Intercropping is a well-known agricultural practice that capitalizes on the use of available land resources for higher output. The ensuing study aimed to identify the influence of intercropping on soil properties in the kiwi orchard after three years of intercropping. For the said study, two kiwi-based intercropping experiments took place. In the first experiment, the intercropping treatments were wheat intercropping (WI), oat intercropping (OI), pak choi intercropping (PCI), and no intercropping (NI) at Mianzhu County, China. In the second experiment, the treatments were corn intercropping (CI), pumpkin intercropping (PI), soybean intercropping (SI), and no intercropping (NI) at Cangxi County, China. The soil analysis comprised soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), available N, and available P, with the samples collected from five depths (0–20, 20–40, 40–60, 60–80, and 80–100 cm). The results revealed PI (191.30%) and CI (86.03%) significantly improved the available N; PI (32.69%) significantly enhanced the available P; OI (31.30%) considerably boosted the total N; and all the intercropping treatments improved the total P, except SI, which reduced the total P (24.62%). Therefore, the intercropping in fruit orchards has the potential to improve soil fertility and keep soil healthy for future generations.
Soil profile, soil nutrients, soil health, intercropping, wheat, oat, pak choi, maize, soybean, pumpkin, young kiwi
In the kiwi fruit orchard, the intercropping systems enhanced the available land resources. It was also helpful in improving soil nutrients and fertility.