Intercropping is a common agricultural technique. Modern farmers choose this method since the combination of crops saves space, provides higher yields, and has many other valuable advantages. This piece shows the information on what intercropping is, its various techniques, principles, and benefits. 

What The Intercropping Is 

Intercropping is the practice of growing multiple crops together. The components are planted in the same row or the same bed for biological interaction. There are several intercropping techniques, but they are all used to get more yield while saving space. However, a simple accumulation of plants in one area has nothing to do with intercropping since the selected plants should interact and benefit each other. For example, you can combine a commercial crop with a non-commercial one. In this case, the latter should be selected in such a way that it helps the primary plants. Such beneficial effects of intercropping may include pests reducing or helpful minerals sharing. 

The main thing in this system is to create the proper combinations. For example, the farmers combine perennials with other perennials as well as annuals. The classic combination is the joint cultivation of corn with beans and melons, such as pumpkins or zucchini. Annual tomatoes are paired with perennial basil and garlic.

Intercropping Techniques

There are three main co-cultivation techniques. Each technique is based on different plant interaction principles, so careful thought is required to obtain an effective result.

Relay Cropping

The essence of this technique is to place another one in the finished soil before harvesting. This method is suitable for areas with a short growing season and plants harvested in the middle of summer. New seeds will be able to germinate in warm soil quickly. Something that is almost ripe will not interfere with beginners. Having collected the first crop, you can send fresh seedlings to its place.                       

Undercropping

This technique assumes that tall plants will create shade for ground-hugging. Ground-hugging plants with broad leaves do not provide room for weeds to grow, taking nutrients from the main crops. It is essential to choose plants that prefer the cool of the shade to sunlight. Also, this scheme is suitable for underground plants with edible roots, for which dry soil and heat are destructive.

Slow Crop/Fast Crop

Combining slow-growing crops with fast-growing crops allows you to make the most of the space. For example, cereals take a long time to ripen, leaving bare soil around them. This space can be filled with something that matures more quickly.

Large cabbage varieties also require a lot of space, but you can plant arugula or radish between them. These plants develop quickly, and their leaves prevent weeds from spreading. And by the time the cabbage needs a place, the first crop will have already been harvested.

Intercropping Principles: "Diversity is nature's design" 

The "Diversity is nature's design" principle is that plants and microorganisms that live in or feed on the soil interact with each other. It doesn't mean that we should go back to the days when the first people just switched to agriculture. But we can create a more diverse landscape by growing different crops in one area and conserving the land's resources. 

“Stability tends to increase with increasing diversity” - what does it mean? As a result of human disturbance or natural disaster of the soil cover, the destruction of the community of animals and plants that live there occurs. There may also be a dominance of weed plants in the area with a disturbance of the soil cover. With the formation of the community and its stable existence, the level of interaction also grows. These intercropping principles are significant for understanding of this practice. 

Benefits of Intercropping

• Productive use of the soil
• Suitable for primary crops
• Higher income
• Less damage from natural disasters
• A complementary sharing of plant resources, such as Nitrogen from N fixing plants
• Weed suppression, and a reduction in susceptibility to insects and disease

Co-cultivation of crops allows farmers to get insurance against low yields. Due to bad weather conditions or natural disasters during the year, the main crop can be damaged and will not bring the expected income. However, growing additional crops avoids a complete loss.