In order to examine the advantages for the producer and the environment, corn and soybeans were intercropped in a production agriculture setting for this study.
Sugarcane and soybean intercropping increased the dry weight of biomass and yield by 35.44 and 30.57% for sugarcane, respectively, and lowered them by 16.12 and 9.53% (weight in 100 grains) for soybean, according to the findings.
The pea family’s leguminous vegetable soybean thrives in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions. Around the northeast of China, soybeans were domesticated in the 11th century BC. It is thought that Chinese traders who travelled along Africa’s east coast in the 19th century may have brought it to the continent.
Importance of soybean intercroping
The act of planting many crops simultaneously in the same field is known as intercropping. This is not a typical method in Midwest agriculture; instead, the detrimental effects of monoculture farming on the environment have drawn attention to present monoculture practises.
In order to examine the advantages for the producer and the environment, corn and soybeans were intercropped in a production agriculture setting for this study. Crop intercropping between corn and soybeans may minimise the requirement for additional nitrogen.
On plant growth, yield, enzyme activity, nitrogen and phosphorus contents, and the number of soil microbes in the rhizosphere, the effects of intercropping sugarcane and soybean were examined. The nitrogenase activity of intercropping soybean nodules was significantly increased by 57.4 % as compared with that in monoculture models.
In comparison to the monoculture models, the urease activities of the intercropped sugarcane and soybean were enhanced by 89 and 81%, respectively. When compared to those of the intercropped sugarcane and soybean, the effective nitrogen and phosphorus levels of the rhizospheric soil were enhanced by 66 and 311.7%, respectively.
Small-scale farmers in developing nations often discuss and use the intercropping of soybeans and sugarcane as a technique, and farmers in nations that produce sugarcane, such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India, can take advantage of this practise.
China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, South Africa, and Mauritius.Intercropping has been widely used by smallholder sugarcane farmers to raise crop yields, soil fertility, control annual weeds and insect pest populations, and increase the diversity of beneficial arachnids.
Scientists have identified a broad variety of monocotyledons and dicotyledons, including cereals, beans, pepper, coriander, potato, onion, soybean, lentil, peanut, and oilseeds, which are employed by regional farmers as intercropped sugarcane by local farmers.
Effect of intercropping :
We looked into how a soybean plantation on sugarcane affected plant development, yield, enzyme activity, nitrogen and phosphorus levels, and the number of microbes in the soil’s rhizosphere.
Findings revealed that under sugarcane/soybean intercropping, the dry weight of biomass and yield increased by 35.44 and 30.57% for sugarcane, respectively, and dropped by 16.12 and 9.53% (weight in 100 grains) for soybean.
When compared to monoculture models, the nitrogenase activity of intercropping soybean nodules was significantly higher by 57.4%. In comparison to the monoculture models, the urease activities of the intercropped sugarcane and soybean were enhanced by 89 and 81%, respectively.
Nutritional value of soil:
As compared to the monoculture system, the effective nitrogen and phosphorus levels of the rhizospheric soil of the intercrops sugarcane and soybean increased by 66 and 311.7%, respectively. In contrast to the monoculture models, the intercropping strategy greatly boosted the number of microbes in the rhizosphere soil.
In the intercropping sugarcane, the amounts of bacteria, fungus, and actinomyces grew by 42.62, 14.5, and 78.5%, respectively, whereas the intercropping soybean had increases of 188, 183, and 73%. As a result, cultivating sugarcane alongside soybeans can be regarded as a smart agricultural management strategy that helps to encourage plant development and yield as well as boost soil nutrients.