Abstract
The main goal of our research was to compare the mixed intercropping (MC) of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) and white clover (Trifolium repens) with the sole cropping of Triticum aestivum, during two growing seasons (2012–2014), in a lysimetric experiment. We aimed to investigate the effect of the above growing system on total biomass production, grain yield and leaching of mineral nitrogen (Nmin). Four variants of intercropping (0 kg N/ha; 112 kg N/ha; 112 kg N/ha + 1.25 L of humic acids/ha; 70 kg N + 0.65 L of humic acids/ha) and two variants of sole cropping (0 kg N/ha; 140 kg N/ha) were used. Research results showed a good potential for growing wheat in the mixed cropping system without any negative effect on grain and total biomass production. No significant differences were found between the variants where winter wheat was grown with white clover (70 and 112 kg N/ha), and variants with sole wheat (140 kg N/ha), in both years of the experiment. The loss of Nmin from the soil was affected by the application of N fertilizer and mixed intercropping system. During the experiment, the loss of Nmin was higher by 20% in the variant using the sole winter wheat (140 kg N/ha), than in the MC variants.
Highlights
IntroductionThe global challenge to meet the increased food demand and to protect the quality of the environment will be won or lost by the growing systems producing corn, rice and wheat [1]
The global challenge to meet the increased food demand and to protect the quality of the environment will be won or lost by the growing systems producing corn, rice and wheat [1].Intensive agriculture provides high yields but can cause serious environmental problems [2]
These were divided into two groups: sole crops (SC) and mixed crops (MC), with different doses of fertilizers (Table 1)
Summary
The global challenge to meet the increased food demand and to protect the quality of the environment will be won or lost by the growing systems producing corn, rice and wheat [1]. Intensive agriculture provides high yields but can cause serious environmental problems [2]. The development of new agricultural practices to meet the growing global demand for food disrupted the N cycle within agro-ecosystems [3]. The excessive application of N mineral fertilizers causes serious problems [5]. During the 20th century, farmers around the world replaced leguminous crops as a natural source of N with synthetic fertilizers [7,8]. Today’s food and energy production are not feasible without the use of N synthetic fertilizers [8]. To sustain global food supply, nearly 100 million tons of N are produced annually using the Haber-Bosch process [9]
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