Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)/Crops intercropping provides a feasible way to improve productivity under environmental constraints

Abstract

The growing threats facing both food security and the environment require a sustainable development. The need for sustainable agricultural alternative systems is prompted by economic, environmental and biological perspectives. Producers require cultivation methods that minimize environmental damage while simultaneously preserving and improving farm profitability. One of the key solutions is intercropping. Which is a cropping system where the crop can coexist in the same soil and can be irrigated simultaneously at the same time. It is used to improve crop yields, land use rates, as well as to reduce the barriers towards sustainable cultivation and the development of disease and insect pests as well as control weed growth. Besides, intercropping of legumes in a cropping system provides advantages for non-legumes due to improved nutrient distribution, to improved soil biology and to enhanced use of available resources. The biological fixation of nitrogen by legume crops makes intercropping legumes, especially alfalfa, a cost-effective solution to the problem of using artificial fertilizers. Alfalfa intercropping does not only meet the requirements of food security and forage needs, but also preserves the eco-environment, which has made this cultivation model a very promising one for agricultural development under environmental constraints.