Allotments conjure up a mix of images in people’s minds – quiet havens for getting away from domestic noise or pressures; mini family food factories; or even prize-winning vegetable nurseries. From the air, allotments must look like mini patchworks of farmland, of no-fixed design. In stark contrast, of course, to how sprawling fields across Scotland are starting to look from this time of year onwards, with their orderly rows of identical produce, impeccably planted, all set to uniformly sway in the spring breeze. But this apparent cultural and functional divide between smallscale cultivated patchworks and large-scale industrial order isn’t as wide commercially or scientifically as you might think. Field trials currently being led by The James Hutton Institute (the Hutton) have been looking closely at how cultivating often-very different crops together, side-by-side in the same field at the same time, can actually make agricultural production more resilient and environmentally sustainable. The farming term for the practice is “intercropping”, and at these times of economic strife this “growing happily together” concept is gaining traction, and the science and methodology behind it is being examined in more detail than ever. Intercropping is a hot topic within our own fields and labs in Invergowrie, where we have a particular focus on how we can better cultivate legumes - plants that produce seeds in pods, such as beans, peas, and lentils. Along with our own world-leading scientists, we work with other top crop scientists, breeders, food producers, crofters and farmers, from Scotland and around the world, who have already demonstrated the potential for multiple positive impacts of intercropping, to see how the process can be scientifically improved. The work has shown, for instance, it can help improve soil fertility, use less water, reduce weed growt, and allow a more diverse range of quality food to be grown locally all yearround. In turn, this reduces the need for imports, thus cutting transport costs, with or without the effects of economic shocks. The work on soil health is especially exciting, as intercropping has been shown to allow more and different types of nutrients to be left in the ground to help the following season’s crop, as well as reducing the need for artificial fertilisers. Even better is the fact that intercropping increases the diversity of the crop and, as a result, the diversity of organisms the crop supports. This includes beneficial organisms such as pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests, which can reduce the need for pesticides. Successful intercropping can take many forms - from simply sowing several crops simultaneously next to each other, to including “companion crops” that help protect a main cash crop from damage by weather, weeds, pests, or diseases. It can also involve growing carefully chosen ‘cover crops’ over winter to improve soil structure and protect against soil erosion. An example of a perennial-annual intercropping match in this country is when cereals are grown in between orchard plantations, known as silvo-arable cropping. In tropical regions, coffee or coconut and bananas make a popular perennial combination. 22 Hutton Highlights Intercropping: ecological, economic food production at its modern best By Dr. Alison Karley a research leader in Agroecology at the James Hutton Institute. This article first appeared in The Herald on 13 April 2023.
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