The effects of SOLE and mixed CROPPING of different annual medic cultivars on biomass and seed bank reserves were investigated in Climatic Research Station of Khoramabad during 2001 and 2002. The treatments were statistically evaluated in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The treatments consisted of SOLE and different paired combinations (50:50) of 6 annual medic species in mixed CROPPING system. Mixed CROPPING was superior to SOLE CROPPING because of better biomass production and stronger seed bank leading to a better re-establishment of annual medic pasture in a ley-farming system. Mixed CROPPING of Medicago truncatulla cv. Caliph with Medicago scutellata cv. Robison was the most successful treatment in regard to biomass as well as seed production. However, Medicago truncatulla cv. Caliph produced the highest seed yield in SOLE CROPPING among the other cultivars.

Introduction: The use of plants with the ability of second or summer cultivation in cold regions such as Shahrekord can increase production per unit area and the optimal use of productive resources such as land. Unlike SOLE CROPPING system, interCROPPING in line with ecological goals (Salama, 2020) brings increased resource consumption efficiency and yield stability (Bitew et al., 2021). Therefore, this study was designed and implemented: (i) to investigate the forage yield of Proso millet and Berseem clover in SOLE CROPPING and interCROPPING systems; (ii) to examine the effect of competition between the used species (legume and grass) in the interCROPPING; (iii) to analyze the interrelationships between the components of the interCROPPING using different competition indices; and (iv) to evaluate which interCROPPING managements is better for resource management with respect to forage yield and competition indices.Materials and Methods: A field experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted with three replications and five treatments in June 2019 in Shahrekord, Iran. The treatments included interCROPPING of Berseem clover- Proso millet (75%- 25%, 50%- 50%, 25%- 75%) and SOLE CROPPING of each component crops. Harvesting of all treatments was done in the milking stage of seed millet (late September). The evaluated traits were wet forage yield (ton/ha), dry forage yield (ton/ha), forage crude protein (%) and forage protein yield (ton/ha). Some competition indices such as land equality ratio (LER) and relative crowding coefficient (RCC) were used to evaluate interCROPPING systems (Midya et al., 2005). All data were subjected to analysis of variance using the GLM procedure of the SAS statistical program. Also, significant differences among the means were measured using the LSD test (P<0.05). Results & Discussion: Results showed that interCROPPING patterns had significant effect on all of the studied traits of Proso millet and Berseem clover. The maximum wet forage yield (16.0 ton/ha) and dry forage yield (5.0 ton/ha) were obtained at 25% Proso millet- 75% Berseem clover and 50% Proso millet- 50% Berseem clover, respectively. The highest percentage of forage crude protein and forage protein yield were found in the SOLE CROPPING of Berseem clover, and with the decrease in the share of Berseem clover in interCROPPING, a downward trend was observed in crude protein as well as yield of forage protein. The highest LER values (1.25) was obtained from 25% Proso millet- 75% Berseem clover. Proso millet with RCC>1 was identified as the dominant species with a higher relative forage yield value compared to Berseem clover in all interCROPPING systems.Conclusion: The present study showed that the mixture of Berseem clover with Proso millet, in each of the planted ratios, has the functional advantage of forage production to exploit the available environmental resources compared to their respective monocultures. However, considering the lower competitive power of Berseem clover compared to Proso millet based on the RCC, Berseem clover needs a higher planting density than Proso millet to benefit more from the advantages of interCROPPING. In general, based on the results of the present study, the treatment combination of 25% Proso millet-75% Berseem clover, is significant in terms of forage production with the desired quantity and quality. On the other hand, the results obtained from the LER confirmed the superior advantage of this combination due to the better efficiency of land use compared to other treatments. This combination can be economically and environmentally promising in the development of sustainable crop production (forage) as a second or summer crop in Shahrekord region or other cold regions.Keywords: Grass, Leguminous, Dominant species, Equal ratio of land; Forage productionReferencesBitew, Y., Alemayehu, G., Adgo, E., and Assefa, A. 2021. Competition, production efficiency and yield stability of finger millet and legume additive design interCROPPING. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 36(1): 108-119.Midya, A., Bhattacharjee, K., Ghose, S. S., and Banik, P. 2005. Deferred seeding of blackgram (Phaseolus mungo L.) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) field on yield advantages and smothering of weeds. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 191(3): 195-201.Salama, H. S. A., and Badry, H. H. 2015. Influence of variable mixing rates and nitrogen fertilization levels on the fodder quality of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). African Journal of Agricultural Research, 10(53): 4858-4864.

Introduction: The use of plants with the ability of second or summer cultivation in cold regions such as Shahrekord can increase production per unit area and the optimal use of productive resources such as land. Unlike SOLE CROPPING system, interCROPPING in line with ecological goals (Salama, 2020) brings increased resource consumption efficiency and yield stability (Bitew et al., 2021). Therefore, this study was designed and implemented: (i) to investigate the forage yield of Proso millet and Berseem clover in SOLE CROPPING and interCROPPING systems; (ii) to examine the effect of competition between the used species (legume and grass) in the interCROPPING; (iii) to analyze the interrelationships between the components of the interCROPPING using different competition indices; and (iv) to evaluate which interCROPPING managements is better for resource management with respect to forage yield and competition indices.Materials and Methods: A field experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted with three replications and five treatments in June 2019 in Shahrekord, Iran. The treatments included interCROPPING of Berseem clover- Proso millet (75%- 25%, 50%- 50%, 25%- 75%) and SOLE CROPPING of each component crops. Harvesting of all treatments was done in the milking stage of seed millet (late September). The evaluated traits were wet forage yield (ton/ha), dry forage yield (ton/ha), forage crude protein (%) and forage protein yield (ton/ha). Some competition indices such as land equality ratio (LER) and relative crowding coefficient (RCC) were used to evaluate interCROPPING systems (Midya et al., 2005). All data were subjected to analysis of variance using the GLM procedure of the SAS statistical program. Also, significant differences among the means were measured using the LSD test (P<0.05). Results & Discussion: Results showed that interCROPPING patterns had significant effect on all of the studied traits of Proso millet and Berseem clover. The maximum wet forage yield (16.0 ton/ha) and dry forage yield (5.0 ton/ha) were obtained at 25% Proso millet- 75% Berseem clover and 50% Proso millet- 50% Berseem clover, respectively. The highest percentage of forage crude protein and forage protein yield were found in the SOLE CROPPING of Berseem clover, and with the decrease in the share of Berseem clover in interCROPPING, a downward trend was observed in crude protein as well as yield of forage protein. The highest LER values (1.25) was obtained from 25% Proso millet- 75% Berseem clover. Proso millet with RCC>1 was identified as the dominant species with a higher relative forage yield value compared to Berseem clover in all interCROPPING systems.Conclusion: The present study showed that the mixture of Berseem clover with Proso millet, in each of the planted ratios, has the functional advantage of forage production to exploit the available environmental resources compared to their respective monocultures. However, considering the lower competitive power of Berseem clover compared to Proso millet based on the RCC, Berseem clover needs a higher planting density than Proso millet to benefit more from the advantages of interCROPPING. In general, based on the results of the present study, the treatment combination of 25% Proso millet-75% Berseem clover, is significant in terms of forage production with the desired quantity and quality. On the other hand, the results obtained from the LER confirmed the superior advantage of this combination due to the better efficiency of land use compared to other treatments. This combination can be economically and environmentally promising in the development of sustainable crop production (forage) as a second or summer crop in Shahrekord region or other cold regions.Keywords: Grass, Leguminous, Dominant species, Equal ratio of land; Forage productionReferencesBitew, Y., Alemayehu, G., Adgo, E., and Assefa, A. 2021. Competition, production efficiency and yield stability of finger millet and legume additive design interCROPPING. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 36(1): 108-119.Midya, A., Bhattacharjee, K., Ghose, S. S., and Banik, P. 2005. Deferred seeding of blackgram (Phaseolus mungo L.) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) field on yield advantages and smothering of weeds. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 191(3): 195-201.Salama, H. S. A., and Badry, H. H. 2015. Influence of variable mixing rates and nitrogen fertilization levels on the fodder quality of Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). African Journal of Agricultural Research, 10(53): 4858-4864.

Background and objectives: Sustainable agriculture is the act of farming based on an understanding of ecosystem services, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. One of the key strategies in sustainable agriculture is diversity restoration to agricultural environments and its effective management. InterCROPPING is an effective way of sustainable agriculture. InterCROPPING, which is defined as growing two or more species simultaneously in the same field during a growing season, is considered as one important strategy in developing sustainable production systems, particularly systems that aim to limit external inputs such as chemical fertilizer and herbicide. Compared to SOLE crops, interCROPPING system have higher utilization of resource i. e., nutrient use efficiency, water use efficiency, and land use efficiency. Materials and methods: In order to comparison of quantity and quality of sunflower yield in SOLE CROPPING and interCROPPING with bean / soybean, an experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bu-Ali Sina, during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons. Experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatment were different planting patterns including sunflower, bean and soybean SOLE CROPPING with and without weeding, additive interCROPPING of 30, 60 and 90% bean, as well as 30, 60 and 90% soybean with sunflower. Evaluated traits of crops including grain yield, protein and oil percent and yield and grain phosphor and potassium. InterCROPPING systems was evaluated by using land equivalent ratio (LER) index. Results: Experimental results showed that all three crops' grain yield has were affected by planting patterns. The highest sunflower, bean and soybean grain yield (3480, 3025 and 3158 Kg Ha-1, respectively) was achieved at SOLE CROPPING with weeding. Results also indicated that interCROPPING decreased grain yield. Moreover, the highest sunflower, bean and soybean protein and oil yield and grain phosphor and potassium were belonged to SOLE CROPPING with weeding of this crops. However, land equivalent ratio at interCROPPING patterns with 60 and 90% bean and soybean were more than 1 that showed advantage of interCROPPING. Totally, the findings of this study demonstrated that according to land equivalent ratio index, interCROPPING of sunflower and legumes (bean and soybean) in most treatments were more beneficial than SOLE CROPPING. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that, interCROPPING systems decreased sunflower, bean and soybean grain yield in comparison with SOLE CROPPING with weeding treatment but, in general, in the most of the treatments, sunflower-legume (bean and soybean) interCROPPING was better than their SOLE CROPPING and associated with improving economic yield and land use efficiency.

This experiment was conducted at split plot in randomized complete block design with four replicates at Babol region in CROPPING year 2009. The main plot was sort of culture (SOLE culture of sweet corn and mixed CROPPING of sweet corn with bersim clover) and sub plot was planting arrangement included 20×65, 20×75, 25×65, 20×85, 25×75 and 25×85 cm2. Results showed that the maximum of plant height, leaf number, ear length, the number of grains in a row, and plant dry weight were obtained in SOLE culture, and only the can grain weight trait in mixed CROPPING of sweet corn and with bersim clover was maximum. Maximum number of grains in a row, number of grains in ear, can grain weight, green ear yield, and grain yield were obtained in 75×20 cm2 planting arrangement. The minimum number of grains in ear, dry weight of plant, can grain weight; green ear yield, grain yield, and harvesting index were obtained in 85×25cm2 planting arrangement. The maximum and minimum yield of the fresh and dry forage of clover was obtained in 85×25 and 65×20 cm2 planting arrangement respectively. Therfore, mixed CROPPING and 75×20 cm2 planting arrengment is introduced as more proper treatment.

In order to investigate to the light extinction coefficient, the amount of light interception, leaf area index and the percentage of ground cover in additive interCROPPING, substitution and SOLE CROPPING of barley and vetch, an experiment was carried out in 2008 – 2009 farming year based on randomized complete block design with eight treatments and three replications at the Research Farm of Agricultural, University of Tabriz. The treatments were tested SOLE CROPPING of barley and vetch, additive interCROPPING in the ratio of 100: 15, 100: 30 and 100: 45 and substitution interCROPPING in the ratio of 2: 1, 3: 1 and 4: 1. The results showed that the most light extinction coefficient and percentage of light interception were related to 100: 30 additive interCROPPING treatment and the lowest was related to SOLE CROPPING. 100: 30 additive interCROPPING treatment, 20 percent has intercepted more light than SOLE CROPPINGs. Also, leaf area index and the percentage of ground cover in additive mixed treatment were more than SOLE CROPPING. This research showed that the additive interCROPPING treatments due to better utilization of light source is higher performance than substitution mixed treatments and SOLE CROPPING of barley and vetch. Also the greatest amount dry forage is 7030 kg/ha obtioned in 100: 15 additive treatment.

To evaluate the effects of rows of maize-pintobean, maize-soybean planted in strip interCROPPING and their SOLE CROPPINGs, an experiment using randomized complete block design with three replication, was conducted for two consecutive years at the Agricultural Research Center of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz branch. Treatments were: A (interCROPPING of maize-pintobean, one row of each, B (interCROPPING of maize-pintobean, two rows of each), C (interCROPPING of maize-pintobean, three rows of each), D (interCROPPING of maize-soybean, two rows of each), E (interCROPPING of maize-soybean, two rows of each), F (interCROPPING of maize-soybean, three rows of each), G(SOLE CROPPING of maize), H (SOLE CROPPING of pintobean) and I (SOLE CROPPING of soybean). Experimental results showed that maize produced, in both years, highest (17818 kg/ha) using treatment D and lowest (15509 kg/ha) yields in treatment G. This indicates that maize produced higher yield in interCROPPING than SOLE CROPPING. Maize, also, produced highest yield in treatment D and lowest in treatment F. Pintobean had highest yield (2498 kg/ha) in treatment H and lowest (2073 kg/ha) in treatment A. Soybean, on the other hand, produced highest yield (4794 kg/ha) in treatment I and also lowest (3257 kg/ha) in treatment D. A a whole, it may be concluded that pintobean and soybean produce higher yield in SOLE CROPPING as compared to interCROPPINGs.

In order to examine the effects of fertilizer source on growth, yield and yield components of fenugreek intercropped with black cumin, an experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the research farm, College of Agriculture, Shahrekord, during growing season of 2012-2013. SOLE CROPPING of fenugreek (F) and SOLE CROPPING of black cumin (B) and three interCROPPING ratios (F:B; 2:1, 1:1, and 1:2) were evaluated as the first factor and three sources of fertilizer (Chemical fertilizer, broiler litter, and integrated fertilizer 50:50) as the second factor. In this experiment, the plant height, number of branches/plant, pods/plant, seeds/pod, capules/plant, seed/capsule, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield were measured. The results indicated that seed yield in interCROPPING treatments fertilized with chemical fertilizer was less than SOLE CROPPING for both species. However, application of integrated fertilizer and/or broiler increased the seed yield of F: B (2:1) treatment (16 and 27%) compared with F and B treatment, respectively. Increasing black cumin ratio resulted in increasing seed yield, under broiler litter application. The highest land equivalent ratio (1.57) was observed in F: B (1:2) treated with broiler litter. Therefore, medicinal plant grower that prefer organic manure, fenugreek: black cumin (1:2) treatment under broiler litter application not only compensated the reduce of yield in SOLE CROPPING treated with broiler litter but also can be increase the production of fenugreek (39%) and black cumin (54%) in comparison to their SOLE CROPPING.

Background and objective: InterCROPPING is one of the most effective methods to achieve sustainable production with low input to increase the diversity in agro ecosystems. In these systems two or more plants are cultivated at a same time and place in order to increase the efficiency of the resources usage. Based on results, the interCROPPING bring about the improvement of qualitative and quality characteristics and forage yield. In order to Evaluation of Tepary bean and millet interCROPPING effects on some quantitative and quality traits and forage yield, this study was done in Jiroft area. Materials and methods: The field experiment was done in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in Jiroft during 2015-2016. The treatments included combination of Tepary bean and two cultivars of millet (Bastan and Pishahang) and replacement interCROPPING ratio (75: 25, 50: 50, 25: 75 Tepary bean-millet, SOLE CROPPING of Bastan millet, Pishahang millet and Tepary bean with 300000 plants/ha. Planting date was on 27th April. Millet and Tepary bean harvested on May and June, respectively. Traits such as Plant height of bean, Number of secondary branch of bean, Leaf dry weight of bean, Plant height of millet, Leaf dry weight of millet, Steam dry weight of millet, Dry forage yield of bean, Dry forage of millet, Total dry forage NDF, ADF, crude protein yield and LER were measured. Data analyses were conducted using SAS ver. 12 and analysis of means was done with the LSD’ s test. Results: The results showed that interaction of millet cultivars and interCROPPING ratio was affected dry forage of Tepary bean. The highest amount of Tepary bean dry forage was obtained from 50: 50 Tepary bean-millet cultivars percentage. Despite the lack of significant mutual effect of these two treatments on millet dry forage, the effect of millet cultivars in mixture and the mixing ratio on this trait was significant at 1% level. The highest amount was obtained from the presence of millet cultivars increasing by 87. 8% with 25: 75 treatment of Tepary bean-millet cultivar. Statistically, there was not a great difference between this ratio and 50: 50 mixing ratio. The highest amount of dry forage was obtained from 50: 50 Tepary bean-millet cultivar with 12. 59% and 87. 57% increase compared to the single CROPPING of Tepary bean and millet cultivars percentage. Statistically, there was not a great difference between the performance of this treatment and 50: 50 treatment of Tepary bean-millet cultivar and saw the least ADF, NDF and the most crude protein yield in interCROPPING treatment. In all treatments, the land equivalent ratio (LER) was more than one and the highest amount (2. 162) was observed in the mixture of 50: 50 treatment of Tepary bean-Bastan cultivar. Conclusion: According to this results, the interCROPPING of Tepary bean and millet was much better than their pure CROPPING so that the highest amount of dry forage was obtained from 50: 50 of Tepary bean-millet cultivars compared to the SOLE CROPPING of Tepary bean with 12. 59% dry forage and millet cultivar with 87. 57% dry forage. The LER also indicates the superiority of this mixing ratio compared to single CROPPING of these two plants. Therefore, in general, the interCROPPING treatment of these two plants with 50: 50 ratio is an appropriate method to replace the pure culture of these plants.

The field experiment to study the effects of interCROPPING on weed control, in the Agricultural Research Station of Lorestan University of 2014-15 and 2015-16 with two plants (legume and cereal: broad leaf vetch and abider cultivar of barley) in 4×5 factorial randomized complete block design with three replications, in two consecutive years in one place was carried out on dry land. In this experiment, two plants (legume and cereal or broad leaf vetch and barley cultivar Abidar) in the form of additive series interCROPPING system with four levels of weed (weeding, once weeding, double weeding and non-weeding) and complementary components of interCROPPING in five levels, 40: 100 (vetch: barley), 70: 100, 100: 100, 0: 100 (SOLE CROPPING of barley) and 100: 0 (SOLE CROPPING of vetch), to determine the yield and the effect of interCROPPING on the population, dry weight of weeds (plants per square meter) test to determine dominance in the region's flora and species diversity and ecological index was investigated weed control efficiency of all interactions, yield was better in the second year than the first year and by increasing the number of time weeding (control weed) this have more yield. The lowest number of weeds (in square meters) of first and second year with a mixture of 100: 70 (barley: vetch) was equivalent to 21 and 21. 35, SOLE CROPPING of barley was the lowest greatest weight weed control (34. 54 g/m² ). The levels mix, combination of 100: 40 and 100: 70 most of the weeds dry weight, respectively (24. 56 and 23. 77 gr/m2). So, at the mentioned levels (interCROPPING balanced) efficiency of weed control in the second year was than the first year. Also, by reducing the share of vetch from 100 to 70 and 40 percent, the exploitation of the environment reduced and minimum LERt in the second year and different levels of weed was belonged to 40: 100 seed ratio.