| 1. |
- Bargaz, Adnane, et al.
(författare)
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Faba bean variety mixture can modulate faba bean-wheat intercrop performance under water limitation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Agronomy. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2673-3218. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Commercial legume varieties vary in terms of their drought tolerance when grown as sole crops, though relatively little is known about how legume variety selection affects cereal–legume intercrop performance under drought conditions. This study aims to test the hypothesis that positive rhizosphere interactions in faba bean–wheat intercrops will confer a “buffering capacity” on faba bean and wheat performance under water stress and that this effect will (i) depend on faba bean varietal selection and (ii) be enhanced with increasing faba bean varietal diversity. In a greenhouse experiment, three commercial faba bean (Vicia faba L.) varieties [Gloria (G), Alexia (A), Julia (J)] were grown in sole crop or intercropped with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under well-watered or water-stress conditions. Under intercropping, either one, two, or all three faba bean varieties were grown together with wheat to test the effect of intraspecific diversity on a cereal–legume intercrop performance. Consistent with the proposed hypothesis, we found that, under well-watered and water-stress conditions, wheat and faba bean shoot biomass production and nitrogen (N) acquisition improved with intercropping and that faba bean variety and variety mixture strongly modulated the intercropping effect. Interestingly, in both well-watered and water-stress conditions, wheat dry biomass and N accumulation were greatest in intercrops containing Gloria, while nodule number, nodule weight, and N accumulation in faba bean were greatest for intercrops containing Alexia and Julia (AJ). The effect of varietal diversity was inconsistent. Intercrops with two faba bean varieties tended to have positive or neutral effects on measured wheat and faba bean variables. However, overall performance under intercropping was generally reduced when all three faba bean varieties were planted with wheat. The effect of faba bean species diversity can buffer faba bean–wheat intercrop performance against water stress, and intercropping tended to have positive or neutral effects on the measured wheat and faba bean variables, notably with two-varietal faba bean mixtures.
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| 2. |
- Barreiro, Ana, et al.
(författare)
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Soil bacteria respond to regional edapho-climatic conditions while soil fungi respond to management intensity in grasslands along a European transect
- 2022
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Ingår i: Applied Soil Ecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0929-1393 .- 1873-0272. ; 170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil microbial community structure is determined by environmental conditions and influenced by other factors, such as the intensity of the land use management. Studies addressing the effect of environmental factors and management on grassland soil microbial communities at the continental scale are missing, and the wide range of ecosystem services provided by these ecosystems are thus also wanting. To address this knowledge gap, this study presents data on grassland soil microbial communities along a pan-European agro-ecological gradient. The transect included five geographical locations (Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal mainland, Portugal Azores). At each location, soils were collected in two regions characterized by favourable and less favourable conditions for plant growth. In each of these ten regions, grasslands along a gradient of management intensity were selected, i.e. grassland under intensive, less intensive and extensive management. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) was used to characterize the microbial community structure (PLFA pattern) in relation to climatic and soil properties. Over the whole geographical range, the environmental properties determined the soil microbial community structure. In Sweden and Switzerland, the regional growth conditions had the strongest influence on the soil microbial communities, while in Germany, Portugal mainland and Azores the management intensity was more important. Splitting up this whole community response into individual groups reveals that, in general, saprotrophic fungal biomarkers were highest in extensively managed grasslands while bacterial biomarkers differed mainly between the regions. We conclude that at the transect level, climate and soil properties were the most important factors influencing soil bacterial community structure, while soil fungal groups were more responsive to grassland management intensity. Overall agricultural sustainability could benefit from informed soil health promoting management practices, and this study contributes to such knowledge, showing the importance of management for the soil microbial biomass and community structure.
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| 3. |
- Carlsson, Georg, et al.
(författare)
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Host-specific competitiveness to form nodules in Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae
- 2020
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : Wiley. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 226, s. 555-568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fabeae legumes such as pea and faba bean form symbiotic nodules with a large diversity of soil Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae (Rlv) bacteria. However, bacteria competitive to form root nodules (CFN) are generally not the most efficient to fix dinitrogen, resulting in a decrease in legume crop yields. Here, we investigate differential selection by host plants on the diversity of Rlv. A large collection of Rlv was collected by nodule trapping with pea and faba bean from soils at five European sites. Representative genomes were sequenced. In parallel, diversity and abundance of Rlv were estimated directly in these soils using metabarcoding. The CFN of isolates was measured with both legume hosts. Pea/faba bean CFN were associated to Rlv genomic regions. Variations of bacterial pea and/or faba bean CFN explained the differential abundance of Rlv genotypes in pea and faba bean nodules. No evidence was found for genetic association between CFN and variations in the core genome, but variations in specific regions of the nod locus, as well as in other plasmid loci, were associated with differences in CFN. These findings shed light on the genetic control of CFN in Rlv and emphasise the importance of host plants in controlling Rhizobium diversity.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Carlsson, Georg, et al.
(författare)
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The 4C Approach as a way to understand species interactions determining intercropping productivity
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering. - 2095-7505 .- 2095-977X. ; 8, s. 387-399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modern agriculture needs to develop transition pathways toward agroecological, resilient and sustainable farming systems. One key pathway for such agroecological intensification is the diversification of cropping systems using intercropping and notably cereal-grain legume mixtures. Such mixtures or intercrops have the potential to increase and stabilize yields and improve cereal grain protein concentration in comparison to sole crops. Species mixtures are complex and the 4C approach is both a pedagogical and scientific way to represent the combination of four joint effects of Competition, Complementarity, Cooperation, and Compensation as processes or effects occurring simultaneously and dynamically between species over the whole cropping cycle. Competition is when plants have fairly similar requirements for abiotic resources in space and time, the result of all processes that occur when one species has a greater ability to use limiting resources (e.g., nutrients, water, space, light) than others. Complementarity is when plants grown together have different requirements for abiotic resources in space, time or form. Cooperation is when the modification of the environment by one species is beneficial to the other(s). Compensation is when the failure of one species is compensated by the other(s) because they differ in their sensitivity to abiotic stress. The 4C approach allows to assess the performance of arable intercropping versus classical sole cropping through understanding the use of abiotic resources.
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| 6. |
- Carton, Nicolas, et al.
(författare)
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On-farm experiments on cultivation of grain legumes for food - outcomes from a farmer-researcher collaboration
- 2022
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Ingår i: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. - 1742-1705 .- 1742-1713. ; 37, s. 457-467
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a growing interest among farmers and consumers in increasing production and consumption of grain legumes in Sweden. This requires better knowledge among farmers and advisors about suitable species, varieties and management practices for different conditions. Since cultivar suitability and management practices are highly site-specific, farmers need to gain their own experience of new crops and practices. This paper describes a farmer-researcher collaboration in which cultivation of grain legumes for food was investigated in on-farm experiments designed, managed and evaluated jointly by a group of farmers and researchers. Farmers tested innovative practices using within-field species diversity, comparative performance of varieties and methods for weed control. Post-harvest steps such as cleaning and selling the crops were considered by farmers to be integral components of the experiments. The process generated different types of knowledge, including practical knowledge on crop management, strategic knowledge on economic sustainability and knowledge about joint learning through collaboration. The on-farm experiments combined advantages of 'pure' farmer experiments (i.e., context specificity) and 'pure' researcher experiments (i.e., scientific inquiry), facilitating deeper analysis and understanding of outcomes. This enabled efficient knowledge building, adoption of new crops and innovative practices and stimulated further experimentation. The outcomes of this study are that farmer-researcher collaborations using on-farm experiments can stimulate collective learning by stimulating the exchange between participants and combining complementary perspectives throughout the experimentation process. The study also provides recommendations for facilitating on-farm experiments in future work, for instance using collective settings to evaluate the results.
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| 7. |
- Dimitrova Mårtensson, Linda-Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Markens minsta invånare i produktionsgräsmarker
- 2020
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Ingår i: LTV-fakultetens faktablad.
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- För att uppnå ett mera hållbart jordbruk, är det viktigt att vi förlitar oss mer på ekosystemens egna funktioner, istället för externa och syntetiska resurser. Marken blir alltmer erkänd som en viktig resurs som behöver förvaltas på ett bra sätt. I nuläget saknas det tillräckligt med kunskaps- och erfarenhetsunderlag, samt möjligheter för lokal anpassning, för att vi ska kunna ge goda och säkra råd om förvaltningen av markens minsta innevånare och deras funktioner. Därför bedriver vi forskning om hur markens bördighet och mikroorganismer påverkas av hur vi brukar jorden och hur vi kan använda denna kunskap för att förbättra våra produktionssystem med avseende på markens förmåga att förse oss med ekosystemtjänster. Här presenterar vi resultat från en Europeisk studie över mikroorganismer i gräsmarker med olika skötselintensitet.
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| 8. |
- Dimitrova Mårtensson, Linda-Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Mykorrhiza i jorden i lågintensiv, artrik biomassproduktion
- 2020
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Ingår i: LTV-fakultetens faktablad.
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- För att uppnå ett mera hållbart jordbruk, är det viktigt att vi förlitar oss mer på ekosystemens egna funktioner, istället för externa och syntetiska resurser. Marken blir alltmer erkänd som en viktig resurs som behöver förvaltas på ett bra sätt. I nuläget saknas det tillräckligt med kunskaps- och erfarenhetsunderlag, samt möjligheter för lokal anpassning, för att vi ska kunna ge goda och säkra råd om förvaltningen av markens minsta innevånare och deras funktioner. Därför bedriver vi forskning om hur markens bördighet och mikroorganismer påverkas av hur vi brukar jorden och hur vi kan använda denna kunskap för att förbättra våra produktionssystem med avseende på markens förmåga att förse oss med ekosystemtjänster. Här presenterar vi resultat från en Europeisk studie över mikroorganismer i gräsmarker med olika skötselintensitet.
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| 9. |
- Emery, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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The Potential of Intercropping for Multifunctional Crop Protection in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Agronomy. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2673-3218. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oilseed rape (OSR; Brassica napus) is a globally important crop which is increasingly under pressure from pests, pathogens and weeds. We investigated the potential of achieving multifunctional crop protection benefits by intercropping oilseed rape with legumes. A field experiment was conducted in which winter oilseed rape was intercropped with the annual frost sensitive legumes berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum) or spring faba bean (Vicia faba), or with the winter grain legumes winter faba bean or winter peas (Pisum sativum). We tracked damage to winter oilseed rape by autumn and spring pests (slugs and insects), pathogens, weed biomass, as well as oilseed rape and intercrop yield in each treatment. Intercropping treatments resulted in pest damage that was equivalent or lower than in oilseed rape alone. Follow up field and lab assessments for the frost sensitive legume intercrops provided evidence for a reduction in autumn pest damage to OSR. Each legume intercrop had its own benefits and drawbacks in relation to pest, pathogen and weed suppression, suggesting that the plant species selected for intercropping with oilseed rape should be based on the pests, pathogens and weeds of greatest concern locally to achieve relevant multifunctional benefits. Our study provides a framework for further experiments in which the multifunctional effects of intercropping on pests, pathogens and weeds can be quantified.
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| 10. |
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