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Intercropping with two native woody shrubs improves water status and development of interplanted groundnut and pearl millet in the Sahel

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Abstract

Aims

To investigate the physiological responses of groundnut (Arachis hypogea) and pearl millet (Penisetum glaucum) that were intercropped with the native evergreen woody shrubs Piliostigma reticulatum (D.C.) Hochst and Guiera senegalensis J.F. Gmel compared to control crops throughout two growing seasons at two sites with contrasting climate and soil types in Senegal.

Methods

Shrubs grown in groundnut and millet fields at higher than native density were coppiced annually with aboveground biomass returned to the soil and no additional fertilizer. Crop leaf area index (LAI), handheld normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf water potential, and soil moisture and temperature were monitored in 2012–2013.

Results

At the drier site, the presence of shrubs reduced soil temperature at 5 cm depth by up to 5 °C during early crop growth. Shrub presence increased LAI by up to 266%, NDVI by up to 217% and increased groundnut leaf water potential throughout the day at the wetter site. Shrub effects on crop physiology were stronger overall at the drier site.

Conclusions

These results improve the understanding of how this unique agroforestry system alters the growing environment and the physiological response of associated crops throughout the season.

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Acknowledgements

The US National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) grant (NSF #0968247) funded this work. Additional funding was given by UC Merced. We are thankful to Mame Balla Ndiaye and Boubacar Badji for collecting data and Dame Sy all transportation and communication with local farmers. Yacine Ndour and Lydie Lardie of ISRA and IRD, respectively, coordinated lab space. Mohammed Safeeq as well as the Berhe Biogeochemistry lab at UC Merced provided valuable feedback on early versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, 5200 N. Lake Drive, Merced, CA, USA

    N. A. Bogie & T. A. Ghezzehei

  2. École Nationale Supérieure d’Agriculture, Université de Thiès, Thiès Escale, Sénégal

    R. Bayala & I. Diedhiou

  3. School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    R. P. Dick

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  1. N. A. Bogie
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  2. R. Bayala
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  3. I. Diedhiou
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Correspondence to N. A. Bogie or T. A. Ghezzehei.

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Bogie, N.A., Bayala, R., Diedhiou, I. et al. Intercropping with two native woody shrubs improves water status and development of interplanted groundnut and pearl millet in the Sahel. Plant Soil 435, 143–159 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3882-4

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