Restoring the Importance of Cereal-Grain Legume Mixtures in Low-Input Farming Systems

Differences for traits associated with early N acquisition in a grain legume and early complementarity in grain legume–triticale mixtures

Early strategies of crop growth and N acquisition can be critical for determining competitive interactions between weeds and crops. Grain legumes and especially lupins are known to be poor competitors against weeds. Grain legumes are known to have low mineral soil N uptake abilities. However, inter- and intraspecific differences in N uptake ability in relation to below-ground traits have receiv...

Grain legume–cereal intercropping: The practical application of diversity, competition and facilitation in arable and organic cropping systems

Intercropping is the simultaneous cultivation of more than one crop species on the same piece of land and is regarded as the practical application of basic ecological principles such as diversity, competition and facilitation. Field experiments were carried out on a sandy loam soil and a sandy soil in Denmark over three consecutive cropping seasons including dual grain legume (pea, faba bean an...

Sustainable, low-input, warm-season, grass–legume grassland mixtures: mission (nearly) impossible?

Grazing lands in warm-temperate and subtropical North America have become less diverse. Pastures are typically grass monocultures, while rangelands are generally managed for the grass components. Overstocking, selective herbicides, fire exclusion and heavy rates of nitrogen fertilizer have contributed to near exclusion of native, warm-season legumes. The simplicity of managing grass monoculture...

The importance of legumes in cereal cropping systems

Grain yield increase in cereal variety mixtures: A meta-analysis of field trials

Plant ecology theory predicts that growing seed mixtures of varieties (variety mixtures) may increase grain yields compared to the average of component varieties in pure stands. Published results from field trials of cereal variety mixtures demonstrate, however, both positive and negative effects on grain yield. To investigate the prevalence and preconditions for positive mixing effects, report...