Combined cultivation of cereals and legumes allows better management of weeds, diseases and pests than pure crops. The use of mechanical weeding is therefore reduced. The harvesting of grain legumes is facilitated: the legumes have a better resistance to lodging thanks to the staking effect of the associated cereal. In field crops, intercropping was very successful for forage production a few years ago (pea-barley, lupin-oat). However, despite the many advantages, this practice is clearly declining.
For food production, intercropping is still less common in Switzerland. However, several trials have shown the feasibility and interest of producing bread wheat in association with pulses such as faba beans or peas. Indeed, it has been shown that the quality of wheat is comparable or better than in pure culture. Legumes are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbiosis with microorganisms. They therefore do not compete with wheat for mineral nitrogen. The two species are complementary. Moreover, the density of wheat is lower, so that each wheat plant has more nitrogen available. The combined crop also allows the production of protein-rich legumes, thus improving the productivity of the plot.
The objectives of this project will be:
