plant and per area decreased and increased, respectively, as the density increased. LER was highest when cucumber was intercropped with ‘Vanda’ lettuce. LER increased with the density of ‘Vanda’ but decreased for ‘Lucy Brown’. ‘Lucy Brown’ produced commercial traits (head formation) only at the lowest density (55%). The presence of lettuce did not affect the cucumber yield per plant or per area. The intercropped system used land more efficiently than monocultured crops of lettuce and cucumber, with better results for ‘Vanda’ than ‘Lucy Brown’.

1986 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Newman

SUMMARYThe productivity, land equivalent ratios (LERs) and light use efficiency of a pear and radish interculture system were assessed. Pear yield was unaffected by intercropping. Relative yields for the radish component varied between 0.5–1.01 depending upon the yield index and spatial arrangement employed. This gave LER values for the system of 1.5–2.01. The overall trans-missivity of the pear canopy was 73%. A 47% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) gave a yield reduction of 65% in terms of number of saleable radish, but did not affect total dry matter productivity. Reductions in radish yield directly beneath pear trees was thought to be due to other factors besides PAR. The total dry matter productivity of a system containing five successive radish crops was estimated at 26.25 tonnes ha−1 yr−1.


FLORESTA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 227
Author(s):  
Otávio Dos Santos Limeira Luz ◽  
Thiago Gledson Rios Terra ◽  
Saulo De Oliveira Lima ◽  
Susana Cristine Siebeneichler ◽  
Cristiano Bueno de Moraes ◽  
...  

Combinations of species, cultivars, clones and structural arrangements are cited as possibilities that may determine the interactions between these system components and management, needing to be better understood, especially in relation to shading capacity. In this sense, the present study aims to evaluate the light interception of Eucalyptus spp. clones at different structural arrangements for integrated production systems. An experiment was installed in randomized blocks design with five replications, in factorial scheme 4 x 2. Four structural arrangements A1 = Triple row (3,5 x 3,5 x 3,5) + 88 m; A2 = Double row (3,5 x 3,5) + 44 m; A3 = Single row 4 x 22 m; and A4 = Single row 4 x 11 m and two hybrids clones of Eucalyptus urophylla x E. grandis. For the estimation of the luminosity characteristics, the CI-110 imager equipment was used for estimate: the leaf area index, the average leaf angle, the coefficient of transmission, the sunflecks and the photosynthetically active radiation. Data were analyzed by variance analysis and the averages of the values of characteristics were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The single row arrangement A4 promoted to the clones the greater shading capacity, characterized by high values of leaf area index, lower values of photosynthetically active radiation and by the densification of the arrangement of the other rows of alleys.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Mahdieh Rajaii ◽  
Mehdi DahMardeh

Order to study the effect of density, the control weed and various proportion corn (704 Variety) and peanut (Goli Variety) intercropping an experiment was conducted in 2012 in Research station of agriculture, University of Zabol. The experiment design was factorial in randomized complete block design with three replications. Experiment factors consisted of planting proportions in 4 levels (sole crop of corn, 50% corn + 50% peanut, 100% corn + 100% peanut and sole crop of peanut), control weed in 3 levels (non-weeding, once-weeding and twice-weeding) and the space between rows in 2 level (40 and 50 cm) has been considered. The evaluated Characteristics in environmental sources are (Photosynthetic Active Radiation, Temperature and soil Moisture), the nutrients of soil include (N, K, Na, Mg, Ca, and C) and to evaluate intercropping of pure was used land equivalent ratio and economical yield. All Characteristics of study were affected by planting system.There was significant interaction between planting system, weeding and density in the absorption of light, temperature and moisture of soil. The results showed that photosynthesis active radiation absorbed by the intercropping was higher than sole crop in both plants. The results showed that changes in soil nutrient capacity of single elements (Na and K) in the treatment of mixed and monoculture peanut was more than monoculture corn and divalent elements (Ca and Mg) in mixed and monoculture corn more than mixed replacement and peanut monoculture. The highest land equivalent ratio (1.048) was accounted additive intercropping. Generally the mixed cultures with increasing density and control weed caused increase soil fertility and amount of soil nutrients after harvest. Treatment 100% Corn +100% peanut was the best treatment because using sources and increasing soil fertility and crop yield in comparison to sole crop.


1980 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Rao ◽  
R. W. Willey

SUMMARYVarious intercrops were examined in an alternate row pattern with pigeonpea or sorghum on both Alfisol (red soil) and Vertisol (black soil). The slow-establishing and later-maturing pigeonpea combined well with earlier cereals and legumes to give very large yield advantages as measured by the Land Equivalent Ratio. In the pigeonpea/cereal combinations, the earlier the cereal the bigger the yield advantage tended to be, attributed to improved use of resources over time as the difference in maturity periods of the component crops increased. Sorghum was generally more competitive than pigeonpea and intercropping advantages tended to be less. But even where there was little difference in maturity periods of the component crops, both sorghum/legume and sorghum/cereal combinations gave substantial and statistically significant advantages, suggesting that improved ‘spatial’ use of resources was also important.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 46-55
Author(s):  
Michael Ojore Ijoyah ◽  
Felix Terna Fanen ◽  
Francis Doo Aindigh

A field experiment was conducted from August to November, during the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons at the Research Farm, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria, to identify the optimum plant density of okra and intercropping effects on yields of egusi melon-okra mixture and to assess the yield advantages of the intercropping system. The experiment was a 3x3 split plot arrangement of treatments, fitted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), replicated four times. The intercropping (sole egusi melon, sole okra and egusi melon-okra mixture) constituted the main plots, while the population densities of okra (33,000, 40,000 and 50,000 plants ha-1 equivalent) into egusi melon were allocated to the subplots. Results of study showed that to maximize intercrop yield of okra in an egusi melon-okra intercrop, the optimal population density of okra is 33,000 plants ha-1, while that of 40,000 plants ha-1 is optimal to maximize intercrop yield of egusi melon. Intercropping egusi melon and okra significantly (P≤0.05) reduced yields of egusi melon (37.5 % and 40.5 % respectively, in years 2012 and 2013) and that of okra (9.7 % and 16.9 % respectively, in years 2012 and 2013). The highest mean land equivalent ratio value of 1.57 and highest land equivalent coefficient values of 0.60 and 0.63 respectively, in years 2012 and 2013, were recorded for okra sown into egusi melon at the population density of 40,000 plants ha-1. It is most advantageous having both crops in intercrop when okra is sown into egusi melon at the population density of 40,000 plants ha-1. This should therefore be recommended for Makurdi location, Nigeria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hoehn ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
María Margallo ◽  
Israel Ruiz-Salmón ◽  
Francisco José Amo-Setién ◽  
...  

There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path.


Nature Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiji Hou ◽  
Thorsten Thiergart ◽  
Nathan Vannier ◽  
Fantin Mesny ◽  
Jörg Ziegler ◽  
...  

AbstractBidirectional root–shoot signalling is probably key in orchestrating stress responses and ensuring plant survival. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana responses to microbial root commensals and light are interconnected along a microbiota–root–shoot axis. Microbiota and light manipulation experiments in a gnotobiotic plant system reveal that low photosynthetically active radiation perceived by leaves induces long-distance modulation of root bacterial communities but not fungal or oomycete communities. Reciprocally, microbial commensals alleviate plant growth deficiency under low photosynthetically active radiation. This growth rescue was associated with reduced microbiota-induced aboveground defence responses and altered resistance to foliar pathogens compared with the control light condition. Inspection of a set of A. thaliana mutants reveals that this microbiota- and light-dependent growth–defence trade-off is directly explained by belowground bacterial community composition and requires the host transcriptional regulator MYC2. Our work indicates that aboveground stress responses in plants can be modulated by signals from microbial root commensals.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Adolfo Rosati ◽  
Damiano Marchionni ◽  
Dario Mantovani ◽  
Luigi Ponti ◽  
Franco Famiani

We quantified the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception in a high-density (HD) and a super high-density (SHD) or hedgerow olive system, by measuring the PAR transmitted under the canopy along transects at increasing distance from the tree rows. Transmitted PAR was measured every minute, then cumulated over the day and the season. The frequencies of the different PAR levels occurring during the day were calculated. SHD intercepted significantly but slightly less overall PAR than HD (0.57 ± 0.002 vs. 0.62 ± 0.03 of the PAR incident above the canopy) but had a much greater spatial variability of transmitted PAR (0.21 under the tree row, up to 0.59 in the alley center), compared to HD (range: 0.34–0.43). This corresponded to greater variability in the frequencies of daily PAR values, with the more shaded positions receiving greater frequencies of low PAR values. The much lower PAR level under the tree row in SHD, compared to any position in HD, implies greater self-shading in lower-canopy layers, despite similar overall interception. Therefore, knowing overall PAR interception does not allow an understanding of differences in PAR distribution on the ground and within the canopy and their possible effects on canopy radiation use efficiency (RUE) and performance, between different architectural systems.


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