Contribution of relay intercropping with legume cover crops on nitrogen dynamics in organic grain systems
Intercropping
Trifolium repens
DOI:
10.1007/s10705-013-9591-8
Publication Date:
2013-12-07T03:48:14Z
AUTHORS (4)
ABSTRACT
Nitrogen (N) management is a key issue in livestock-free organic grain systems. Relay intercropping with a legume cover crop can be a useful technique for improving N availability when two cash crops are grown successively. We evaluated the benefits of four relay intercropped legumes (Medicago lupulina, Medicago sativa, Trifolium pratense and Trifolium repens) on N dynamics and their contribution to the associated and subsequent cash crops in six fields of organic farms located in South-East France. None of the relay intercropped legumes affected the N uptake of the associated winter wheat but all significantly increased the N uptake of the succeeding spring crop, either maize or spring wheat. The improvement of the N nutrition of the subsequent maize crop induced a 30 % increase in grain yield. All relay intercropped legumes enriched the soil-plant system in N through symbiotic fixation. From 71 to 96 % of the N contained in the shoots of the legumes in late autumn was derived from the atmosphere (Ndfa) and varied between 38 and 67 kg Ndfa ha(-1). Even if the cover crop is expected to limit N leaching during wintertime, the presence of relay intercropped legumes had no significant effect on N leaching during winter compared to the control.
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