Mix-cropping of rice and water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.) increases rice photosynthetic efficiency, yield, grain quality and soil available nutrients

作者：Hei, Zewen; Xiang, Huimin; Zhang, Jiaen^*; Liang, Kaiming; Zhong, Jiawen; Li, Meijuan; Ren, Xiaoqiao

来源：Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2022, 102(10): 3972-3982.

DOI：10.1002/jsfa.11744

• intercropping
• mix-cropping
• rice
• soil nutrients
• yield

BACKGROUND Cereal cultivation with legumes plays an important role in improving biodiversity and productivity. However, there are limited references concerning rice/legume mix-cropping in paddy fields. An aquatic leguminous plant, water mimosa (Neptunia oleracea Lour.), was introduced and a related field experiment of two seasons (early and late seasons in 2019) was carried out to explore the effects of rice/water mimosa mix-cropping on rice growth, yield, grain quality and soil nutrients in the present study. Three treatments - rice monocropping, rice/water mimosa intercropping and mix-cropping - were employed in this study. RESULTS Results showed that rice grew better with greater height, tiller number, chlorophyll content, actual photosynthetic efficiency [Y(II)], maximum photochemical efficiency (F-v/F-m) and photochemical quenching coefficient (qP) in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments. In addition, the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments increased nutrient uptake of nitrogen (N) by11.89-24.42%, phosphorous (P) by 17.75-36.61% and potassium (K) by 19.22-47.44%, and rice yield by 19.9% and 21.8%. Conversely, the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ), chalkiness degree and chalky rate of rice were lower in the intercropping and mix-cropping treatments relative to those in the monocropping treatments. Notably, soil alkali-hydrolysable N (AN), available P (AP) and K (AK) contents were the highest in the mix-cropping treatments among the three cropping systems. CONCLUSION We suggest that rice/water mimosa mix-cropping is an environmentally friendly agroecological system with a higher output and can be extended for green rice production and largely applied in the paddy field.

• 单位
  广东省农业科学院; 华南农业大学