Intercropping winter lupin and triticale increases weed suppression and total yield

Abstract

Lupin (Lupinus sp.) produces protein-rich grains, but its adoption in cropping systems suffers from both its low competitive ability against weeds and its high yield variability. Compared with legume sole cropping, grain legume–cereal intercropping benefits include better weed suppression and higher yield and yield stability. However, the potential of enhancing crop competitive ability against weeds in additive winter grain legume–cereal intercrops is not well-known, and this potential in long crop cycles is even less studied. We studied how intercropping with a triticale (×Triticosecale) alters weed biomass and productivity of winter white lupin (Lupinus albus L.). The experimental setup consisted of eleven sites during a two-year period in western France. In each site-year, winter white lupin sole cropping was compared to winter white lupin-triticale intercropping in an additive sowing design. We found that intercropping reduced weed biomass at lupin flowering by an average of 63%. The rapid growth and high soil N acquisition of triticale compensated for the low competitive ability of lupin against weeds until lupin flowering. Competition from triticale in the intercrop reduced lupin grain yield (−34%), but intercropping produced a higher total grain yield (+37%) than did lupin sole cropping while maintaining the total protein grain yield.