Abstract
Agroforestry is a common traditional practice in China, especially in Southern Xinjiang, Northwest China. However, the productivity of many agroforestry systems has been lower than expected in recent years. We chose an apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.)/wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) intercropping system to investigate the influence of apricot tree shade intensity on the grain yield and quality of intercropping wheat in Southern Xinjiang Province. We found that the mean daily light intensity in the east-row, inter-row, and west-row positions (apricot trees were planted in north–south orientation) in the intercropping systems decreased by 61.5%, 42.2%, and 63.6%, respectively, compared to the monoculture wheat. Correspondingly, the mean daily photosynthesis rate decreased by 52.0%, 28.4%, and 38.8%, respectively. The total florets, fertile florets, total spikelets, fertile spikelets, and grain yield and its components (including spike number, grains per spike, and thousand grain weight), and the total N and P contents of intercropping wheat in apricot-based intercropping systems were all significantly decreased compared to monoculture wheat. However, the protein content and wet gluten content of intercropped wheat were significantly increased compared to monoculture wheat. We did not find significant differences in any parameters among east-row, inter-row, and west-row positions in intercropping systems.
Highlights
Agroforestry is an effective approach for land use, because the net effect of interactions between woody and herbaceous components is typically positive over the long term
transmitted PAR (TPAR), which indicates the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) transmitted by fruit trees and wheat canopy and getting to the ground, was significantly lower than PAR, and all TPAR values were lower than 200 lmol m-2 s-1 (Fig. 2b)
We found that stalk biomass of intercropped wheat was highly reduced by apricot tree shading during the whole growth period, but there were no significant differences in stalk biomass among east-row, interrow, and west-row positions (Fig. 4)
Summary
Agroforestry is an effective approach for land use, because the net effect of interactions between woody and herbaceous components is typically positive over the long term. Intercropping of trees with crops has been practiced in China for centuries and is an important method for ensuring food security (Yang et al 2009; Hong et al 2017). In the Loess Plateau region, young fruit trees and annual crops are a widely used agroforestry system for reducing soil erosion and water loss, and increasing economic benefits (Gao et al 2013). In most tree-based intercropping systems, competition for light between trees and crops is the main reason which caused the reduction in crop yield (Artru et al 2017). In apple-based intercropping systems, the total aboveground biomass and yield of peanut and soybean had highly linear correlations with PAR (Gao et al 2013). In Xinjiang Province, the understory seed cotton yield under almond trees decreased by 66.9%, compared to monoculture cotton (Yang et al 2009). Jose et al (2000) observed that maize yields were reduced by 35% when alley-cropped with black walnut
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