Abstract
The melon/cowpea intercropping system can be a specific and efficient cropping pattern in a horticultural field. Intercropping systems contribute to the optimization of land use, fostering sustainable and efficient agriculture. This study entails a first-year comparative intercropping assay using cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and melon (Cucumis melo) under organic management with different patterns and 30% less organic fertilization than usual in monocrops. We determined the soil nutrients, physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and microbes by high-throughput sequencing. We found that the intercropping system changed the bacterial community structure independently of the intercropping pattern. The bacterial community was characterized by a higher abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla and of the genus Pseudomonas, which are related to nutrient cycling, and by greater amounts of other beneficial microorganisms like Bacillus, Streptomyces and Sphingomonas. The intercropped systems significantly boosted the total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon levels in addition to the melon yield. They also enhanced the acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase activity compared to the melon monocrop. Results from this study suggest that melon/cowpea intercropping, starting from the first year, not only provides a stable supply of food and income due to the diversified cropping systems, but is also beneficial for the soil microbial community and environment.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping changed soil bacterial community structure independently of pattern.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpea
.jpg?width=60)
Cucumis melo
Vigna unguiculatat0 - Treatment
- intercropping systeme0
- Outcome
- bacterial community structuree0
- Direction
- changede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“We found that the intercropping system changed the bacterial community structure independently of the intercropping pattern.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping was associated with higher Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Pseudomonas abundance.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Outcome
- higher abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla and of the genus Pseudomonase0
- Direction
- highere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The bacterial community was characterized by a higher abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla and of the genus Pseudomonas, which are related to nutrient cycling, and by greater amounts of other beneficial microorganisms like Bacillus, Streptomyces and Sphingomonas.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
Other beneficial microorganisms Bacillus, Streptomyces and Sphingomonas were more abundant.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Outcome
- greater amounts of other beneficial microorganisms like Bacillus, Streptomyces and Sphingomonase0
- Direction
- greatere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The bacterial community was characterized by a higher abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes phyla and of the genus Pseudomonas, which are related to nutrient cycling, and by greater amounts of other beneficial microorganisms like Bacillus, Streptomyces and Sphingomonas.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping significantly increased total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Treatment
- intercropped systemse0
- Outcome
- total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon levelse0
- Direction
- boostede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The intercropped systems significantly boosted the total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon levels in addition to the melon yield.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping significantly increased melon yield.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Treatment
- intercropped systemse0
- Outcome
- melon yielde0
- Direction
- boostede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The intercropped systems significantly boosted the total nitrogen, available phosphorus and total organic carbon levels in addition to the melon yield.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping enhanced acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase activity relative to melon monocrop.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Outcome
- acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase activitye0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Comparator
- melon monocrope0
Not reportedTreatment
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“They also enhanced the acid phosphatase and β-glucosidase activity compared to the melon monocrop.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest first-year intercropping supports food and income supply and benefits the soil community and environment.
- Taxon
- melon/cowpeaCucumis meloVigna unguiculatat0
- Outcome
- provides a stable supply of food and incomee0
- Qualifier
- beneficial for the soil microbial community and environmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Results from this study suggest that melon/cowpea intercropping, starting from the first year, not only provides a stable supply of food and income due to the diversified cropping systems, but is also beneficial for the soil microbial community and environment.”
t0“melon/cowpea”
The same questions in other papers
intercropping · yield · Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)Results differ
62 papers in the same direction as this paper · 33 in the opposite direction · 7 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- no effect
99 papers more in this group
See all 103 papers →intercropping · nutrient: content · Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)Positive and negative results
5 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- no effect
- positive
- positive
3 papers more in this group
See all 7 papers →intercropping · yield · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Positive and negative results
6 papers in the same direction as this paper · 5 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- negative
- negative
- negative
9 papers more in this group
See all 13 papers →intercropping · nutrient: content · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Results agree
3 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.