Effect of woody species foliage as soil cover in an alley cropping agroforestry system on microclimate and physiological performance of maize

Abstract

Climate change has had increasingly negative effects on agricultural productivity. Alley cropping agroforestry systems may improve crop resilience to climatic variation as they provide a more stable microclimate for physiological and productive performance of crops as compared to conventional monocultures. This study evaluated microclimatic variation as well as physiological and productive performance of maize in an alley cropping agroforestry system with the presence of Leucaena leucocephala, Guazuma ulmifolia; experiments consisted of six treatments (and two controls) with and without soil cover using foliage obtained of each tree species and a combination of both. Microclimate in the crop area and physiology of the maize plants (gas exchange, water use efficiency, fluorescence, and water status) were characterized 45 and 70 days after planting the maize. Treatments with soil cover had lower soil temperatures (0.48–1.28 °C) and retained 14–50% more water than those without cover. Transpiration and CO₂ assimilation of maize plants increased from day 45 to day 70 in all treatments. Maize plants in the treatment with both tree species with soil cover and treatment with L. leucocephala without cover had the greatest CO₂ assimilation; total weight of maize grain was up to 85% greatest in treatments with soil cover, which also showed up to 21% higher chlorophyll content. Given that application of soil cover using foliage of woody species in agroforestry systems improves microclimate, crop physiology and yield of maize, implementation of such systems could be a viable strategy for mitigating the effects of climate change on agriculture.