Cereal-legume intercropping: how cultivar, environment, and management shape performance - IntercropVALUES Practice Abstract

Summary

G*G*E*M interactions indicate that genotype suitability is highly environment- and management-specific, demanding integrated breeding and agronomic approaches. Disentangling these interactions provides a framework for designing resilient and productive intercrops tailored to local agroecological conditions, con-tributing to more sustainable cropping systems.
Practical recommendations
Considerations for cultivar choice:
o Cereal and legume cultivars for intercropping systems should be carefully selected to maximise complementarity and cooperation, while reducing competition to optimise intercrop performance
o Cultivar selection criteria may include many traits, such as species growth synchronisation, espe-cially at maturity, abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, growth habit, cultivar vigour, lodging re-sistance, and other morphological aspects such as leaf size and plant and root architecture
o Crop cultivars can be highly plastic in their response and can adapt to their growing environments
o Differential sowing densities of the two crop species will affect crop interactions and individual crop species performance
Recommendations:
o Farmers should test several cultivar mixtures and sowing densities under their own conditions, while considering experiences and recommendations from other farmers and external advisors
o Integrated breeding approaches for cultivars better suited for intercropping should be encouraged and supported through research and policy.