Cereal-legume intercropping to stabilise yields in tropical regions: evaluation of the STICS soil-crop model.
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The ability of cereal-legume intercropping to increase and stabilise yields in tropical climates has not been tested over a wide range of environments. We evaluated the STICS crop model and simulated a 20-year historical climate series for sole crops and cereal-legume intercropping on sites with contrasting climates in tropical regions. During the evaluation, the model simulated yields accurately except in the case of very low-yielding legumes in intercropping. The simulations then suggested that intercropping increased protein productivity and yield stability compared with cereal sole cropping, although these benefits diminished as nitrogen fertilisation increased. Recently published work on improvements to the model will enable these promising results to be consolidated.
Institutions: Université de Montpellier, Agro-écologie et intensification durable des cultures annuelles, University of Zimbabwe, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz Y Trigo, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles, Eduardo Mondlane University, Institut d'Économie Rurale, Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Institut de l'Environnement et Recherches Agricoles, Université Gaston Berger
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416369187
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