Abstract
ABSTRACT Vegetable intercropping systems use complementarity between species to increase agricultural profitability. This study evaluated the effects of intercropping chicory and arugula species with collard greens on crop yield and land use efficiency (LUE). Six treatments, consisting of species planted as monocultures or intercropped in various combinations, were evaluated in a randomized block design with four replicates. The cultivars ‘Top Bunch’ (collard greens), ‘Pão de Açúcar’ (chicory) and ‘Folha Larga’ (arugula) were used. The yield of collard greens in monoculture did not differ from those obtained when they were intercropped with chicory, arugula, or both species, whereas chicory and arugula yields were higher in monoculture. However, even with yield losses for chicory and arugula in intercropping, LUE indices were greater than 1.0 in all intercropping systems, indicating their viability. The highest LUE index (2.41) was obtained in the chicory-arugula-collard green intercropping system.
Highlights
The growth of the world’s population is increasing the demand for food and food security
Brazil has a wide variety of leafy vegetables, produced predominantly in conventional systems; intercropping systems have been the subject of numerous studies and are demonstrated to be sustainable and profitable enhancers of land use efficiency when adopted by farmers (BARBOSA; MALDONADO JÚNIOR, 2015; NASCIMENTO; NASCIMENTO; CECÍLIO FILHO, 2018, GUIMARÃES et al, 2020)
The presence of chicory and/or arugula did not influence collard green yield
Summary
The growth of the world’s population is increasing the demand for food and food security. Intercropping allows the simultaneous cultivation of two or more species in the same area (LAYEK et al, 2018), improving agricultural sustainability (PEREIRA; CECÍLIO FILHO; LA SCALA JR, 2021). Brazil has a wide variety of leafy vegetables, produced predominantly in conventional systems; intercropping systems have been the subject of numerous studies and are demonstrated to be sustainable and profitable enhancers of land use efficiency when adopted by farmers (BARBOSA; MALDONADO JÚNIOR, 2015; NASCIMENTO; NASCIMENTO; CECÍLIO FILHO, 2018, GUIMARÃES et al, 2020). This study evaluated the agronomic performance and land use efficiency (LUE) of a collard greens-chicory-arugula intercropping system in order to better understand the responses of these crops when grown in this cropping system. The expectation was that the intercropping of these three species would promote higher LUE
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