Project

Forage quality in intercropping

Intercropping is an ancient practice that has been marginalized by modern intensive agriculture. However, intercropping may be a means to solve some of the major problems associated with modern agriculture, thereby contributing to the realization of productive, effective, and sustainable agriculture.

Background

Intercropping has been found to significantly increase the yield, resource use efficiency, and agriculture ecosystem services. However, there are also many intercropping systems that are not aiming to harvest grains but to produce forage. Thus, the forage quality of intercropping should be determined.

Two years of perennials (red clover, whiter clover and lucerne) maize intercropping field trials will be conducted in Wageningen, the Netherlands. Parameters related to plant development and growth, yield and forage quality, nitrogen uptake and use efficiency, soil microbial community composition, greenhouse gases emission, leaf area index and radiation use efficiency in different planting patterns will be analyzed.

Research aim

This study aims to investigate the forage yield, forage quality and greenhouse gases emission in maize perennial legume intercropping system. This study improves our understanding of the forage quality of intercropping system aims for forage production.

Type of research

We offer the opportunity for interested students to take part in an experiment of a PhD project on maize perennial intercropping system. The perennials have been sown in late August 2021. The greenhouse gases will be measured in conjunction with Meteorology and Air Quality group. The forage quality measurement and ensiling experiment will be carried out in Animal Nutrition group. The rest measurements field works, and lab works will be conducted in the Unifarm. Please have a look at which section you are interested in and which section you would like to participate in.

  • Field work in Wageningen
  • Laboratory work in (Unifarm/ANU/MAQ)
  • Experimental data analysis