Associated cultures

Technical articles - Erosion TTool - Érosion des sols

Field crops Field crops Erosion TTool

Illustration of the practice of intercropping within the serious game Erosion TTOOL. Credit: Delphine Hombrouckx

This involves cultivating 2 or more plant species on the same plot and during at least one common growing season.

Description

Advantages

• Protection of the topsoil and limitation of erosion.
• Increase in productivity per hectare.
• Limitation of weeds (especially valid for cereals / legumes associations compared to pure legume crops).
• Increase in biodiversity (macrofauna).

Disadvantages

• Competition between plant species for nutrients, water, and sunlight.
• Issues related to sorting during the simultaneous harvest of different species.

Recommendations

• This choice is very useful for large-scale crop farms in Organic farming as it helps to secure production, limit weeds and pests.
• Associated species must be complementary in resource use and limit competition between them. They can be annual, perennial or perennial.
• Choice of species and varieties: Depends on harvest and sowing periods according to the intended use as well as compatibility between plant species. It is not recommended to associate species from the same botanical family as they are likely to compete strongly with each other.
• A common intercropping: Cereal + legume. The fixation of atmospheric nitrogen performed by the Fabaceae (legume) benefits the cereal whose protein content would be higher (by +0.7 to +1.1% for soft wheat associated with a legume). At the same time, the legume can use the cereal as a support, making it less susceptible to certain diseases such as lodging and also easier to harvest.