Upland rice intercropped with forage grasses in an integrated crop-livestock system: Optimizing nitrogen management and food production

TY - JOUR

T1 - Upland rice intercropped with forage grasses in an integrated crop-livestock system

T2 - Optimizing nitrogen management and food production

AU - Crusciol, Carlos A.C.

AU - Momesso, Letusa

AU - Portugal, José R.

AU - Costa, Claudio H.M.

AU - Bossolani, João W.

AU - Costa, Nídia R.

AU - Pariz, Cristiano M.

AU - Castilhos, André M.

AU - Rodrigues, Vitor A.

AU - Costa, Ciniro

AU - Franzluebbers, Alan J.

AU - Cantarella, Heitor

N1 - 7153, ME; Data archiving: no NIOO data

PY - 2021/2/1

Y1 - 2021/2/1

N2 - Intercropping upland rice with forage grasses is a potential strategy for enhancing the sustainability of agriculture in the tropical region by increasing food production, land use per unit area, nitrogen (N) cycling, and profitability. However, little is known about the appropriate N management and N use efficiency of upland rice in these complex systems. Thus, our aim was to verify the feasibility of intercropping upland rice with tropical forage grasses combined with different N management applications at sowing and sidedressing. A field experiment was carried out in three growing seasons with three intercropping systems (monocropped upland rice, upland rice intercropped with palisade grass, and upland rice intercropped with guinea grass) combined with six N applications to upland rice [0−0 (control), 100−0, 80−20, 50−50, 20−80, and 0−100 kg N ha−1 at sowing-sidedressing]. Dry matter (DM) and accumulated N were measured in upland rice and forage grasses. In addition, components of rice yield production, industrial yield, production cost, land equivalent ratio, relative N yield, relative crowding coefficient, aggressivity of upland rice with forage grasses, forage crude protein (CP) concentration, estimated animal stocking rate, and estimated meat production were determined. Despite competition between rice and forage grasses, intercropping systems had superior benefits in terms of production and land use per unit area, N cycling, and profitability compared with monoculture. Forage DM production, CP, estimated animal stocking rate, and estimated meat production increased when N fertilizer was applied at sidedressing to rice (20−80, 50−50 and 0−100 kg N ha−1). Rice intercropped with guinea grass produced a greater amount of biomass, indicating that this forage species may be more advantageous in tropical regions. Net profit, total aboveground biomass, total N content, land equivalent ratio, and relative N yield were greater in intercropping systems fertilized with N.

AB - Intercropping upland rice with forage grasses is a potential strategy for enhancing the sustainability of agriculture in the tropical region by increasing food production, land use per unit area, nitrogen (N) cycling, and profitability. However, little is known about the appropriate N management and N use efficiency of upland rice in these complex systems. Thus, our aim was to verify the feasibility of intercropping upland rice with tropical forage grasses combined with different N management applications at sowing and sidedressing. A field experiment was carried out in three growing seasons with three intercropping systems (monocropped upland rice, upland rice intercropped with palisade grass, and upland rice intercropped with guinea grass) combined with six N applications to upland rice [0−0 (control), 100−0, 80−20, 50−50, 20−80, and 0−100 kg N ha−1 at sowing-sidedressing]. Dry matter (DM) and accumulated N were measured in upland rice and forage grasses. In addition, components of rice yield production, industrial yield, production cost, land equivalent ratio, relative N yield, relative crowding coefficient, aggressivity of upland rice with forage grasses, forage crude protein (CP) concentration, estimated animal stocking rate, and estimated meat production were determined. Despite competition between rice and forage grasses, intercropping systems had superior benefits in terms of production and land use per unit area, N cycling, and profitability compared with monoculture. Forage DM production, CP, estimated animal stocking rate, and estimated meat production increased when N fertilizer was applied at sidedressing to rice (20−80, 50−50 and 0−100 kg N ha−1). Rice intercropped with guinea grass produced a greater amount of biomass, indicating that this forage species may be more advantageous in tropical regions. Net profit, total aboveground biomass, total N content, land equivalent ratio, and relative N yield were greater in intercropping systems fertilized with N.

KW - Brachiaria spp.

KW - Intercropping crops

KW - Megathyrsus maximus

KW - Oryza sativa L.

KW - Sustainable agroecosystem

KW - Plan_S-Compliant_NO

KW - international

U2 - 10.1016/j.fcr.2020.108008

DO - 10.1016/j.fcr.2020.108008

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85096871648

SN - 0378-4290

VL - 261

JO - Field Crops Research

JF - Field Crops Research

M1 - 108008

ER -