Abstract
Maize cultivation faces some challenges, particularly in terms of low biodiversity in fields. Since maize is a highly efficient and economic crop, it is cultivated on large areas in Germany, with a high share in crop rotation, especially where cattle farming takes place. Such landscapes provide less habitat and food resources for small vertebrates and arthropods. Intercropping maize with flowering partners might have a positive effect on the environment and might promote biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems. Therefore, in two-year field experiments on three sites in south-western Germany, plants were tested for their suitability as intercropping partners in maize crops (Medicago sativa, Melilotus officinalis, Vicia sativa, Tropaeolum majus, Cucurbita pepo, and Phaseolus vulgaris). Almost all tested partners produced flowers, except M. officinalis. Intercropping maize with P. vulgaris or T. majus achieved comparable dry matter yields as sole maize, without changes in the biomass quality. For maize-intercropping, site adapted weed control and practicable sowing technique are mandatory, which already exist for P. vulgaris and T. majus. The study shows that intercropping maize with biodiversity-enhancing flowering partners can provide an applicable alternative to sole maize cropping and enhance biodiversity. The large production areas of maize have great potential for ecological improvements in agriculture.
Highlights
Modern agriculture has to face several challenges in the decades
Maize row-intercropping with flowering plants represents an alternative to sole maize cropping, due to the fact that cropping partners can mitigate negative environmental impacts
Maize–squash could be an interesting alternative under mechanical weed control, while maize–nasturtium showed to be an alternative to sole maize cropping under conventional and organic farming, the maize–bean crop could be an option
Summary
Modern agriculture has to face several challenges in the decades. It has to secure an adequate supply of food, feed, fuel, and fiber for a growing world population under the current situation that 24 billion Mg of fertile soil are annually lost due to erosion, and an increasing land desertification [1,2].there is a loss of biodiversity, which is partly caused by expansion and intensification of modern agriculture [3]. Modern agriculture has to face several challenges in the decades. It has to secure an adequate supply of food, feed, fuel, and fiber for a growing world population under the current situation that 24 billion Mg of fertile soil are annually lost due to erosion, and an increasing land desertification [1,2]. There is a loss of biodiversity, which is partly caused by expansion and intensification of modern agriculture [3]. In landscapes dominated by agriculture, a loss of pollinators and wildflowers as their food resources among other things can be observed [4]. While 90% of the plants are dependent on animal pollination, 58 out of 130 crop pollinating bee species in the EU are threatened.
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