Root growth and belowground interactions in spring wheat / faba bean intercrops

Hadir Sofia, Döring Thomas, Justes Eric, Demie Dereje T., Paul Madhuri, Legner Nicole, Kemper Roman, Gaiser Thomas, Weedon Odette, Ewert Franck, Seidel Sabine I.. 2024. Root growth and belowground interactions in spring wheat / faba bean intercrops. Plant and Soil, 20 p.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-024-06742-3

Article de revue ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Résumé : Background and aims: Intercrops offer multiple advantages over sole crops. The aim of our study was to characterize root growth and interactions in spring wheat/faba bean intercrops to better understand belowground interactions that govern resource capture. Materials and methods: A field experiment was conducted with one faba bean cultivar and two spring wheat cultivars sown at three sowing densities, defining three intercropping designs. Destructive root coring was conducted (0–100 cm) in the intercrops and sole crops at two development stages. FTIR spectroscopy was used to discriminate the species' root masses. The plant-plant interaction index was calculated to represent the belowground interactions. Results: A negative impact of intercropping on total root mass was observed in the treatment with high sowing density in both stages. For the fully and partial replacement design treatments, plant-plant facilitation was more pronounced than competition in all layers. Competition dominated root growth in the treatment with high sowing density in both stages. Lower sowing densities encouraged deep root growth of wheat (both cultivars) in intercropping. The early root growth in depth and in density of one spring wheat cultivar impacted negatively faba bean root growth. Intercropping resulted in a grain yield advantage in both fully and only one partial replacement design treatment. Conclusion: In the intercrops, total root mass and plant-plant interactions were affected more by sowing density than by the spring wheat cultivar. Understanding the effect of sowing density on root growth in intercropping can help to support the design of sustainable intercropping systems.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : culture intercalaire, blé de printemps, système racinaire, croissance, rendement des cultures, plante racine, racine, enracinement, variété, fève

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : France

Mots-clés libres : Intercropping, FTIR spectroscopy, Crop mixture, Land Equivalent Ratio, Root carbon and nitrogen

Agences de financement européennes : European Commission

Agences de financement hors UE : Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft

Projets sur financement : (DEU) Sustainable Subsoil Management-Soil3, (EU) IntercropValuES

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