Intercropping as a method to increase resilience to drought
…Intercropping of plant species that show differences in water uptake depths can reduce competition for water and lead to a more efficient use of available water sources. Intercropping therefore can buffer climate change effects, and we have observed reduced chances of complete yield failure due to drought…
Yield stability in plant teams under extreme weather conditions
…We have developed a yield stability index that can be applied on farm or across a network of farms where the crops are produced as mixed or pure crops in a similar location. Our results indicate that a yield-stabilising effect of plant teams is less likely to occur in low-yielding environments and appears to become more likely as the growth conditions become more favourable for high yields…
Root overyielding and potential soil carbon benefits of plant teams
…Soil carbon sequestration is receiving attention as a key measure in climate mitigation and as a cornerstone of regenerative farming. Even small increases in root production per area could have a large impact, given the areas of farmland under cultivation. Plant teams appear to offer great potential for storing more carbon on European farmlands and thus provide a means to quickly scale up the EU’s ambition for obtaining climate neutrality by 2050…
Measuring biodiversity in plant teams
…Knowing about biodiversity on your farm enables communication with customers, colleagues, and friends about how you are working with biodiversity. Farming systems can be incredibly diverse – yet we all need to find ways to conserve and improve farmland biodiversity and ensure that the ecosystems services that it provides remain for generations to come. The simple methods described here can be used to give you an estimate of how much biodiversity there is in a certain area of your farm…
How can agricultural policy recognise the benefits of plant teams?
…Intercropping is one of the cropping systems that could respond to policy targets, particularly relating to three areas: input reduction (pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers), increasing agro-biodiversity and diversification, climate adaptation and resilience. A close interaction between farmers and farmers’ associations and EU/UK regional representatives will be necessary to foster the spread of intercropping systems. On-farm trials will encourage adoption and spread and should be supported…
