Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-23T01:00:25.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Can living mulches in intercropping systems reduce the potential nitrate leaching? Studies of organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis) and leek (Allium porrum L.) production across European conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Yue Xie ,
Fabio Tittarelli ,
Peter von Fragstein ,
Martina Bavec ,
Stefano Canali  and
Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen
Yue Xie
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Fabio Tittarelli
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro per lo studio delle relazioni tra pianta e suolo, Rome, Italy.
Peter von Fragstein
Affiliation:
Department of Organic Vegetable Production, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.
Martina Bavec
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia.
Stefano Canali
Affiliation:
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, Centro per lo studio delle relazioni tra pianta e suolo, Rome, Italy.
Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen*
Affiliation:
Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
*
*Corresponding author: hanne.kristensen@food.au.dk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The effect of introduction strategy for living mulches (LMs) to reduce the potential nitrate leaching was investigated when grown with vegetables with high nitrogen (N) demand and low use efficiency in four European countries: Italy, Slovenia, Germany and Denmark over 2 yr. The plant N uptake and soil nitrate N content at harvest, in the autumn, and in the following spring were measured below open-pollinated and hybrid cultivars of cauliflower and leek crops. The cultivars performed differently over the 2 yr. In Italy and Slovenia, when LM of burr medic or white clover was broad sown (addition design ADD) at the same time as crop transplanting, the N uptake of crops was hampered without increasing the total aboveground N accumulation. Delaying LM sowing by 2.5–4 weeks maintained the N uptake of crops. In Germany, delaying white clover sowing for a month in cauliflower reduced soil nitrate at the start of leaching by 17–33 kg N ha−1 in the ADD design and 25 kg N ha−1 in the substitution design (SUB), where rows of cash crops were replaced by rows of LM. An overwintering LM of grass–clover incorporated in strips and root pruned decreased soil nitrate at the start of the leaching period by 35 kg N ha−1 in cauliflower, and in leek, an LM of dyer's woad decreased the soil nitrate by 55 kg N ha−1 at harvest and 30 kg N ha−1 at the start of leaching. The effect of delayed LM sowing depended on the LM species and system design. Overall, the SUB and ADD designs showed potential to reduce nitrate leaching, whereas the ADD design had stronger competition against either cash crop or LM. The key to reduce soil nitrate N without jeopardizing crop yields may be to identify suitable growing periods, sometimes combined with root pruning, for each LM species and system design. The LM introduction strategy can be used to control competition and reduce the potential leaching, but the performance depends on the intensity of the interspecific competition and the local conditions.

Keywords

vegetablesinterspecific competitionnitrogensowing datessubstitution design
Type
Themed Content: Living Mulch
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 32 , Special Issue 3: Living Mulch , June 2017 , pp. 224 - 239
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abad, A., Lloveras, J., and Michelena, A. 2004. Nitrogen fertilization and foliar urea effects on durum wheat yield and quality and on residual soil nitrate in irrigated Mediterranean conditions. Field Crops Research 87:257–269.Google Scholar
Babiker, I.S., Mohamed, M.a.A., Terao, H., Kato, K., and Ohta, K. 2004. Assessment of groundwater contamination by nitrate leaching from intensive vegetable cultivation using geographical information system. Environment International 29:1009–1017.Google Scholar
Båth, B., Kristensen, H.L., and Thorup-Kristensen, K. 2008. Root pruning reduces root competition and increases crop growth in a living mulch cropping system. Journal of Plant Interactions 3:211–221.Google Scholar
Bedoussac, L., Journet, E.-P., Hauggaard-Nielsen, H., Naudin, C., Corre-Hellou, G., Jensen, E.S., Prieur, L., and Justes, E. 2015. Ecological principles underlying the increase of productivity achieved by cereal–grain legume intercrops in organic farming. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 35:911–935.Google Scholar
Bedoussac, L. and Justes, E. 2010. The efficiency of a durum wheat-winter pea intercrop to improve yield and wheat grain protein concentration depends on N availability during early growth. Plant and Soil 330:19–35.Google Scholar
Benoit, M., Garnier, J., Anglade, J., and Billen, G. 2014. Nitrate leaching from organic and conventional arable crop farms in the Seine Basin (France). Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 100:285–299.Google Scholar
Brainard, D.C. and Bellinder, R.R. 2004. Weed suppression in a broccoli-winter rye intercropping system. Weed Science 52:281–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campiglia, E., Mancinelli, R., Radicetti, E., and Caporali, F. 2010. Effect of cover crops and mulches on weed control and nitrogen fertilization in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Crop Protection 29:354–363.Google Scholar
Carof, M., De Tourdonnet, S., Saulas, P., Le Floch, D., and Roger-Estrade, J. 2007. Undersowing wheat with different living mulches in a no-till system. II. Competition for light and nitrogen. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 27:357–365.Google Scholar
De Neve, S., Dieltjens, I., Moreels, E., and Hofman, G. 2003. Measured and simulated nitrate leaching on an organic and a conventional mixed farm. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 21:217–229.Google Scholar
De Neve, S. and Hofman, G. 1998. N mineralization and nitrate leaching from vegetable crop residues under field conditions: A model evaluation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30:2067–2075.Google Scholar
Den Hollander, N.G., Bastiaans, L., and Kropff, M.J. 2007. Clover as a cover crop for weed suppression in an intercropping design. II. Competitive ability of several clover species. European Journal of Agronomy 26:104–112.Google Scholar
De Paz, J.M. and Ramos, C. 2004. Simulation of nitrate leaching for different nitrogen fertilization rates in a region of Valencia (Spain) using a GIS–GLEAMS system. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 103:59–73.Google Scholar
Evans, P.S. 1978. Plant root distribution and water use patterns of some pasture and crop species. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 21:261–265.Google Scholar
Everaarts, A., De Moel, C., and Van Noordwijk, M. 1996. The effect of nitrogen and the method of application on nitrogen uptake of cauliflower and on nitrogen in crop residues and soil at harvest. NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences 44:43–55.Google Scholar
Fernandez, A.L., Sheaffer, C.C., and Wyse, D.L. 2015. Productivity of field pea and lentil with cereal and Brassica intercrops. Agronomy Journal 107:249–256.Google Scholar
Herrera, J.M., Feil, B., Stamp, P., and Liedgens, M. 2010. Root growth and nitrate-nitrogen leaching of catch crops following spring wheat. Journal of Environmental Quality 39:845–854.Google Scholar
Kolota, E. and Adamczewska-Sowinska, K. 2004. The effects of living mulches on yield, overwintering and biological value of leek. ISHS Acta Horticulturae 638:209–214.Google Scholar
Kristensen, H.L. and Thorup-Kristensen, K. 2007. Effects of vertical distribution of soil inorganic nitrogen on root growth and subsequent nitrogen uptake by field vegetable crops. Soil Use and Management 23:338–347.Google Scholar
Lotz, L.a.P., Groeneveld, R.M.W., Theunissen, J., and Van Den Broek, R. 1997. Yield losses of white cabbage caused by competition with clovers grown as cover crop. Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science 45:393–405.Google Scholar
Mahon, J.D. and Child, J.J. 1979. Growth response of inoculated peas (Pisum sativum) to combined nitrogen. Canadian Journal of Botany 57:1687–1693.Google Scholar
Manevski, K., Børgesen, C.D., Andersen, M.N., and Kristensen, I.S. 2015. Reduced nitrogen leaching by intercropping maize with red fescue on sandy soils in North Europe: A combined field and modeling study. Plant and Soil 388:67–85.Google Scholar
Mariotti, M., Masoni, A., Ercoli, L., and Arduini, I. 2015. Nitrogen leaching and residual effect of barley/field bean intercropping. Plant, Soil and Environment 61:60–65.Google Scholar
Müller-Schärer, H. 1996. Interplanting ryegrass in winter leek: Effect on weed control, crop yield and allocation of N-fertiliser. Crop Protection 15:641–648.Google Scholar
Picard, D., Ghiloufi, M., Saulas, P., and De Tourdonnet, S. 2010. Does undersowing winter wheat with a cover crop increase competition for resources and is it compatible with high yield? Field Crops Research 115:9–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, X.-Z., Zhao, C.-X., Wang, X.-L., and Li, J. 2009. Study of nitrate leaching and nitrogen fate under intensive vegetable production pattern in northern China. Comptes Rendus Biologies 332:385–392.Google Scholar
Theriault, F., Stewart, K.A., and Seguin, P. 2009. Use of perennial legumes living mulches and green manures for the fertilization of organic broccoli. International Journal of Vegetable Science 15:142–157.Google Scholar
Thorup-Kristensen, K. 1994. The effect of nitrogen catch crop species on the nitrogen nutrition of succeeding crops. Fertilizer Research 37:227–234.Google Scholar
Thorup-Kristensen, K. 2006. Effect of deep and shallow root systems on the dynamics of soil inorganic N during 3-year crop rotations. Plant and Soil 288:233–248.Google Scholar
Thorup-Kristensen, K., Dresboll, D.B., and Kristensen, H.L. 2012. Crop yield, root growth, and nutrient dynamics in a conventional and three organic cropping systems with different levels of external inputs and N re-cycling through fertility building crops. European Journal of Agronomy 37:66–82.Google Scholar
Thorup-Kristensen, K. and Rasmussen, C.R. 2015. Identifying new deep-rooted plant species suitable as undersown nitrogen catch crops. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 70:399–409.Google Scholar
Uchino, H., Iwama, K., Jitsuyama, Y., Yudate, T., and Nakamura, S. 2009. Yield losses of soybean and maize by competition with interseeded cover crops and weeds in organic-based cropping systems. Field Crops Research 113:342–351.Google Scholar
Vos, J. and Van Der Putten, P.E.L. 1997. Field observations on nitrogen catch crops .1. Potential and actual growth and nitrogen accumulation in relation to sowing date and crop species. Plant and Soil 195:299–309.Google Scholar
Vos, J. and Van Der Putten, P.E.L. 2004. Nutrient cycling in a cropping system with potato, spring wheat, sugar beet, oats and nitrogen catch crops. II. Effect of catch crops on nitrate leaching in autumn and winter. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 70:23–31.Google Scholar
Whitmore, A.P. and Schröder, J.J. 2007. Intercropping reduces nitrate leaching from under field crops without loss of yield: A modelling study. European Journal of Agronomy 27:81–88.Google Scholar
Wyland, L.J., Jackson, L.E., Chaney, W.E., Klonsky, K., Koike, S.T., and Kimple, B. 1996. Winter cover crops in a vegetable cropping system: Impacts on nitrate leaching, soil water, crop yield, pests and management costs. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 59:1–17.Google Scholar
Xie, Y. and Kristensen, H.L. 2016. Overwintering grass-clover as intercrop and moderately reduced nitrogen fertilization maintain yield and reduce the risk of nitrate leaching in an organic cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) agroecosystem. Scientia Horticulturae 206:71–79.Google Scholar