Maize/soybean intercropping increases nutrient uptake, crop yield and modifies soil physio-chemical characteristics and enzymatic activities in the subtropical humid region based in Southwest China

作者：Jamal Nasar, Munir Ahmad, Harun I. Gitari, Tang Li, Yuan Chen, Xun-Bo Zhou · 发表于：BMC Plant Biology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s12870-024-05061-0 · 被引用次数：59 · 研究领域：Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems、Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems、Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics

Abstract Intercropping, a widely adopted agricultural practice worldwide, aims to increase crop yield, enhance plant nutrient uptake, and optimize the utilization of natural resources, contributing to sustainable farming practices on a global scale. However, the underlying changes in soil physio-chemical characteristics and enzymatic activities, which contribute to crop yield and nutrient uptake in the intercropping systems are largely unknown. Consequently, a two-year (2021–2022) field experiment was conducted on the maize/soybean intercropping practices with/without nitrogen (N) fertilization (i.e., N 0 ; 0 N kg ha −1 and N 1 ; 225 N kg ha −1 for maize and 100 N kg ha −1 for soybean ) to know whether such cropping system can improve the nutrients uptake and crop yields, soil physio-chemical characteristics, and soil enzymes, which ultimately results in enhanced crop yield. The results revealed that maize intercropping treatments (i.e., N 0 MI and N 1 MI) had higher crop yield, biomass dry matter, and 1000-grain weight of maize than mono-cropping treatments (i.e., N 0 MM, and N 1 MM). Nonetheless, these parameters were optimized in N 1 MI treatments in both years. For instance, N 1 MI produced the maximum grain yield (10,105 and 11,705 kg ha −1 ), biomass dry matter (13,893 and 14,093 kg ha −1 ), and 1000-grain weight (420 and 449 g) of maize in the year 2021 and 2022, respectively. Conversely, soybean intercropping treatments (i.e., N 0 SI and N 1 SI) reduced such yield par...