Intercropping of oat and pea to address field-scale soil heterogeneity

Growing grain legumes is challenging due to a high spatial and temporal variability in yield caused by various biotic and abiotic factors, which may be compensated and/or minimised by intercropping (IC) with cereals. However, little is known about the effect of field-scale soil spatial variability on competitive interactions between the IC components, resource use and crop yield performance. A field experiment was conducted to determine how intercropping (IC) of oat (Avena sativa L.) and field pea (Pisum sativum L.) affects crop yield, and balances the field-scale heterogeneity in soil conditions compared to sole crops (SCs). The soil parameters and crop yields varied considerably across the field. The oat-pea IC showed less field-scale variability in yield and suppressed weeds more strongly than pea SC. The study will provide an important insight into how IC can address the issue of crop yield variability and weed growth arising from the variable soil conditions.