Best Row Ratio Combinations of Agronomic Crops in the Intercropping System: An Overview
Manthan Chaudhary *
School of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, RIMT University, Mandi Gobindgarh 147301 (Punjab), India.
Rajan Kumar
Department of Agronomy, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj 211007 (Uttar Pradesh), India.
Abhinav Yadav
Department of Agronomy, COA, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda 210001 (Uttar Pradesh), India.
Shravan Kumar Maurya
Department of Agronomy, COA, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur 208002 (Uttar Pradesh), India.
Sandeep Sahu
Department of Agronomy, COA, Banda University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda 210001 (Uttar Pradesh), India.
Ankit Tiwari
Department of Agronomy, COA, Sardar Vallabhbhai University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut 250110 (Uttar Pradesh), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The quality of soil and water, as well as the preservation of biodiversity, are negatively impacted by intensive agricultural systems. High biodiversity regulates how intercropping evolves. Contrastingly, monocultures are used in intensive agriculture systems, along with substantial inputs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. One strategy for boosting diversity in an agricultural ecosystem is intercropping. Intercropping systems improve environmental harmony, increased resource use efficiency, enhance the quantity and quality of goods, and less damage from pests, diseases, and weeds. Leguminosae family plants are preferable for intercropping even though they fix more biological nitrogen, thus enriching soil fertility. Intercropping is significant in many subsistence or low-input/resource-limited agricultural systems, which are on the periphery of modern intensive agriculture. Thus, opting for suitable combinations of crops with an optimum row ratio will be more profitable, ecologically sound, and economically viable.
Keywords: Intensive agriculture, intercropping, soil fertility, row ratio