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Compact maize canopy improves radiation use efficiency and grain yield of maize/soybean relay intercropping system

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Abstract

Maize/soybean relay intercropping system is a popular cultivation system to obtain high yields of both crops with reduced inputs. However, shading by maize decreases the photosynthetically active radiation, reaching the soybean canopy in maize/soybean relay intercropping system, which reduces soybean radiation use efficiency and competitiveness. Here, we reveal that compact maize in maize/soybean relay intercropping system enhances the photosynthetically active radiation transmittance, leaf area index, dry matter production, radiation use efficiency, and competitiveness of soybean and compensates the slight maize yield loss by substantially increasing soybean yield. In this experiment, soybean was relay intercropped with different maize types (SI, spreading maize; SII, semi-compact maize; and SIII, compact maize) in maize/soybean relay intercropping system, and all the relay intercropping treatments were compared with sole cropping systems of soybean and maize. Results revealed that SIII significantly enhanced the soybean radiation use efficiency (by 77%, from 0.35 g MJ−1 in SI to 0.61 g MJ−1 in SIII) and total radiation use efficiency (soybean radiation use efficiency + maize radiation use efficiency) of maize/soybean relay intercropping system (by 5%, from 3.53 g MJ−1 in SI to 3.73 g MJ−1 in SIII). Similarly, SIII improved the competitiveness (by 62%, from 0.58% in SI to 0.94% in SIII) of soybean but reduced the competitiveness (by 38%, from 1.73% in SI to 1.07% in SIII) of maize, which, in turn, considerably increased soybean yield by maintaining maize yield. On average, over the 2 years, in SIII, relay-intercropped soybean produced 89% of the sole soybean yield, and relay-intercropped maize produced 95% of the sole maize yield. Besides, treatment SIII achieved the mean highest land equivalent ratio value of 1.84 in both years. Thus, enhanced radiation use efficiency of soybean, especially during the co-growth period, was the primary factor responsible for the high productivity of the maize/soybean relay intercropping system.

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Data availability

Data supporting the findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Muhammad Ali Raza thanks MUHAMMAD (SAW) for enlightening his life.

Funding

The research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0300209), the National Nature Science Foundation (31571615), the National Undergraduate Training Program for Innovation (201810626085) and the Program on Industrial Technology System of National Soybean (CARS-04-PS19).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, No. 211, Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China

    Muhammad Ali Raza, Liang Cui, Imran Khan, Atta Mohi Ud Din, Guopeng Chen, John Kwame Titriku, Feng Yang & Wenyu Yang

  2. Sichuan Engineering Research Center for Crop Strip Intercropping System, Southwest China, Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China

    Muhammad Ali Raza, Liang Cui, Guopeng Chen, John Kwame Titriku, Feng Yang & Wenyu Yang

  3. Cholistan Institute of Desert Studies, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

    Muhammad Ali Raza

  4. Crop Research Institute, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang, 110161, Liaoning, China

    Liang Cui

  5. Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Muhammad Ansar, Mukhtar Ahmed, Abdul Manaf & Ghulam Abbas Shah

  6. Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90183, Umeå, Sweden

    Mukhtar Ahmed

  7. Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan

    Shakeel Ahmad

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  1. Muhammad Ali Raza
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  2. Liang Cui
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  3. Imran Khan
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  9. Abdul Manaf
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  11. Ghulam Abbas Shah
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  13. Wenyu Yang
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Contributions

L.C. conducted the field experiment and collected all the data in both study years. F.Y. and W.Y. conceived the study, secured the funding, and led the project progress. M.A.R. and G.A.S. performed the statistical analysis; M.A.R. was involved in the data interpretation; M.A.R. wrote the whole paper; M.A.R. and G.A.S. made all the figures; M.A.R., I.K., A.M.U.D., G.C., M.A., M.A., S.A., A.M., T.J.K., F.Y., and W.Y. reviewed and revised this research paper.

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Correspondence to Ghulam Abbas Shah, Feng Yang or Wenyu Yang.

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Muhammad Ali Raza and Liang Cui To be considered as joint first authors

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Raza, M.A., Cui, L., Khan, I. et al. Compact maize canopy improves radiation use efficiency and grain yield of maize/soybean relay intercropping system. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 41135–41148 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13541-1

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