The compound planting of soybeans and corn has been implemented for nearly a year. What is the effect?

Will corn interplanted with soybeans become the most popular planting model in 2022? What are the advantages and disadvantages? I just found out too! Interplanting corn with soybeans is not a new invention, nor is it a new planting method. There has been relevant planting experience in the past. It is just that it is inconvenient to harvest and spray pesticides and has not been promoted on a large scale. What does the old saying “Corn Belt soybeans never leak out” mean? This old saying is actually very easy to understand. It means that if you plant corn and intercrop soybeans for ten consecutive years, you will have a full harvest in nine years without a failure. You see, we older generations have long known that corn intercropped with soybeans is a very good combination.

What are the advantages of corn intercropping with soybeans? The corn plants are as tall as each other. After intercropping, they can have better ventilation and light transmission, avoid canopy closure, and are conducive to the growth of corn. Moreover, soybeans are short-day crops, and corn can just cover part of the sunlight without affecting ventilation and the growth of soybeans. In addition, soybeans have rhizobia. We should not underestimate rhizobia. It is equivalent to a small nitrogen fertilizer factory that can convert nitrogen in the air into nitrogen fertilizer for crops to absorb and utilize. According to relevant data, soybeans can fix about 3 kilograms of nitrogen per acre, while corn has a relatively large demand for nitrogen. It can not only complement each other's advantages, but also indirectly reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers applied to corn.

Enhancing the drought tolerance of soybeans and corns have well-developed root systems that can penetrate deep into the soil and absorb more nutrients and water. The root system of soybeans is relatively shallow, so they are afraid of both drought and waterlogging. Intercropping can improve the drought tolerance of soybeans. In other words, even in years with drought and little rainfall, a soybean harvest can be guaranteed and the production will not be cut off. What is the yield? This intercropping model has experimental plots in Inner Mongolia and Hebei regions of my country. For example, two rows of corn intercropped with four rows of soybeans have better ventilation and light transmittance, which can ensure that corn yields are not reduced and can increase the soybean harvest for one season.

In 2021, corn is intercropped with soybeans in the Baotou area of ??Inner Mongolia. On average, about 800 kilograms of corn can be harvested from one mu of land, and more than 90 kilograms of spring soybeans can be harvested. Corn production has basically not decreased, and one season of soybeans has been harvested. In 2021, Hebei will intercrop soybeans with corn. An average of about 510 kilograms of summer corn and about 100 kilograms of summer soybeans can be harvested from one acre of land. Compared with the national average summer soybean yield of 130 kilograms per mu, there is not much difference.