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Intercropping: A Substitute but Identical of Biofertilizers

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Microbiota and Biofertilizers, Vol 2

Abstract

The traditional way of monocropping and current strategies of use of inorganic chemical-based pesticides and fertilizers are the main barriers in development of sustainable agriculture. Similarly, sickness is a growing issue because of degradation of agricultural land due to continuous sole cropping. On the other hand, intercropping is an old but efficient and eco-friendly way to get rid of soil sickness and to improve crop production. During intercropping, two or more crops either work symbiotically to facilitate each other or compete on available resources for their survival. These both ways can be utilized for the purpose of reclaiming degraded agricultural soils, utilization of resources, management of disease and pests, and eventually increase in crop production. This chapter explains the mechanisms underlying intercropping facilitating plant acquisition of nitrogen and phosphorus and suppressing insect pest and disease incidence with examples of some effective intercropping systems. Moreover, the phenomenon of soil sickness has been described to understand how intercropping can be manipulated to reclaim agricultural land.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops (Northeast Region), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China

    Muhammad Khashi u Rahman, Xingang Zhou & Fengzhi Wu

  2. College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China

    Muhammad Khashi u Rahman, Xingang Zhou & Fengzhi Wu

  3. Department of Horticulture, University College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

    Zahoor Hussain

  4. Department of Horticulture, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Irfan Ali

Authors
  1. Muhammad Khashi u Rahman
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  2. Zahoor Hussain
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  3. Xingang Zhou
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  4. Irfan Ali
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  5. Fengzhi Wu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, Sri Pratap College, Cluster University, Higher Education Department, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Gowhar Hamid Dar

  2. Division of Environmental Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Rouf Ahmad Bhat

  3. Government Degree College, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, India

    Mohammad Aneesul Mehmood

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Khalid Rehman Hakeem

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Khashi u Rahman, M., Hussain, Z., Zhou, X., Ali, I., Wu, F. (2021). Intercropping: A Substitute but Identical of Biofertilizers. In: Dar, G.H., Bhat, R.A., Mehmood, M.A., Hakeem, K.R. (eds) Microbiota and Biofertilizers, Vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61010-4_14

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