Laboratory of Extremophile Plants, Centre of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, B.P. 901, Hammam-Lif, 2050, Tunisia.
Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis ElManar, Campus Universitaire El-Manar, Tunis, 2092, Tunisia.
BMC Plant Biol. 2024 Mar 1;24(1):158. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-04820-3.
Intercropping is an agriculture system used to enhance the efficiency of resource utilization and maximize crop yield grown under environmental stress such as salinity. Nevertheless, the impact of intercropping forage legumes with annual cereals on soil salinity remains unexplored. This research aimed to propose an intercropping system with alfalfa (Medicago sativa)/sea barley (Hordeum marinum) to explore its potential effects on plant productivity, nutrient uptake, and soil salinity.
The experiment involved three harvests of alfalfa and Hordeum marinum conducted under three cropping systems (sole, mixed, parallel) and subjected to salinity treatments (0 and 150 mM NaCl). Agronomical traits, nutrient uptake, and soil properties were analyzed.
revealed that the variation in the measured traits in both species was influenced by the cultivation mode, treatment, and the interaction between cultivation mode and treatment. The cultivation had the most significant impact. Moreover, the mixed culture (MC) significantly enhanced the H. marinum and M. sativa productivity increasing biomass yield and development growth under salinity compared to other systems, especially at the second harvest. Furthermore, both intercropping systems alleviated the nutrient uptake under salt stress, as noted by the highest levels of K/Na and Ca/Mg ratios compared to monoculture. However, the intercropping mode reduced the pH and the electroconductivity (CEC) of the salt soil and increased the percentage of organic matter and the total carbon mostly with the MC system.
Intercropped alfalfa and sea barely could mitigate the soil salinity, improve their yield productivity, and enhance nutrient uptake. Based on these findings, we suggest implementing the mixed-culture system for both target crops in arid and semi-arid regions, which further promotes sustainable agricultural practices.
间作是一种农业系统，用于提高资源利用效率，并在盐度等环境胁迫下最大限度地提高作物产量。然而，间作饲料豆类与一年生谷类作物对土壤盐度的影响尚未得到探索。本研究旨在提出一种紫花苜蓿（Medicago sativa）/海大麦（Hordeum marinum）的间作系统，以探讨其对植物生产力、养分吸收和土壤盐度的潜在影响。
本实验涉及三个紫花苜蓿和海大麦的收获期，在三种种植系统（单作、混作、平行）下进行，并进行盐度处理（0 和 150 mM NaCl）。分析了农艺性状、养分吸收和土壤特性。
表明，两种物种的测量性状的变化受种植方式、处理以及种植方式和处理之间的相互作用的影响。种植方式的影响最大。此外，与其他系统相比，混作（MC）在盐胁迫下显著提高了海大麦和紫花苜蓿的生产力，增加了生物量产量和生长发育，特别是在第二次收获时。此外，两种间作系统都缓解了盐胁迫下的养分吸收，与单作相比，K/Na 和 Ca/Mg 比值最高。然而，间作模式降低了盐渍土的 pH 值和电导率（CEC），并增加了有机质和总碳的百分比，主要是通过 MC 系统。
间作紫花苜蓿和海大麦可以减轻土壤盐度，提高产量和养分吸收。基于这些发现，我们建议在干旱和半干旱地区实施这两种目标作物的混作系统，进一步促进可持续农业实践。
