Leucaena / wheat competition in an alley cropping system under different fertilizer conditions

摘要

In agroforestry when trees and crops are grown together, competition develops between them for aboveground (light) and belowground (soil- water, nutrients) growth resources (Ong et al. 1991). Competition for light and nutrients are positively correlated because greater size and growth rate of trees allows it to pre-empt both above- and below ground resources (Grime, 1973), Donald (1958) observed in a replacement series type pot experiment that combined effects of aboveground and belowground competition was greater than the sum of their separate effects. This gave an insight that addition of fertilizer may reduce belowground competition particularly for nutrients which most likely could moderate the effect of aboveground competition also. Based onthis background, present study investigates if application of nitrogen fertilizer reduces competition between L. leucocephaia shrub and wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.) and as a result the crop yield reduction in an alleycropping system in central India