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Academic Research Journal of
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Academic Research Journal of Agricultural Science and Research Vol. 5(6), pp. 440-452. October, 2017. ISSN: 2360-7874 DOI: 10.14662/ARJASR2017.057 Full Length Research Intercropping Practice as an Alternative Pathway for Sustainable Agriculture: A review
Belstie Lulie
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Wondo Genet Agricultural Research Center, P.o.box, 198 Shashemene, Ethiopia. Corresponding authors email: kbelstie@yahoo.com
Accepted 26 September 2017
World population is growing exponentially and it has to fulfill their food requirements. An attractive strategy for increasing productivity and labour utilization per unit area of available land is to intensify land use. Intercropping is advanced agro technique of cultivating two or more crops in the same space at the same time and has been practiced in past decades and achieved the goal of agriculture. It increases productivity per unit area of land via better utilization of resources, minimizes the risks, reduces weed competition and stabilizes the yield. Moreover, intercropping improves soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation with the use of legumes, increases soil conservation through greater ground cover than sole cropping, and provides better lodging resistance for crops susceptible to lodging than when grown in monoculture. It also provides insurance against crop failure or against unstable market prices for a given commodity, especially in areas subject to extreme weather conditions such as frost, drought, and flood. Thus, it offers greater financial stability than sole cropping, which makes the system particularly suitable for labor-intensive small farms. Besides, intercropping allows lower inputs through reduced fertilizer and pesticide requirements, thus minimizing environmental impacts of agriculture.
Key words: Alternative, intercropping, significance, sustainable agriculture
How to cite this article: Lulie B (2017). Intercropping Practice as an Alternative Pathway for Sustainable Agriculture: A review. Acad. Res. J. Agri. Sci. Res. 5(6): 440-452
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