Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 118, Issue 38, Pages -Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2106382118
Keywords
intercropping; relay-planting; environmental sustainability; rhizosphere; food security
Categories
Funding
- Research Program Sponsorship of Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University [GSCS-2016-01]
- Innovation Group of Basic Research in Gansu Province [20JR5RA037]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31360323, 31771738]
- Modern Agro-Industry Technology Research System [CARS-22-G-12]
- National Key Technology Research and Development Program [2012BAD14B10]
- Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest [201103001]
- Excellent Youth Foundation of Gansu Scientific Committee [1111RJDA006]
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The integrated cropping system discussed in the study showed significant synergies in increasing crop yields, farm net returns, and decreasing environmental impact compared to traditional monoculture cropping. This demonstrates the potential for smallholder farmers to achieve dual goals of increasing food production and reducing environmental footprint through adopting integrated farming systems.
Food security has been a significant issue for the livelihood of smallholder family farms in highly populated regions and countries. Industrialized farming in more developed countries has increased global food supply to meet the demand, but the excessive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has negative environmental impacts. Finding sustainable ways to grow more food with a smaller environmental footprint is critical. We developed an integrated cropping system that incorporates four key components: 1) intensified cropping through relay planting or intercropping, 2) within-field strip rotation, 3) soil mulching with available means, such as crop straw, and 4) no-till or reduced tillage. Sixteen field experiments, conducted with a wide range of crop inputs over 12 consecutive years (2006 to 2017), showed that the integrated system with intercropping generates significant synergies-increasing annual crop yields by 15.6 to 49.9% and farm net returns by 39.2% and decreasing the environmental footprint by 17.3%-when compared with traditional monoculture cropping. We conclude that smallholder farmers can achieve the dual goals of growing more food and lowering the environmental footprint by adopting integrated farming systems.
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