Experiences with intercropping design – a survey about pulse cereal-combinations in Europe

Summary

A survey was carried out within five European countries with regard to the practice of cereal grain legume intercropping. The mostly given combination was spring barley-spring pea beside 27 other combinations between pulses and cereals. 72 % of all examples consisted of spring varieties, the rest of winter varieties, mainly a special case of the French South West with mild winter climate. Intercrops were mainly used for feeding purposes. Best experiences were named as better yield stability, effective weed suppression, and good quality of feed. Of the negative experiences complicated mechanical weed regulation, unequal maturation and additional costs for separation were mostly named. The interviewed farmers showed predominantly positive prospects for the development of intercropping on their farms, problems with sowing techniques were only of minor importance.