China's maize-soybean strip intercropping technology completed harvest at 65 demonstration sites in Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recently, and the production of maize and soybeans reached 8,490 kg and 889 kg per hectare respectively in the intercropped fields. 

 

According to China Economic Net (CEN),  compared with the production of solely cropped maize and soybeans at these 65 sites which are 8,995 kg and 1,531 kg per hectare respectively, the intercropping technology definitely creates much more economic benefits. 

 

“Up till now the best system for high yield and profitability is maize-soybean strip intercropping system. Last season, farmers had adopted our technology on more than 1500 acres of land, and the number is increasing day by day,” said Muhammad Ali Raza, post-doc of Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU) and the Director of the National Research Center for Intercropping, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB).

 

Moreover, the production of soybeans in intercropped fields still has the potential to rise in the coming days. 

 

“The abrupt increase in temperature decreased the soybean production. In addition, we don't yet have the high yielding soybean varieties here, for which we still need help from China,” Dr. Raza said.

 

Now, China’s advanced intercropping technology is being applied to various types of crops in Pakistan at the National Research Center for Intercropping jointly built by Sichuan Agricultural University (SAU) and the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) in August, 2021. 

 

“We have started the research on developing strip intercropping systems of maize-peanut, maize-pea, sugarcane-soybean, sugarcane-mustard, wheat-mustard, wheat-soybean, wheat-chickpea, potato-maize and canola-pea,” he added.

 

Next season, the scientists of the National Research Center for Intercropping will work for the development of erect type maize hybrids which have already been developed at the labs of Sichuan Agricultural University, and shade-tolerant high-yielding soybean varieties for intercropping systems. 

 

“Last season, we had planted 22 acres of maize and soybeans with our intercropping specific planter. We will use this planter on a larger scale in the coming spring season,” Dr. Ali Raza said.

 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP