Intercropping potatoes in early spring in a temperate climate. 1. Yield and intercropping advantages

Summary Three experiments carried out in south-east England tested the proposition that solar radiation falling on the soii (‘wasted’) until the attainment of a complete crop canopy by potato crops, could be utilized by intercropping with cabbages without detriment to the potato yields. The cabbages were established by transplanting and harvested by the time the potato crop had achieved a ground cover between 40–80%. However, almost without exception, intercropping reduced the economic yields of both component crops. The land equivalent ratio (LER) varied between 1.01 and 1.78 and the partial LER of potatoes between 0.56 and 1.11, suggesting only in the latter case was there complete absence of competition between the component crops.