Intercropping Barley and Peas for Agronomic and Economic Benefits In Northern Ontario.

Intercropping Barley and Peas for Agronomic and Economic Benefits in Northern Ontario 

T. S. Sahota¹, S. S. Malhi², H. S. Dhillon¹ and D. Leach² 

¹Thunder Bay Agriculture Research Station, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada (tarloksahota@tbaytel.net)

²Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Melfort, SK, Canada (sukhdev.malhi@agr.gc.ca) 

Abstract

Intercropping, especially a mix of non-legume and legume crops, can have many benefits, such as improving crop yields and/or economic returns, and reducing input costs. Field experiments (barley-pea intercrop) were conducted in 2008, 2010 and 2011 on an Oskondoga silt loam soil at Thunder Bay, Ontario, to determine the effect of intercropping spring barley (non-legume) and spring pea (legume) on seed yield, land equivalency ratio (LER), seed quality, economic returns and N uptake. Barley and pea were grown as monocrops and in combinations as intercrops (both in the same rows/and alternate rows). Nitrogen fertilizer was applied at 0, 40 and 80 kg N ha^-1 to monocrops (barley and/or pea) and at 0, 20 and 40 kg N ha^-1 to their combinations. On an average of three years, application of 80 kg N ha^-1 increased seed yield of barley by 846 kg ha^-1 as a sole crop and by 420-488 kg ha^-1 in the two intercropping combinations. Compared to barley and pea as sole crops, seed yields with barley + pea intercropping improved by 266 kg ha^-1 with seeding the two crops in alternate rows and by 223 kg ha^-1 when both crops were grown in the same row. The LER values suggested 6-12 % less land requirement for intercropping than sole crops. Net returns from barley + pea intercropping without applied N greatly improved ($854-939 ha^-1) compared to barley sole crop with 80 kg N ha^-1 ($628 ha^-1). However, the net returns were highest for pea grown as a sole crop without applied N ($1141 ha^-1). The findings suggest that pea/or barley + pea intercropping could (i) be an option for organic farming systems, (ii) help balancing protein calorie nutrition, and (iii) reduce the environmental foot print due to fertilizer N.