Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Quantification of Soil Water Competition and Compensation Using Soil Water Differences between Strips of Intercropping

  • Full-Length Research Article
  • Published:
Agricultural Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Synergistic regulation on water competition and compensation is critical to effective use of water for sustainable intercropping systems in arid areas. Field experiment was carried out in 2009, 2010, and 2011 in Hexi Corridor, northwest China. Two late-sown crops [maize (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max)] intercropping with three early-sown crops [pea (Pisum sativum), rape (Brassia campestris), and wheat (Triticum aestivum)] were designed in comparison with the respective sole crops. Differences in soil water (soil water of late-sown crops minus that of early-sown crops in intercropping) were found to be mostly positive during the co-growth period which changed to negative during the fallow period of early-sown crops. Absolute values of the difference between wheat and maize strips both in co-growth and fallow period were the greatest among treatments, followed by maize–pea intercropping, while they were lowest in soybean–wheat intercropping in 2009 and 2010 and in maize–rape intercropping in 2011. In the co-growth period, the mean soil water competition for wheat strips in maize–wheat intercropping across 3 years was 71 mm, while it was 16 mm and 27 mm, respectively, for maize–rape and maize–pea intercropping. Sole wheat recharged the greatest amount of soil water from wheat harvest to maize harvest. In each year, intercropped wheat, rape, and pea recharged 24–76, 42–67, and 32–49 mm soil water, respectively. It was concluded that the methodology to calculate soil water competition and compensation was a very useful tool for evaluating the amount of soil water movement in intercropping systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adiku S, Oizer-Lafontaine H, Bajazet T (2001) Patterns of root growth and water uptake of a maize-cowpea mixture grown under greenhouse conditions. Plant Soil 235:85–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998) Crop evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirement. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56. FAO, Rome, p 1–39

  3. Baker JM, Van Bavel CHM (1988) Water transfer through cotton plants connecting soil regions of differing water potential. Agron J 80:993–997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bates LM, Hall AE (1981) Stomatal closure with soil water depletion not associated with changes in bulk leaf water status. Oecologia 50:62–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Blum A (2009) Effective use of water (EUW) and not water–use efficiency (WUE) is the target of crop yield improvement under drought stress. Field Crops Res 112:119–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Brooker RW (2006) Plant–plant interactions and environmental change. New Phytol 171:271–284

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Caballero R, Goicoechea EL, Hernaiz PJ (1995) Forage yields and quality of common vetch and oat sown at varying seeding ratios and seeding rates of common vetch. Field Crops Res 41:135–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chai Q, Qin AZ, Gan YT, Yu AZ (2013) Higher yield and lower carbon emission by intercropping maize with rape, pea, and wheat in arid irrigation areas. Agron Sustain Dev. 26:1–9

    Google Scholar 

  9. Fan ZL, Chai Q, Huang GB, Yu AZ, Huang P, Yang CH, Tao ZQ, Liu HL (2013) Yield and water consumption characteristics of wheat/maize intercropping with reduced tillage in an oasis region. Eur J Agron 45:52–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. FAO/UNESCO (1988) Soil map of the world: Revised legend. FAO, Rome

  11. Govaerts B, Sayre KD, Lichter K, Dendooven L, Deckers J (2007) Influence of permanent raised bed planting and residue management on physical and chemical soil quality in rain fed maize/wheat systems. Plant Soil 291:39–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Khaledian MR, Mailhol JC, Ruelle P, Dejean C (2013) Effect of cropping strategies on the irrigation water productivity of durum wheat. Plant Soil Environ 59:29–36

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lafolie F, Bruckler L, Oizer-Lafontaine H, Tournebize R, Mollier A (1999) Modeling soil-root water transport and competition for single and mixed crops. Plant Soil 210:127–143

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Li L, Li SM, Sun JH, Zhou LL, Bao XG, Zhang HG, Zhang FS (2007) Diversity enhances agricultural productivity via rhizosphere phosphorus facilitation on phosphorus-deficient soils. PNAS 104:11192–11196

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Li L, Sun JH, Zhang FS (2011) Intercropping with wheat leads to greater root weight density and larger below-ground space of irrigated maize at late growth stages. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 57:61–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Li QQ, Dong BD, Qiao YZ, Liu MY, Zhang JW (2010) Root growth, available soil water, and water–use efficiency of winter wheat under different irrigation regimes applied at different growth stages in North China. Agric Water Manage 97:1676–1682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. McIntyre BD, Riha SJ, Ong CK (1997) Competition for water in a hedge–intercrop system. Field Crops Res 52:151–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Merrill SD, Tanaka DL, Krupinsky JM, Liebig MA, Hanson JD (2007) Soil water depletion and recharge under ten crop species and applications to the principles of dynamics cropping systems. Agron J 99:931–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Mu YP, Chai Q, Yu AZ, Yang CH, Qi WH, Feng FX, Kong XF (2013) Performance of wheat/maize intercropping is a function of belowground interspecies interactions. Crop Sci 53:2186–2194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Novak V, Hurtalova T, Matejka F (2005) Predicting the effects of soil water content and soil water potential on transpiration of maize. Agric Water Manag 76:211–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Qin AZ, Huang GB, Chai Q, Yu AZ, Huang P (2013) Grain yield and soil respiratory response to intercropping systems on arid land. Field Crops Res 144:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Scanlon BR, Levitt DG, Reedy RC, Keese KE, Sully MJ (2005) Ecological controls on water-cycle response to climate variability in deserts. PNAS 102:6033–6038

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Singh RP, Ong CK, Saharan N (1989) Above and below ground interactions in alley-cropping in semi-arid India. Agroforest Syst 9:259–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Walter ZL, Moril I (2005) Deep root water uptake ability and water use efficiency of pearl millet in comparison to other millet species. Plant Prod Sci 8:454–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Wan C, Sosebee RE, McMichael BL (1993) Dose hydraulic lift exist in shallow-rooted species? A quantitative examination with a half-shrub Gutierrezia sarothrae. Plant Soil 153:11–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Wan CG, Xu WW, Sosebee RE, Machado S, Archer T (2000) Hydraulic lift in drought-tolerant and -susceptible maize hybrids. Plant Soil 219:117–126

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Wang B, Liu W, Xue Q, Dang T, Gao C, Chen J, Zhang B (2013) Soil water cycle and crop water use efficiency after long–term nitrogen fertilization in Loess Plateau. Plant Soil Environ 59:1–7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Wang P, Song XF, Han DM, Zhang YH, Liu X (2010) A study of root water uptake of crops indicated by hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes: a case in Shanxi Province, China. Agric Water Manage 97:475–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Wang XY, Gan YT, Hamel C, Lemke R, McDonald C (2012) Water use profiles across the rooting zones of various pulse crops. Field Crops Res 134:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Wanvestraut RH, Jose S, Nair PKR, Brecke BJ (2004) Competition for water in a pecan (Carya illinoensis K. Koch) – cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) alley cropping system in the southern United States. Agroforest Syst 60:167–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Woldeamlak A, Bastiaans L, Struik PC (2001) Competition and niche differentiation in barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) mixtures under rainfed conditions in the Central Highlands of Eritrea. Netherlands J Agric Sci 49:95–112

    Google Scholar 

  32. Xu BC, Li FM, Shan L (2008) Switchgrass and milkvetch intercropping under 2:1 row–replacement in semiarid region, northwest China: Aboveground biomass and water use efficiency. Eur J Agron 28:485–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Xue Q, Zhu Z, Musick JT, Stewart BA, Dusek DA (2003) Root growth and water uptake in winter wheat under deficit irrigation. Plant Soil 257:151–161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Yang DJ, Zhang TQ, Zhang KF, Greenwood DJ, Hammond JP, White PJ (2009) An easily implemented agro–hydrological procedure with dynamic root simulation for water transfer in the crop–soil system: validation and application. J Hydrol 370:177–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Ye YL (2003) Effect of intercropping on nitrogen and water use. Ph.D. diss., China Agricultural University, Beijing

  36. Ye YL, Li L, Sun JH, Zhang FS (2005) Effect of wheat/maize intercropping on plant nitrogen uptake and soil nitrate nitrogen concentration. Trans Chin Soc Agric Eng 11:33–37

    Google Scholar 

  37. Zhang JL (2007) Barriers to water markets in the Heihe River basin in northwest China. Agric Water Manage 87:32–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program (2012BAD14B10), the National Natural Science Fund (31160265), and the Special Fund for Agro–scientific Research in the Public Interest (201103001). The authors also appreciate the assistance of staffs at Wuwei Experimental Station in completion of this experiment.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Hongwei Chen & Qiang Chai

  2. Henan Institute of Science and Technology, Xinxiang, 453003, China

    Hongwei Chen

  3. Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang, 453002, China

    Anzhen Qin & Zhandong Liu

  4. Agriculture and Agri–Food Canada, Swift Current, SK, S9H 3X2, Canada

    Yantai Gan

Authors
  1. Hongwei Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anzhen Qin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiang Chai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yantai Gan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhandong Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qiang Chai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, H., Qin, A., Chai, Q. et al. Quantification of Soil Water Competition and Compensation Using Soil Water Differences between Strips of Intercropping. Agric Res 3, 321–330 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-014-0134-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-014-0134-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation