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Intercropping

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**1. Methods of Intercropping:**
– Degree of spatial and temporal overlap varies
– Various types of intercropping with different mixtures
– Mixed intercropping involves freely mixing crops
– Row crops planted in suitable rows for cultivation
– Temporal intercropping sows fast-growing with slow-growing crops

**2. Historical Practices of Intercropping:**
– Common in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Georgia
– Historical practices in medieval England and France
– Shift from mixed to single-species fields over time
– Originated in Ancient China in the 6th century BC

**3. Pest Management in Intercropping:**
– Crop diversity improves pest management
– Techniques like trap cropping and repellant intercrops
– Push-pull cropping for pest control
– Varying success at commercial scales
– Benefits of pest management through intercropping

**4. Benefits of Intercropping:**
– Increases biodiversity in agroecosystems
– Enhances soil fertility and structure
– Reduces pest and disease pressure
– Improves water and nutrient use efficiency
– Enhances overall crop yield

**5. Soil Health and Diversification Practices:**
– Enhances soil microbial diversity
– Improves soil carbon sequestration
– Reduces soil erosion
– Enhances nutrient cycling
– Promotes long-term soil sustainability

Intercropping (Wikipedia)

Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field, a form of polyculture. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources or ecological processes that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop.

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