Summary
This common garden experiment investigated whether crop cultivars selectively bred for intercropping systems could outperform monoculture-bred cultivars in mixed plantings. The study disentangled productivity benefits arising from unidirectional adaptation versus reciprocal coevolutionary coadaptation, providing evidence that coexisting plant species adapted to one another achieved higher community productivity than randomly paired monoculture-bred mixtures. Whilst functional trait convergence was observed with increasing plant familiarity, the underlying mechanisms driving productivity gains from coevolution remain partially unexplained, suggesting that breeding programmes targeting diverse cropping communities may unlock untapped yield potential.
UK applicability
The findings support the case for developing cultivar breeding programmes suited to diverse cropping systems, which could enhance productivity in UK intercropping and diversified farming systems. However, the abstract does not specify the crop species, climate conditions, or soil types studied, limiting direct assessment of applicability to UK temperate agricultural conditions.
Key measures
Species-level and community-level productivity; functional trait convergence; comparison of intercropping performance between coadapted and monoculture-bred cultivars
Outcomes reported
The study measured productivity (yield) and functional traits of crop cultivars bred for intercropping versus monoculture systems when grown in mixed plantings. Results demonstrated that coadapted plant combinations produced higher productivity and trait convergence compared to monoculture-bred mixtures, though measured functional traits did not fully explain the productivity gains.
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