Summary
This two-year field trial conducted in Scotland investigated barley-pea intercropping under low-input, agrochemical-free conditions, comparing two barley cultivars with contrasting phenotypic traits against their monoculture counterparts. The study assessed the implications of intercropping for soil carbon storage, crop productivity, and grain quality, contributing evidence on the viability of legume-cereal mixtures as a climate adaptation strategy in temperate agroecosystems. Published in Agronomy Journal (2026), the work addresses a recognised evidence gap regarding intercropping performance in northern European, low-input farming contexts.
UK applicability
Directly applicable to UK conditions, as the experiment was conducted in Scotland under a temperate climate without agrochemical inputs, reflecting growing interest in agroecological and organic arable systems in the UK. Findings are relevant to Scottish and broader UK policy discussions on sustainable intensification, soil health, and climate adaptation in arable agriculture.
Key measures
Soil organic carbon (g/kg or %); crop yield (t/ha); land equivalent ratio (LER); grain protein and quality metrics; soil properties at two depths measured on six occasions
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil carbon dynamics, crop productivity, and grain quality under barley-pea intercropping compared with monocultures over two growing seasons. Outcomes likely included soil organic carbon fractions at multiple depths, land equivalent ratios, grain yield, and nutritional composition of harvested grain.
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