ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Pea and Spring Cereal Intercropping Systems:
Advantages and Suppression of Broad-Leaved
Weeds
Lina Šarūnaitė1, Irena Deveikytė1, Aušra Arlauskienė2, Žydrė Kadžiulienė1,
Stanislava Maikštėnienė2
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1Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry,
Instituto av. 1, Akademija, Kėdainiai distr., Lithuania
2Joniškėlis Experimental Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry,
Joniškėlis, Pasvalys distr., Lithuania
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2013;22(2):541-551
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Our experiments were designed to investigate yield formation of intercrops and their influence on
broadleaved weeds under organic cropping conditions. Pea (Pisum sativum L. (Partim) and spring wheat
(Triticum aestivum L. emend. Fiori et Paol.), spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), and
spring triticale (× Triticosecale Wittm.) were sown as intercrops (50:50 – a relative proportion of grain legume
and spring cereal seeds) or as a sole crop. The results suggest that pea/wheat, pea/oat, and pea/triticale intercrops
were superior to sole pea crop. However, intercrops and sole cereal crops exhibited similar weed suppression
capabilities. According to the reduction of weed number and mass, the intercrops were ranked in the
following order: pea/oat > pea/wheat; pea/triticale > pea/barley. Crop density significantly influenced the
reduction of total weed numbers and air-dried mass. In crops with lower plant density, weed suppression
depended on crop height.