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Agronomy
Special Issues
Promoting Intercropping Systems in Sustainable Agriculture—2nd Edition
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Promoting Intercropping Systems in Sustainable Agriculture—2nd Edition

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1336

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Christos A. Dordas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Agronomy, School of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: cropping systems; intercropping; sustainable agriculture; ecological intensification; response of plants to abiotic stress; climate change; bioeconomy; sustainable utilization of resources; precision agriculture; phenotyping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Intercropping is a system where two or more crop species or genotypes are grown in the same space at the same time. Intercropping is a system that promotes ecological intensification as it increases the biodiversity of cropping systems by increasing the number of cultivated species and, especially, by increasing the proportion of legumes. Thus, intercropping systems have received great attention over the last decade because of their advantages; however, they have significant disadvantages that make it difficult for them to be adapted by farmers.

This Special Issue aims to promote the use of intercropping in cropping systems and invites original research, reviews, and meta-analyses concerning all aspects of intercropping, such as agronomy, modeling, plant physiology, genetics, and plant breeding for intercropping, weed and pest management, bioeconomy and circular agriculture, agroecology, precision agriculture, phenotyping, etc.

Prof. Dr. Christos A. Dordas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • organic farming
  • cropping systems
  • conservation agriculture
  • water management
  • cover crops
  • ecological intensification
  • modeling
  • climate change
  • ecosystem services

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7651 KiB  
Article
Potential for Enhancing Seed Yield and Quality of Spring Oat and Hull-Less Barley Through Intercropping with Pea Under the Pannonian Climate
by Radivoje Jevtić, Vesna Župunski, Ljiljana Brbaklić, Dragan Živančev, Anja Dolapčev Rakić, Vladimir Aćin, Sanja Mikić and Branka Orbović
Agronomy 2025, 15(6), 1349; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15061349 (registering DOI) - 30 May 2025
Abstract
The limited understanding of the factors that influence intercrop component performance continues to constrain the widespread adoption of intercropping systems. This study examined the relationships between dry yield, yield components, thousand kernel weight (TKW), hectoliter weight (HLW), and crude protein content in spring [...] Read more.
The limited understanding of the factors that influence intercrop component performance continues to constrain the widespread adoption of intercropping systems. This study examined the relationships between dry yield, yield components, thousand kernel weight (TKW), hectoliter weight (HLW), and crude protein content in spring oat and hull-less barley using principal component analysis with mix data (PCA mix), general linear modeling (GLM), and regression analysis. Results showed that the total intercropping yield of spring oat and pea can match that of oat pure stands. Year, cropping system, and their interaction had significant effects on total dry yield (p < 0.001). Spring oat showed more stable seed quality across years and cultivation systems but had lower crude protein content, TKW, and HLW compared to hull-less barley. TKW and crude protein content were significantly influenced by year, crop species, and their interactions (p < 0.001), as well as cultivation practice*year interaction (p < 0.001), while cultivation practice had no significant effect on HLW (p = 0.904). A stronger negative correlation between dry yield and crude protein was observed in hull-less barley (R2 > 57.8%) than in oat (R2 < 13.9%), indicating higher protein yield trade-offs in barley. The dry yield–TKW relationship was negative in barley, reaching an R2 of 52% in 2023, but it was positive in oat (R2 = 26.6% in 2023; 28% in 2024), confirming crop-specific physiological responses under the same agro-ecological conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Intercropping Systems in Sustainable Agriculture—2nd Edition)
20 pages, 1698 KiB  
Article
Crop Growth Analysis of Autumn- and Spring-Sown Wheat–Pea Intercrops
by Reinhard W. Neugschwandtner, Patrick Herz, Alexander Böck, Helmut Wagentristl, Gerhard Moitzi, Agnieszka Klimek-Kopyra, Jaroslav Bernas, Tomáš Lošák, Mohammad Ghorbani, Elnaz Amirahmadi, Kuanysh K. Zholamanov and Hans-Peter Kaul
Agronomy 2025, 15(2), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020477 - 16 Feb 2025
Viewed by 872
Abstract
Intercropping of arable crops might provide yield benefits over monocrops. To assess the effect of sowing date and sowing ratio on biomass formation and competition over time, a two-year field experiment with wheat and pea plants was performed in Eastern Austria with two [...] Read more.
Intercropping of arable crops might provide yield benefits over monocrops. To assess the effect of sowing date and sowing ratio on biomass formation and competition over time, a two-year field experiment with wheat and pea plants was performed in Eastern Austria with two sowing times (autumn vs. spring) and with the following substitutive wheat–pea sowing ratios (%:%): 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 12.5:87.5 and 0:100. For both crops, facultative cultivars were used. Compared to spring-sowing, autumn-sowing resulted in earlier development of plants, taller plants, faster soil coverage, a higher crop growth rate up to mid-May in the first year and early June in the second year, more above-ground dry matter production and in the second year also in a higher land equivalent ratio (LER) of intercrops. Sowing ratios affected absolute and relative growth rates of wheat and pea plants. Wheat, which was generally the stronger partner in the intercrops, out-competed pea plants in all intercrops in the first year due to a higher early crop growth rate and in the second year, when the monocrop biomass of wheat was lower than that of pea plants, even in the intercrops with lower wheat and higher pea share. All intercrops resulted in a yield advantage compared to the monocrops as indicated by the LER. At final harvest, this yield advantage was over both sowing times and all four intercropping ratios 14% in the first and 10% in the second year. The competitive abilities of individual crops in mixtures, as indicated by the partial LER, were not affected by the sowing time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Intercropping Systems in Sustainable Agriculture—2nd Edition)
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