جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « land equivalent ratio » در نشریات گروه « اکولوژی »

Sustainable agriculture refersp to the correct management of agricultural resources that, while meeting changing human needs, and preserve the quality of the environment and the capacity of water and soil resources. Among the components of sustainable agriculture, we can mention the agroforestry system, integrated pest management, crop rotation, and intercropping. The purpose of intercropping is to find plants that have the least competition with each other and use the available resources more effectively. The purpose of this research is to the effect of intercropping of Roselle on the quantitative and qualitative traits of borage under foliar application of iron fertilizer and to determine the best ratio of intercropping to achieve the highest yield and the highest level of land equivalent ratio.

This research was carried out in the educational research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture of Zabol University in the agricultural year of 2014-2015. The experiment was carried out as a factorial in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments examined in this research include foliar spraying of sulfate fertilizer as the first factor in three levels including |(no foliar application or control, 3gr.l-1 and 6gr.l-1) and eight levels of intercropping including (pure Roselle, pure Borage, 75% Roselle + 25% Borage, 75% Borage + 25% Roselle, 50% Roselle + 50% Borage, 50% Roselle + 100% Borage, 100% Roselle + 50% Borage, 100% Roselle + 100% Borage were as the second factor. Both plants were planted at the same time at the end of March in 2×2 plots, where the distance between the planting lines was 50 cm, the distance between the rows was the same, but the density was different in each row. Irrigation was done according to the needs of the plants, weeding and thinning during the growth period and weeding was done by hand during three stages. Wagner's method was used to measure the amount of anthocyanins. The criterion for evaluating intercropping was using the land equivalent ratio. At the end, data analysis will be done using SAS version 9.1 software, and a comparison of means will be done using Duncan's test at the 5 % level.

Results showed that the interaction effects of foliar application, iron, and intercropping were significant on the anthocyanin and mucilage content of borage. Additionally, the simple effects of foliar application of iron were significant on the number of flowers per stem, stem height, number of sub-branches, biological yield, and harvest index. The effects of intercropping were significant on the number of flowers per stem, anthocyanin content, mucilage content, stem height, number of sub-branches, economic yield, and harvest index. The comparison of means effects of different intercropping systems showed that the highest biological yield (1412.8 kg.ha-1) was obtained from the intercropping system of 75% Roselle + 25% borage. In addition, the comparison of means effects of different intercropping systems showed that the highest amount of economic yield (49.68  kg.ha-1) was obtained from the treatment of pure borage cultivation. Comparison of means showed that the highest percentage of mucilage with an average of 0.0713% from the foliar treatment of 6gr.l-1 of iron sulfate in the conditions of pure borage cultivation, and the lowest percentage of mucilage was obtained with an average of 0.0280 from the control treatment (no application of iron sulfate fertilizer + 100% Roselle + 50% borage). The highest land equivalent ratio (2) was obtained from intercropping of 100% Roselle + 50% borage harvest.

According to the results obtained in the present study, the effects of foliar application of iron and intercropping systems had significant effects on yield and yield components of borage. By increasing the foliar application of iron improved growth traits and yield. The highest proportion of LER obtained was from 100% Roselle+ 50% borage, which indicated superior cropping compared to pure crop. This superiority is probably due to the better use of mixed components of growth resources such as light, water, and nutrients compared to pure crop.

Agriculture plays an essential role in providing food, and in order to achieve sustainability in the agricultural sector, resources must be used in the best possible way. In order to achieve the maximum possible yield, it is necessary for the crop plant to use the environmental factors, water, nutrients, light, and carbon dioxide, with the maximum possible efficiency. The maximum use of the required factors for growth is achieved only when the plant community exerts maximum pressure on these factors. In general, intercropping is one of the ways to achieve sustainable agriculture, with higher yields without increasing agricultural inputs, absorption, and environmental factors productivity. Researchers for the intercropping of corn and mung bean have reported that the mixed cultivation systems used environmental resources more effectively compared to the sole cropping of corn and mung bean. For this reason, nowadays, many plants, especially legumes, are cultivated in an intercropping form due to their ability to fix nitrogen. Due to the lack of resources regarding the effect of planting direction on plant yield, this study was conducted in order to evaluate resources and soil nutrients by changing the planting direction and replacing the intercropping system of the sunflower with cowpea.

This research was conducted in the field of the Agricultural Research Station of Zabol University during 2015-2016. The experiment was performed as a split-plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Research Farm of the Agricultural Research Institute of Zabol University.  The main factor was two levels of planting direction (North-South and East-West), and the secondary factor was intercropping system in five levels, including (100% pure sunflower), (100% pure cowpea ), (50% sunflower + 50% cowpea ) (25% cowpea  + 75% sunflower) and (75 % cowpea  + 25%sunflower) were considered. Data for studied traits were measured as follows: radiation, temperature, volumetric humidity, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and the land equality ratio.  Statistical analysis including, analysis of variance and mean comparisons (least significant difference (LSD) test at the 5% level), were applied to evaluated traits.

The maximum absorption of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was in the east-west cultivation direction (77.90%) compared to the north-south treatment, which was 24.6% more than the north-south direction. The analysis of variance indicated that the cultivation direction and intercropping systems on the amount of phosphorus in the soil after harvest were significant at 1% probability level. The comparison of means treatments showed that the amount of phosphorus in the soil in the direction of east-west cultivation was 15% higher compared to the direction of north-south cultivation.The highest amount of soil potassium was obtained in the east-west treatment and the intercropping system of 50% sunflower plus 50% cowpea (24.7 ppm). The lowest amount of soil potassium (16.15 ppm) was obtained in the treatment of east-west cultivation and the intercropping system of 75% sunflower plus 25% cowpea. The relative advantage of intercropping is expressed by the land equivalent ratio. The increase in the ratio of equal land per unit shows the relative usefulness of intercropping compared to sole cropping of each of the mixed components. The comparison of means of the intercropping system showed that among the treatments, the mixture of 75% sunflower plus 25% cowpea had the highest land equivalent ratio (2.54).

It seems that in order to maintain humidity make maximum use of limited water resources, and obtain high yield, the intercropping system of 75% sunflower plus 25% cowpea and planting direction the prevailing wind of the region (east-west) should be suitable for this region and regions with similar climate and windy conditions.

The aim of the study was investigating the effects of different intercropping patterns with fenugreek and bio-fertilizers on growth characteristics and yield of Moldavian-balm and evaluating the advantage of intercropping patterns by determining the land equivalent ratio (LER) index.

A factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with 15 treatments and three replications in Maragheh city in 2019. The first factor was cropping-pattern consisted of sole Moldavian-balm and intercropping of Moldavian-balm with fenugreek in replacement patterns (Mb:F) and additive intercropping. The second factor was fertilizer treatment included the use of chemical-fertilizers (CF), Myco-Root bio-fertilizer (M) and the combination of Myco-Root and Biofarm bio-fertilizer (M+B).

The results showed that the effects of cropping-patterns and fertilizer treatments and the interaction of these factors were significant on most of the tested traits. The highest leaf chlorophyll-index (39.06) was observed in sole Moldavian-balm+CF and the greatest plant height (101.7 cm) was also observed in 1:1+CF, which was not significantly different with M+B. The highest dry herbage yield was obtained in sole Moldavian-balm and M+B (8213kg/ha) and CF (8130 kg/ha). At all intercropping patterns the LER values were higher than 1 and the greatest one was obtained in 100: 50.

According to the results of yield and LER, it can be concluded that the intercropping of Moldavian-balm and fenugreek, also the combined use of bio-fertilizers of Myco-Root and Biofarm, is a suitable alternative to sole -cropping and reduce the use of chemical-fertilizers in sustainable production of Moldavian-balm.

In conventional agriculture, crop production has gradually shifted from ecological production principles to economic approaches, which has led to the destruction of natural resources and land use change, as well as the reduction in resource consumption (Koocheki et al., 2016b). Satisfying the nutritional needs of a growing population whilst limiting environmental repercussions will require sustainable intensification of agriculture. The adverse effects of climate change are significantly decreasing yield and yield stability over time in current monocropping systems. We argue that intercropping, which is the production of multiple crops on the same area of land, could play an essential role in this intensification. Intercropping often increases resource use efficiency and agricultural productivity compared with growing the component crops solely and can enhance yield stability (Martin-Guay et al., 2018; Raseduzzaman & Jensen, 2017). In the case of an intercropping strategy, the growing period for the legume, as a cover crop, is longer to provide a high amount of fixed nitrogen and potential ground cover to compete with weeds (Vrignon-Brenas et al., 2018). The land equivalent ratio (LER) is often computed as an indicator to determine the efficacy of intercropping that measures land productivity. LER may be interpreted as the relative area required by sole crops to produce the same yields as achieved in a unit area of intercrop. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of relay intercropping as replacement series of three plant species such as chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), mung bean (Vigna radiate L.), and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), on the yield, yield components, and land equivalent ratio under climatic conditions of Mashhad.

A field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, during the growing seasons of 2015-2016. For this purpose, a randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The treatments included sole cropping of chickpea (C), mung bean (M), and sugar beet (S), as well as intercropping with 25% L + 75% S, 50% L + 50% S, and 75% L + 25% S. The investigated traits of mung bean and chickpea were plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, number of branches per plant, seed weight per plant, and 100-seed weight, as well as the number of hollow pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, biological yield, seed yield, and harvest index. For sugar beet, the traits investigated were root height, fresh yield of root, dry yield of root, dry weight of shoot, sucrose content, and sucrose yield. The land equivalent ratio of chickpea, mung bean, and sugar beet was calculated (Sullivan, 2003) as follows: LER = Y1/I1 + Y2/I2 + Y3/I3, where Y1, Y2, and Y3 represent chickpea, mung bean, and sugar beet yield in intercropping, and I1, I2, and I3 represent chickpea, mung bean, and sugar beet yield in mono-culture, respectively. SAS 9.2 was used for analysis of variance. All the means were compared according to Duncan's test (p ≤ 0.05).

The results showed that the effect of relay triple intercropping arrangements of three species, such as mung bean and chickpea with sugar beet, was significant on yield components and seed yield, biological yield (p ≤ 0.05). The highest seed yield of chickpea and mung bean (2912 and 1247.83 kg/ha, respectively) and biological yield (6237.5 and 6816.7 kg/ha) were observed in sole culture, respectively. Also, the highest amount of fresh root yield was related to its sole cropping with 65242 kg/ha. The highest and lowest LER were calculated for 75% S + 25% L (with 1.53) and 25% S + 75% L (with 0.94), respectively.

Intercropping systems using ecological principles are one of the sustainable solutions to choosing plants suited to the needs, and competitiveness is very important. According to the results, relay triple intercropping of chickpea, and mung bean with sugar beet can be considered as ecological management and ecological intensification in the agroecosystems.

This research aims to investigate the yield and yield components of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) in intercropping with dragon head (Lallemantia iberica).

Mixed cropping was done based on increasing series, where Carthamus tinctorius is the main plant and Lallemantia iberica is the Sub plant. The basic design of the experiment was in the form of randomized complete blocks with four replications. Different cultivation patterns include pure Carthamus tinctorius cultivation, 100% Carthamus tinctorius with 15% Lallemantia iberica, 100% Carthamus tinctorius with 30% Lallemantia iberica, 100% Carthamus tinctorius cultivation with 45% Lallemantia iberica, 100% Carthamus tinctorius with 60%Lallemantia iberica, 100% Carthamus tinctorius with 75%Lallemantia iberica. In this study, Carthamus tinctorius traits included number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, weight of 1000 seeds, seed yield and biological yield.

The results showed that the effect of different cultivation patterns on the number of seeds per plant and seed weight was not significant, but it was significant on the number of pods per plant, seed yield and biological yield .The highest number of seeds according to the 100:30 mixed crop pattern (Lallemantia iberica- Carthamus tinctorius) and the highest seed yield and biological yield belonged to pure Carthamus tinctorius cultivation.The highest land equivalent ratio belonged to 100:30 mixed cultivation (Lallemantia iberica-Carthamus tinctorius).

100:30 intercropping pattern (Lallemantia iberica-Carthamus tinctorius) was suggested as the suitable pattern of mixed cropping due to highest grain yield, biological yield and economic benefit.

Medicinal plants’ intercropping system is a relatively new approach to enhance their sustainable production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of fenugreek-dill to the integrated application of manure and bio-fertilizers in the intercropping system.

In a field experiment during the growing season of 2020, the effect of manure levels (no application, 6 and 12 t ha-1), either inoculated or non-inoculated with N-fixing bacteria on biomass production, land equivalent ratio (LER), Area-time equivalent ratio, land use efficiency, agronomy efficiency of fertilizer (AEF), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in monoculture compared to different intercropping patterns of dill:fenugreek (75:25, 50:50, and 25:75) were examined.

The results showed that the decrease in biomass production due to the decrease of fenugreek cropping ratio was compensated by 100% fertilization and bacterial inoculation which led to an increase in NUE, AEF, LERf, and the whole system advantageous in 75:25 and 50:50 dill:fenugreek intercropping ratios. Despite the decrease in biomass production and NUE with decreasing dill ratio in intercropping, biomass production under bacterial inoculation and 50% fertilization did not show any significant difference with 100% manure application, which led to increased AEF, NUE, and LER in these conditions.

According to the results, 25:75 and 50:50 dill:fenugreek intercropping ratios under 100% fertilization and bacterial inoculation can increase the total advantageous indices and NUE. For sustainable production of dill, 75:25 dill:fenugreek intercropping ratio inoculated with bacteria in 50% manure application can be recommended.

Today, agriculture faced various challenges, such as the inadequate of agricultural products for growing human needs, in the other words, step down of food security, reduction of productivity, economic justification, the competitiveness of agriculture, etc. On the other hand, the excessive use of agricultural inputs, especially water, fertilizers and pesticides, excessive pressure on natural resources along with the consequences of climate change has affected the sustainability and stability of agroecosystems. Intercropping as the agricultural practice of growing two or more species in the same farm at the same time has been emphasized by many researchers around the world as one of the ecological approaches for crop production as an effective technique for achieving sustainable agricultural goals. Therefore, the objective of this research was to agronomic and economic evaluation of intercropping patterns of three different crops.

To comparing sole cropping and intercropping systems of barley, fenugreek and garlic, a field experiment was conducted in 2016-17 at the Research Farm of Gonabad University based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments consisted of sole cropping of barley, fenugreek and garlic; and 4 replacement intercropping series as barley + fenugreek, barley + garlic, fenugreek + garlic, and barley + fenugreek + garlic. Studied traits included of dry forage yield, plant height, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, and harvest index in barley, dry forage yield, plant height, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield in fenugreek, plant height, leaf number per plant, clove length, clove diameter, clove number per plant, and bulb yield of garlic. In this research, intercropping advantage indexes included land equivalent ratio (LER), actual yield loss (AYL), system productivity index (SPI), intercropping advantage (IA) and relative value total (RVT) were calculated. Analyses of variance were carried out at P≤0.05, using SAS 9.1 software. The means were compared using the Duncan's multiple range test.

The results indicated that the highest values of dry forage yield (8523 kg.ha-1), seed yield (3494 kg.ha-1) and biological yield (14111 kg.ha-1) of barley were achieved from the sole cropping system. Among intercropping treatments, the highest dry forage yield (6109 kg.ha-1) achieved from barley + fenugreek. While, the highest seed yield (2709 kg.ha-1) and biological yield (11081 kg.ha-1) obtained from barley + garlic intercropping. There was no significant difference between sole cropping and intercropping systems about yield components as the plant height, 1000-seed weight, and harvest index of barley. The plant height, number of pod per plant and number of seed per pod showed the highest value in sole cropping system, although there was no significant difference between sole cropping with fenugreek + garlic intercropping. The seed yield (1145 kg.ha-1) and dry forage yield (5100 kg.ha-1) of fenugreek in sole cropping were significantly higher than intercropping patterns. The garlic +fenugreek intercropping treatment with 4090 kg.ha-1 dry forage yield, and 569 kg.ha-1 seed yield had the highest values among intercropping patterns. Yield components of garlic included the plant height, number of leaf per plant, clove length and diameter, and number of clove in plant had the highest value in sole cropping however, there was no significant difference between sole cropping and fenugreek + garlic intercropping. The highest value of bulb yield (7194 kg.ha-1) was obtained from sole cropping and garlic + fenugreek intercropping with the value of 3381 kg.ha-1 ranked in second place. Among intercropping advantage indexes, the highest value of land equivalent ratio (1.16), actual yield increase (0.30), and system productivity (8414) achieved from barley + garlic intercropping system. The highest value of intercropping advantage (0.02) and relative value total (1.27) obtained from fenugreek + garlic and barley + fenugreek, respectively.

According to our findings, intercropping systems of barley + fenugreek and fenugreek + garlic can be selected as an appropriate approach for planting these crops to producing more forage than sole cropping. The results also indicate the better utilization of barley from intercropping advantages than other species and its competitive superiority in the use of environmental resources and economic yield enhancement. Based on the findings of this research, intercropping of barley with garlic and fenugreek is an appropriate approach for increase of land use efficiency and economic profitability that in overall, among cropping systems, barley-garlic intercropping system had more advantage. 

Intercropping is one of the main strategies to obtain more stability in agro-ecosystems. The possibility of yield improvement in intercropping systems depends on various factors such as plant combination, cultivar type, plant density, planting pattern, and contribution of each species. Introducing new crops or forgotten plants to agro-ecosystems are other methods for sustainable crop production. Quinoa as a potential new crop to be introduced to Iran’s farming systems, is well-adapted to different environmental conditions. This plant has high nutritional values and produces acceptable yield to areas affected by environmental stresses like drought and salinity stresses. Millet, as a forgotten crop in Iran’s agro-ecosystems, is a drought-tolerant grain, with appropriate growth and yield in arid and semi-arid regions. This C4 plant has vertical leaf distribution, rapid and short growth period which make it tolerant to adverse environmental conditions compared to other cereals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of quinoa and millet intercropping under arid and semi-arid climate of Birjand, Iran.

A factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was conducted in research field of University of Birjand, Iran, in 2018. The experimental factors were planting density at three levels (20, 40, and 60 plants m-2 for both quinoa and millet) and planting ratio at five levels (pure stand of millet (100 %), three rows of millet and one row of quinoa (75%-25%), the equal ratio of millet and quinoa (50%-50%), one row of millet and three rows of quinoa (25%-75%) and monoculture of quinoa (100%). Experimental plots area was 24 m2 (6 m×4 m), with eight planting rows per each. The distances between planting rows in all treatments were 50 cm, while the distances along the single rows were 10, 5, and 3.3 cm for 20, 40, and 60 planting densities, respectively. The grain and biological yields of both plants were determined, finally, various indices including land equivalent ratio (LER), relative yield (RY), competitive ratio index and aggressively index were calculated. Data analyses were done using SAS 9.2 and means were compared by FLSD test at 5% probability level.

The simple and interaction effects of planting density and ratio had a significant effect on grain and biological yield of quinoa and grain yield of millet (P < 0.01). In addition, planting ratio had a significant effect on the biological yield of millet (P < 0.01). Based on data obtained from monoculture system, the optimum plant density to obtain the highest grain yield of millet (4100 kg.ha-1) and quinoa (2340 kg.ha-1), were 60 and 40 plants per m2, respectively. Considering the different ratios of planting, the participation and positive effect of both millet and quinoa plants in an increasing the land equality ratio has been equal. By increasing the density, the advantage of mixed cultivation has been reduced. The best intercropping systems in terms of LER (1.32) were the density of 40 plants per m2 (for both crops), and planting ratio of 25% millet and 75% quinoa, which had 26.98% actual grain yield incensement. In addition, the results of interaction effect showed that this treatment increased the biological yield of quinoa (6935 kg ha-1) by 9.26%, based on anticipated yield. In this density, it seems that the result of optimal use of existing inputs and reduction of internal and external competition in order to achieve maximum yield has been achieved. The results of the relative yield indicated that the millet is better utilized from environmental resources and conditions due to its predominance and competitiveness. In general, the results of evaluating mixed culture indicators based on the principles of assistance and competition were complementary and confirming each other.

The results showed that millet and quinoa had significant effects on each other when intercropped at different planting densities and ratios due to difference of morphological and physiological characteristics. So according to the goals of intercropping recommended the intercropping systems of millet and quinoa for Birjand region.

Iintercropping can be considered as one of the ways to increasing the yield and production stability per unit area. So, this experiment in order to investigate yield components and yield as well as competition indices in triticale and winter vetch intercropping under different tillage systems done.

The experiment was conducted as a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the Bu-Ali Sina University. Three tillage levels (conventional, reduced and no tillage) were set as main plot and five planting patterns) sole cropping of winter wetch (M) and triticale (T) and intercropping of 50T+50M, 67T+33M and 33T+67M) were considered as sub plot.

Results showed that tillage and planting pattern had a significant effect on number of spikes per m-2, number of seeds per spike, 1000-seed weight and biological and grain yield in triticale. Also, such significant impact was recorded for the number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, 100-seed weight and biological and grain yield in winter vetch. The highest grain yield for triticale and winter vetch was relvealed at sole cropping under conventional tillage. Highest LER (1.30) and RCC (4.60) were obtained from 50T+50M treatment. The positive values of the aggressivity and the higher values of the competition ratios in 50T+50M treatment for triticale indicates the competitive superiority of triticale over winter vetch or better using of inputs in intercropping. Actual yield loss and intercropping advantage were positive in triticale and winter vetch.

Therefore, by estimating the competitive indices in order to evaluate the ststuse of the two species in the intercropping, it was determined that in the different intercropping treatments, therewas no actual yeild loss which shows the superiority of intercropping over the sole cultivation of the two species. So, planting patterns of 50T+50M in addition to creating biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability, causes maximum productivity of the land.

Intercropping is a well-known agro-ecological practice for its dramatic effect on pest and weed control, increasing productivity as well as enhancing resources (radiation, water and nitrogen) use efficiency. All these beneficial effects are the results of increased species diversity which presumably would be higher with introducing more component species. On the other hand, crop growth analysis provides indices for quantifying the rate of dry matter production and allocation of dry matter to the other organs, particularly to leaves. It seems that growth indices of intercropped species relative to their pure stands could be useful for better understanding of higher productivity of more diverse intercrops.The objective of this study was comparison of growth indices and dry matter allocation as well as land equivalent ratio of fennel (Foeniculum vulgar), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and sesame (Sesamum indicum) grown in monoculture or intercropping systems. 

The experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with three replications and seven treatments including pure fennel (F), pure sesame (S), pure bean (B), row intercropping with 1:1 ratio of FB, SB and FS as well as 1:1:1 intercrop of FSB. All treatments were sown in recommended planting date and density. Total aboveground materials of each plot were sampled in 5 randomly selected plants in two-weekly intervals and repeated seven times during growth period. Green leaf area index (GAI) and total aboveground dry matter (DM) were measured for each species in sole and intercropped plots. Time course of LAI and DM was estimated by fitting logistic peak and sigmoid functions to the measured values for each species, respectively. Crop growth rate (CGR; g m-2 d-1) of each species was estimated as the first derivative of the sigmoid function. Economic yield of species was measured by harvesting the whole plots and used for calculation of land equivalent ratio (LER) for intercropping treatments. 

Results showed that for all studied species, the growth indices were lower in intercropping compared to monoculture. Maximum GAI (1.28), dry matter (184.6 g.m2) and crop growth rate (5.2 g.m-2.day-1) for fennel was observed in pure stand. For sesame, the highest GAI (4.2) was obtained in the sesame – fennel intercrop, however, maximum dry matter (1023 g.m-2) and crop growth rate (24.5 g.m-2.day-1) were achieved in the pure stand of sesame. Similarly in bean, maximum GAI (3.8), dry matter (546.39 g m-2) and crop growth rate were observed in pure stand. However, the lowest GAI (0.61), dry matter (54 g m-2) and crop growth rate (1.6 g m-2 day-1) of fennel was observed in fennel-sesame and fennel-sesame–bean intercrops, respectively. The minimum GAI (3.24), dry matter (286 g.m-2) and crop growth rate (6.6 g.m-2.day-1) of sesame was obtained in fennel- sesame- bean, fennel- sesame and fennel- sesame- bean, respectively. The minimum LAI (3.08), dry matter (110 g.m-2) and crop growth rate (3.26 g m-2day-1) of sesame was observed in fennel- sesame- bean treatment. Despite the lower growth indices, LER was grater that 1 in all intercrops with a highest value (1.09) in sesame – bean showing the better allocation of dry matter between component species of intercropping. 

While the LAI, DM and CGR was lower when species were intercropped, the overall rate of dry matter production of intercropping systems was about 28%, on average, higher as compared with pure stands leading to almost 10% higher productivity. Addition of the third species into intercrops has no significant effect on productivity. However, it seems that using species with diverse functional traits to increase functional diversity could cause higher productivity of intercropping systems.

Low yield and total land productivity are the main challenges related to agriculture in developing countries. Crop diversification can help reduce these challenges by introducing legumes in intercropping. Therefore, evaluation of the effects of green bean intercropping with potato (Agria cultivar) on physiological indices, yield and total land output (TLO), were important objectives of this study.

Experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University in 2016 growing season. Experiment was laid out as a factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Four planting patterns including sole cropping of potato (M1), cropping green bean between rows of potato (M2), cropping green bean on rows of potato (M3) and cropping  green bean between and on rows of potato (M4) were applied in combination with three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (N0, N80 and N160: 0, 80 and 160 kg N.ha-1, respectively).

The results showed that the highest above ground dry matter accumulation (529 g.m-2) and leaf area index (4.86) were obtained at M1×N160 tretment. The highest crop growth rate (21.72 g.m-2.day-1) was achieved at M2 treatment. Maximum tuber dry matter accumulation (877 g.m-2), tuber growth rate (24.50 g.m-2.day-1), and tuber yield (42.48 t.ha-1) were obtained at M2×N160 treatment. In green bean, the highest dry matter accumulation, LAI, CGR and number of green pods per plant were obtained from M2×N80 treatment. At the canopy level, the highest accumulation of dry matter, LAI, LER and TLO were observed at M2×N80 treatment. Treatment of M2×N80 in comparison with M1×N0 treatment (sole cropping of potato without nitrogen consumption), increased TLO up to 43 percentage.

The cultivation of green beans between rows of potato and the application of 80 kg of nitrogen per hectare, in addition to creating biodiversity and ecosystem stability, causes maximum land productivity.

This research was conducted in order to measure of yield, yield components and some indices of intercropping and determination of the best intercropping ration in two medicinal plants Hyssopus officinalis and Plantago ovate.  

The experiment was carried out as a randomized complete block design with seven treatments and three replications in the field of research of Jiroft University. The treatments including 100% H. officinalis + 20% P. ovata (H100: P20), 100% H. officinalis + 40% P. ovata (H100: P40), 100% H. officinalis + 60% P. ovata (H100: P60), 100% H. officinalis + 80% P. ovata (H100: P80), 100% H. officinalis + 100% P. ovata (H100: P100) and single crop of two species (H100) and (P100). The studied characteristics including plant height, number of branches, biomass yield, essence percentage in H. officinalis and plant height, number of spikes per plant, 100-seed weight, grain yield and harvesting index in P. ovate. Evaluation of efficiency and usefulness intercropping by Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) and system productivity index (SPI) were used.  

The results showed that all the studied traits except biomass yield of Hyssopus officinalis were significantly affected by different intercropping ratios in this study. The highest seed yield and biological yield in P. ovate were obtained in single crop 3393.3 and 4286.6 kg.ha-1, respectively. The highest essence percentage was obtained from single crop of H. officinalis that no significant difference with H100:P20 (161773 and 135842 g.ha-1). Maximum LER (1.41) and SPI (21998) were obtained in H100: P80.  

The LER for all intercropping treatments was greater than one which indicates that intercropping had advantage over sole crop. According to the results of the study H100: P80 can be suggested as the best cropping pattern in region.

Intercropping systems and the application of biofertilizers play an important role in increasing of quantity and quality of plant products. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of Funneliformis mosseae application and different planting patterns on the yield and yield component of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) in intercropping with chick pea (Cicer arietnium L.).  

A field experiment was carried out as factorial based on randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with 10 treatments and three replications at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh during 2018 growing season. The first factor was consisted of different planting patterns including monoculture of chickpea, monoculture of black cumin, 1 row intercropping of chickpea + 1 black cumin (1:1), 1 row chickpea+ 2 row black cumin (1:2) and 2 row chickpea+ 1 row black cumin (2:1) and the second factor was inoculation and non-inoculation with mychorrizal fungus.  

The results demonstrated that the seed yield of chickpea and black cumin was significantly affected by different planting patterns and mychorrizal fungus. The highest seed yield of chickpea (1203.5 kg.ha-1) was observed in the chickpea monoculture that was no significantly different with planting pattern of 2:1. Also, the highest seed yield of black cumin (823.3 kg.ha-1) was achieved in its monoculture. Application of mychorrizal fungus increased the seed yield of chickpea and black cumin by 24.62 and 18.59% in compared with non-application. In addition, the highest essential oil percentage (1.06) and essential oil yield (7.326 g.m-2) were achieved in the 1 row chickpea+ 2 row black cumin intercropping pattern. In all intercropping patterns, the LER was higher than one, indicating the advantages of these patterns compared with monocultures. The highest LER (1.56) was obtained in the planting pattern of 1:2 with application of mychorrizal fungus. Also, in all intercropping patterns, the aggressivity values of chickpea was higher than black cumin, representing that the chickpea was the dominant in these intercropping patterns. Moreover, the highest ecological indices (AHER, ATER and LUE) and monetary indices (IA, MAI, RVT and SPI) were achieved in the ratios of 1:2 and 2:1 with application of mychorrizal fungus.  

Generally, the planting pattern of 1 row chickpea+ 2 row black cumin (1:2) with application of mychorrizal fungus not only leading to agricultural ecosystems diversity and sustainable productivity, but also effective in enhancing economic income and land use efficiency.

Intercropping due to better use of environmental resources, has led to this type of agronomic system in livelihoods farming having an important role in providing food and has a special place in the design of sustainable agro-ecosystems. The superiority of yield in intercropping cultivation is due to the combination of various factors such as better use of soil moisture, light and nutrients. Organic fertilizers such as vermi compost and animal manure lead to improve the performance of plant by increasing the availability of moisture and nutrients available to plants, and consequently increase soil organic matter. Considering the importance of suitable cropping pattern and determining the optimal feeding systems agricultural systems, the current study aimed to evaluate intercropping systems of Roselle and cowpea with organic fertilizers and the introduction of best cultivation model as well as the optimal amount of fertilizer. The experiments were carried out in the Sistan region.

In order to investigate the effects of vermicompost and cow manure on morphological characteristics in Roselle and cowpea, the experiments conducted at the Research Institute of Zabol University during growing season of 2016. Treatments experiment included three levels of organic fertilizers as the main plot including cow fertilizer (30 t.ha-1), vermicompost fertilizer (15 t.ha-1) and control as well as 5 levels of intercropping patterns including (100% Roselle, 100% cowpea, 50% Roselle+ 50% cowpea, 25% Roselle+ 75% cowpea and 75% Roselle+ 25% cowpea). As subplot agent, from the middle of each plot five plants were harvested randomly at the end of the growing season to determine yield. Finally, data analysis was performed using SAS version 9.1. Comparison of mean treatments was performed using Duncan's multiple range test at 5% probability level. Irrigation was performed every day (7 days) on average according to the requirement of both plants. Relative performance of each component was calculated to calculate the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER).

The results of variance analysis showed that the interaction of organic fertilizers and intercropping except for the traits of stem height and chlorophyll content (a,b) of cowpea, is significant for all traits measured Roselle and cowpea. The highest dry sepal yield Roselle (1170.58 kg.ha-1) was obtained in vermicompost and 50% Roselle and 50% cowpea and highest Seed yield of cowpea (2418.3 kg.ha-1) was for vermicompost+ cowpea 25%+ Roselle 75%. The use of organic fertilizers improves vegetative growth and yield components by releasing nutrients gradually. Intercropping is useful when the yield of the intercropping product is greater than the maximum single craft product. Yield increment can be attributed to the better use of the available resources by the two plants, the morphological differences between them and the lower weed in the intercropping system. The results showed that plant systems have a significant effect on the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER). The highest LER (5.37) of Treatment Vermicompost+ cowpea 25% + Roselle 75%, showed the advantage of intercropping over sole crop. Concerning the superiority of intercropping to sole crop, it can be argued that increasing yield is due to increased resource efficiency in intercropping system.

In the present study the highest sepal yield of Roselle was obtained in intercropping system with vermicompost with 50% Roselle and 50% cowpea and highest seed yield of cowpea was observed in intercropping system with vermicompost with cowpea 25%+ Roselle 75%. The results of the experiment indicate that the performance of both species was influenced by different ratios of cultivation and fertilization. Intercropping cultivation in Roselle and cowpea is much more profitable than single cultivation, because of the significant and beneficial interactions that make use of environmental resources (such as water, nutrients, and sun light).

The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of the intercropping by soybean, Moldavian balm and Proso millet on growth characteristics and yield of three sugar beet cultivars.

A factorial experiment was conducted in Khoy city based on randomized complete block design with 12 treatments in three replications in 2016 and 2017. The first factor was sugar beet cultivars (Kevin, Ghazira and Vaclav) and the second factor was cropping pattern of mono–cropping of sugar beet and the intercropping of sugar beet with soybean, Moldavian balm and Proso millet (50:50).

Results, indicated that the highest sugar content (15.82%), root yield (100.40 t.ha-1) and gross sugar yield (13.48 t.ha-1) in occupied area was obtained from the intercropping of sugar beet and Moldavian balm, and the lowest one (15.37%) obtained in intercropping of sugar beet and Proso millet and the intercropping of sugarbeet and soybean with 47.39 and 6.13 t.ha-1. The highest LER (1.27) obtained in intercropping of sugar beet cv. and soybean 2016, and the least (1.03) belonged to the intercropping Kevin cv. and soybean in 2017. The highest LER (1.21) belonged to the intercropping Vaclav cv. and Moldavian balm in 2017.

Based on root yield, sugar content, gross sugar yield and LER results, the intercropping of sugar beet with Moldavian balm is suitable alternatives for monocropping of sugar beet.

Agricultural intensification has had negative effects on the environment. The sustainability in the agricultural systems that provides sufficient food on the one hand and maintains the quality of the environment on the other hand, is very important. In assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems, the contribution of both environmental and economic resources must be taken into account. Emergy analysis has many indices in which the efficiency, renewability, environmental burden, and sustainability of a system can be assessed in terms of environmental and economic. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the resource use efficiency and sustainability indices for two autumn and spring potato systems and provide suggestions for optimum and sustainable management of the crop.

In this study, two production systems of potato were evaluated using emergy sustainability indices in Gorgan County, Iran during the period of 2017-2018. To this end, 100 and 60 farms were selected for autumn and spring potato, respectively. To analyze the production systems, the spatial and temporal boundaries of the system were defined and resources were divided into four categories: renewable environmental sources (R), nonrenewable environmental resources (N0), purchased renewable resources (FR), purchased nonrenewable resources (FN). Emergy flow for each item was multiplied by their transformities in joules and grams. In this study, emergy indices were calculated and compared by t-test between warm and cool production systems.

Total emergy inputs for the autumn and spring potato production were estimated as 1.71E+16 and 1.76E+16 sej ha-1 year-1, respectively. In autumn potato production, dependence on purchased inputs was higher than environmental inputs, while in spring potato production, the dependence of environmental inputs was higher than purchased inputs. Groundwater emergy was the largest emergy inputs of the total in both autumn and spring potato production systems with a share of 23.92% and 45.28%, respectively. In autumn and spring potato production system, transformities were 1.50E+05 and 2.54E+05 sej j-1; emergy renewabilities were 22.85% and 12.78%; emergy yield ratios were 1.44 and 2.06; emergy investment ratios were 2.29 and 0.94; environmental loading ratios were 29.10 and 30.02; and emergy sustainability indices were 0.05 and 0.07, respectively. There is a significant difference between the emergy indices of the autumn and spring potato production systems. Despite the higher contribution of environmental resources in the spring potato production system, the high consumption of groundwater as a non-renewable input led to an increase in environmental burden. The use of new irrigation methods will improve water consumption and, as a result, reduce environmental pressure on ecosystems. The autumn production system was more favorable in terms of yield and resources use efficiency, renewability and environmental sustainability than the spring production system. The economic sustainability of the autumn potato production system was slightly lower than that of the spring potato production system, largely due to the unreasonable use of purchased inputs such as seed and fossil fuels. Optimum management of inputs such as seed and fossil fuels will increase economic sustainability in the autumn potato production system. The optimization of economic inputs will increase economic sustainability in production systems (Kohkan et al., 2017).
 

Two autumn and spring potato production systems in Gorgan had significant differences in terms of resources use efficiency, input renewability, environmental burden and ecological sustainability. The autumn potato production system was more favorable in terms of resources use efficiency and environmental sustainability. The economic sustainability of the autumn potato production system was slightly lower than that of the spring potato production system. Optimizing inputs through the use of appropriate seeds (size and recommended amount), the use of soil tillage and modernization of machinery and diesel engines of the well will increase the economic sustainability of the autumn ecosystem.

Intercropping, i.e. growing two or more crops together on the same land at the same time. The intercropped legumes/cereal systems reduce inter-specific competition by enhancing complementarity/facilitation processes thereby improving the exploitation of environmental resources; on the other hand, it has led to improved crop production, which is due to greater efficiency in the intercropping system. Salehi et al. (2018) in intercropping of triticale with annual legumes reported that the highest plant height, number of spike per m-2, spikelet number per spike, grain number per spike, grain and biological yield of triticale were obtained in the sole crops but the lowest economic yield of triticale was achieved from intercropping of triticale with vetch, respectively. The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of growth, yield and yield components for different fababean cultivars affected as in intercropping with triticale in order to achieve the most suitable combination in terms of maximum yield and land use efficiency in Urmia weather conditions.

In order to evaluate yield and yield components of different faba bean varieties in intercropping with triticale, a field experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with thirteen treatments and three replications at the Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University, Iran, during the growing season of 2018. Treatments were included sole cropping of triticale, replacement intercropping of triticale with five-faba bean varieties (Mahta, Histal, Feyz, Barkat, Luzde otono and Shadan) in ratios 1:1. Triticale was harvested when spike turned brown and different faba bean varieties were harvested when the first pod of the plants fully matured. Field data were collected by cutting 10 plants randomly from each plot and yield component of each plant was considered as the average for each plot. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SAS software; version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) and significant differences between treatments were compared with the Duncan test at P≤0.05.

The results showed that the highest plant height, spike length, number of spike per m-2, spikelet number per spike, grain number per spike, grain and biological yield, and chlorophyll a and b contents of triticale were obtained in the intercropping system. Also, the maximum nodule number, nodule dry weight, plant height, length pods, number of seeds per pod, 100- seed weight, seed and biological yield, and chlorophyll a and b contents of different faba bean varieties were achieved from intercropping and the lowest amounts of mentioned were recorded in the sole cropping of both plants, respectively. The higher seed yields of the intercropping systems compared to the sole cropping were probably due to the better use of environmental resources by balancing inter-specific and intra-specific interactions. The average chlorophyll content of both plants in the intercropping system was higher than the sole cropping. Increasing the chlorophyll content in the intercropping system was attributed to the better availability of nutrients, light, and water.  However, the partial LER of faba bean was higher than triticale, indicating that the former was the dominant plant in intercropping patterns. In addition, the highest LER total was calculated for intercropping triticale with Feyz faba bean (2.2 units) and the lowest total LER (1.9) was computed to the triticale with Barkat faba bean hat represents an increased advantage in intercropping than sole cropping.

Our study showed that the productivity of different faba bean varieties in intercropping with triticale could be increased by environmental conditions. The maximum seed and biological yield of both plants were obtained at intercropping. The LER was higher than one in all intercropping treatments compared to sole cropping systems. According to the results, it seems that the use of the intercropping system is remarkably effective to increase the economic income and land-use efficiency.

Intercropping is one of the most common practices used in sustainable agricultural systems which have an important role in increasing the productivity and stability of yield in order to improve resource utilization and environmental factors. Intercropping is an option for reducing weed problems through non-chemical methods. Dragon’s head (Lallemantia iberica Fish. et Mey.) is an annual herb from the Lamiaceae family. This plant mainly cultivated for its grains that contain about 30% (even 35-38%) siccative oil with iodine value between 163 and 203, which is used in foods, but especially in dye and varnish industry. Despite the positive effects of intercropping on weed control and the increment in crop yield and the very important role of dragon’s head in sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, information on the effects of these factors on this medicinal plant is scarce. Therefore, in this research, the effect of cumin-dragon’s head additive intercropping in the improvement of the dragon’s head yield and weed control was investigated.

To evaluate the effect of cumin and dragon’s head additive intercropping on weed control and yield of dragon’s head, a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out at the Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Iran in 2014. Treatments were two levels of weed control (complete control and no weed control) and sole cropping of two crops as well as three additive intercropping ratios including of 100% cumin + 20% dragon’s head, 100% cumin + 40% dragon’s head, 100% cumin + 60% dragon’s head. At the maturity time, plants of 1 m2 in the middle part of each plot were harvested and biological yield, grain yield per unit area as well as harvest index of dragon’s head were determined. Land equivalent ratio (LER) and relative value total (RVT) were used to quantify the efficiency of the intercropping treatments.Data were analyzed by MSTAT-C requires and SPSS 16 softwares and the means were compared using Duncan multiple range tests at p ≤ 0.05. Excel software was used to draw figures.

The effect of planting pattern was significant on the dry weight of weeds. Intercropping of 100% cumin + 20% dragon’s head had the lowest weed biomass. The highest biological and grain yields of dragon’s head under weedy and weed-free conditions were obtained from the monoculture of the dragon’s head. However, among different intercropping treatments, the highest biological and grain yields of dragon’s head were related to 100% cumin + 60% dragon’s head in both conditions of weed treatment. The maximum harvest index was also recorded for monoculture of dragon’s head under weed-free conditions. The land equivalent ratio was more than 1 in intercropping patterns (LER>1) that shows the positive effect of intercropping on yield. Although weed biomass in 100% cumin + 60% dragon’s was higher than that other planting patterns, the maximum LER (1.42) based on seed yield were observed in this planting system under weedy condition. In weed-free conditions, increasing of dragon’s head density reduced LER, while in the weedy conditions, the increment in dragon’s head density was associated with improved LER, indicating the higher efficiency of intercropping of these two plants under no weed control conditions.

The results of this research showed that the combination of 100% cumin + 60% dragon’s head, especially under weedy condition, was the superior treatment, because of the highest land equivalent ratio (1.42). In general, intercropping of cumin and dragon’s head, especially 100% cumin + 60% dragon’s head, is recommended for the creation of variety and production stability and increasing land-use efficiency under weedy condition.

One of the ways to move towards sustainable agriculture is to create diversity and using intercropping of crops, cultivars and / or different isolines in agriculture. In order to increase productivity in the agricultural system, resource management and inputs also play a key role. In addition, to preserve ecological balance and stability of the system, the main goals in the intercropping systems are maximum exploitation of environmental resources such as water, soil, food, the quantitative as well as qualitative increase of yield, and reduction of damage from pests, diseases, and weeds. In addition, improvement social conditions, such as greater economic stability and adequate nutrition for humans are pursued. Therefore, the present study aimed to exploit the agro-ecological benefits of additive intercropping of green bean in reduction of nitrogen consumption in potato cultivation and improving the land use efficiency and potato equivalent yield.

In order to evaluate the effects of additive intercropping of green bean on potato growth, tuber yield, nitrogen use efficiency, land use efficiency, and potato equivalent yield as well as green bean yield, an experiment was conducted at the Farm Research of Faculty Agriculture (latitude 35◦1'N, longitude 48◦31'E and 1690 m altitude), Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran, in the growing season of 2016. Experiment was laid out as a factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Four planting patterns including sole cropping of potato (M1), green bean intercrops between potato rows (M2), green bean intercrops within potato rows (M3) and green bean intercrops between and within potato rows (M4) were applied in combination with three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (N0, N80 and N160: 0, 80 and 160 kg N ha-1, respectively). Intercropping system was done using additive design. So that, the potato density was kept constant and in all cropping patterns, 50% sole green bean planting density was added to potato plots. Traits of plant height (PH), tuber yield (TY), number of tuber per plant (NTP), tuber dry matter (TDW), harvest index (HI), and potato equivalent yield (PEY) for potato, and green bean pod yield (GPY), number of pods per plant (NPP), and biological yield (BY) for  green bean were evaluated. Land equivalent ratio (LER), relative value total (RVT) indices were also studied.

Results demonstrate that planting pattern and N had the strongest influence on tuber equivalent yield as well as tuber yield of winter wheat followed by interactions between these treatment factors. Accordingly, when normal and high N levels were applied, potato equivalent yield values were comparable to, or higher than, those obtained without consumption of N. The highest potato tuber yield (42.50 t.ha-1) was revealed at the treatment of green bean intercrops between potato rows with consumption of 160 kg N ha-1. This treatment did not show significant difference with the treatment of green bean intercrops between potato rows with consumption of 80 kg N ha-1, which had a yield of 41.51 t.ha-1. Also, the highest values for yield of green beans (515 g.m-2), the land equivalent ratio (1.50), total relative value (1.45) and the highest potato equivalent yield (54.38 t.ha-1) were obtained at M2 × N80 (green bean cultivation between potato rows with consumption of 80 kg N ha-1) treatment. Legumes have the ability to nitrogen fixation and using of them in intercropped systems can be suitable for reduce nitrogen use as well as environmental problems. Therefore, in terms of growth, tuber yield, land use efficiency and nitrogen utilization efficiency, treatment of green bean intercrops between potato rows with consumption of 80 kg N ha-1 was the best treatment for potato production.

In general, the cultivation of green beans between potato rows due to ecological, morphological and nutritional differences has cooperation aspects in intercropping. This will increase the productivity of the land, the light and food in the unit area and the diversity in agricultural ecosystems.

Intercropping system is one of the most important strategies for achieving sustainable agriculture goals. Intercropping increases biodiversity in agroecosystems and enhances yield on a given piece of land by making more efficient use of the available resources. In these systems, legumes are a key functional group, and are highly valued for the agroecological services they provide. Adding legumes in fields is justified by their natural ability to exploit atmospheric nitrogen. This additional source of N is expected to avoid inter-specific competition between plants and legumes for N acquisition. Medicinal plants play pivotal role in human health. The use of sustainable agriculture is the foundation for safe and healthy Medicinal plants. Therefore, the purpose of this research was evaluation of quantitative and qualitative traits of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-greacum L.) in additive and replacement series of intercropping.

Field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research station, University of Kurdistan, during 2015 growing season. In this research, qualitative and quantitative traits of black cumin and fenugreek were investigated. Experimental design was randomized complete block with three replications. Experimental factors were 50% fenugreek + 50% black cumin, 25% black cumin + 75% fenugreek, 75% black cumin + 25% fenugreek, 100% black cumin + 12.5% fenugreek, 100% black cumin + 25% fenugreek, 100% black cumin + 37.5% fenugreek, 100% black cumin + 50% fenugreek based on replacement and additive series and their monocultures. The seeds were sown directly on 4th of May for both plants. In this study, morphological characteristics consisted of branch number per plant, follicle number per plant, seed number per follicle, 1000 seed weight, essential oil content, essential oil yield of black cumin and branch number per plant, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, 1000 seed weight of fenugreek and biological and seed yield were measured in both plants. Intercropping indexes included of LER and ATER were also evaluated. The obtained data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS statistical software and means were compared using the least significant difference test (L.S.D) at level of 0.05.

The results revealed that different intercropping ratios had significant effect on morphological traits, biological and seed yield of both plants. The usage of 100% black cumin + 12.5% fenugreek gave the highest values of branch number per plant (18.87), follicle Number per plant (29.73), Seed number per follicle (52.6), 1000-seed weight (2.67 g), seed yield (972.1 kg.ha-1), biological yield (2757.1 kg.ha-1) and essential oil yield (11.19 kg.ha-1) of black cumin. It seems that black cumin was more efficient for uptake nutrient resources in comparison with fenugreek. With increasing fenugreek density different traits of black cumin decreased in the other additive treatments. This decrement maybe related to the effect of density which increases competition. Statistical analysis revealed that all traits of fenugreek such as branch number per plant, pod number per plant, Seed number per pod, 1000-seed weight, biological yield and seed yield were 12.27, 16.80, 11.63, 15.77g, 3266.7 kg.ha-1 and 874.4 kg.ha-1, respectively. These values belonged to monoculture of fenugreek. Intercropping indexes included of LER (1.36) and ATER (1.30) showed higher values in 100% black cumin + 12.5% fenugreek treatment.

The highest values of most characteristics of black cumin were obtained from 100% black cumin + 12.5% fenugreek. Furthermore, it could be concluded that the mentioned additive series was the best treatment of intercropping and gave the highest LER and ATER due to improved growth condition.