Intercropping is the agricultural practice of cultivating two or more crops in the same space at the same time (Andrews & Kassam 1976). A practice often associated with sustainable agriculture and organic farming, intercropping is one form of polyculture, using companion planting principles. It is commonly used in tropical parts of the world and by various indigenous peoples (Altieri 1991), but in the mechanized agriculture of Europe, North America, and parts of Asia it is far less widespread. Intercropping may benefit crop yield or the control of some kind of pest, or may have other agronomic benefits. Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. ... Organic cultivation of mixed vegetables in Capay, California. ... Polyculture is agriculture using multiple crops in the same space, in imitation of the diversity of natural ecosystems, and avoiding large stands of single crops, or monoculture. ... Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity. ... The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or fixed definition, but can be used about any ethnic group who inhabit the geographic region with which they have the earliest historical connection. ...

Design

In intercropping, there is often one main crop and one or more added crops, with the main crop being the one of primary importance because of economic or food production reasons. The two or more crops used in an intercrop may be from different species and different plant families, or they may simply be different varieties or cultivars of the same crop species, such as mixing two kinds of wheat seed in the same field. This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. Careful planning is required, taking into account the soil, climate, crops, and varieties. It is particularly important not have crops competing with each other for physical space, nutrients, water, or sunlight. Examples of intercropping strategies are planting a deep-rooted crop with a shallow-rooted crop, or planting a tall crop with a shorter crop that requires partial shade.

When crops are carefully selected, other agronomic benefits are also achieved. Lodging-prone plants (those that are prone to tip over in wind or heavy rain) may be given structural support by their companion crop (Trenbath 1976). Delicate or light sensitive plants may be given shade or protection, or otherwise wasted space can be utilized. An example is the tropical multi-tier system where coconut occupies the upper tier, banana the middle tier, and pineapple, ginger, or leguminous fodder, medicinal or aromatic plants occupy the lowest tier. Binomial name L. For other uses, see Coconut (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. ... Binomial name Zingiber officinale Roscoe Ginger is commonly used as a spice in cuisines throughout the world. ... Fodder growing from barley In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, including cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ...

Intercropping of compatible plants also encourages biodiversity, by providing a habitat for a variety of insects and soil organisms that would not be present in a single crop environment. This biodiversity can in turn help to limit outbreaks of crop pests (Altieri 1994) by increasing the diversity or abundance of natural enemies, such as spiders or parasitic wasps. Increasing the complexity of the crop environment through intercropping also limits the places where pests can find optimal foraging or reproductive conditions. Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ... Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species—more than all other animal groups combined. ... Soil biology is the study of microbial and faunal activity and ecology in soil. ... Diversity 111 families, 40,000 species Suborders Mesothelae Mygalomorphae Araneomorphae  See table of families Closeup image of a Wolf Spider Wikispecies has information related to: Spiders Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals that have two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. ...

Types of Intercropping

The degree of spatial and temporal overlap in the two crops can vary somewhat, but both requirements must be met for a cropping system to be an intercrop. Numerous types of intercropping, all of which vary the temporal and spatial mixture to some degree, have been identified (Andrews & Kassam 1976). These are some of the more significant types:

• Mixed intercropping, as the name implies, is the most basic form in which the component crops are totally mixed in the available space.
• Row cropping involves the component crops arranged in alternate rows. This may also be called alley cropping. A variation of row cropping is strip cropping, where multiple rows (or a strip) of one crop are alternated with multiple rows of another crop.
• Intercropping also uses the practice of sowing a fast growing crop with a slow growing crop, so that the fast growing crop is harvested before the slow growing crop starts to mature. This obviously involves some temporal separation of the two crops.
• Further temporal separation is found in relay cropping, where the second crop is sown during the growth (often near the onset of reproductive development or fruiting) of the first crop, so that the first crop is harvested to make room for the full development of the second.

See also

• home gardens
• companion planting
• forest gardening
• permaculture

Image:Indonesia home garden. ... Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is planting of different crops in close physical proximity. ... Forest gardening (also known as 3-Dimensional Gardening) is a food production and land management system based on replicating woodland ecosystems, substituting trees (such as fruit or nut trees), bushes, shrubs, herbs and vegetables which have yields directly useful to mankind. ... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ...

References

• Altieri, M.A. 1991. Traditional farming in Latin America. The Ecologist 21: 93-96.
• Altieri, M.A. 1994. Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems. Food Products Press, New York.
• Andrews, D.J., A.H. Kassam. 1976. The importance of multiple cropping in increasing world food supplies. pp. 1-10 in R.I. Papendick, A. Sanchez, G.B. Triplett (Eds.), Multiple Cropping. ASA Special Publication 27. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.
• Trenbath, B.R. 1976. Plant interactions in mixed cropping communities. pp. 129-169 in R.I. Papendick, A. Sanchez, G.B. Triplett (Eds.), Multiple Cropping. ASA Special Publication 27. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.