An Evaluation of an Intercropping System: Growing Lettuce and Radish Alongside Fruit Sapling Production

Agricultural production is one of the most negatively affected sectors from increasing population and global warming. Increasing food demand along with narrowing agricultural production areas increased the need for sustainable agricultural approaches where the unit area is better utilized. Intercropping systems are of those approaches based on the principle of growing more than one crop in the same area. In this study, it was aimed to analyze the opportunities of increasing land-use efficiency in open field fruit sapling production. For this aim, lettuce and radish were grown on the inter-rows of almond, apple, apricot, cherry, and pear sapling growing lines. When compared with control plants, results indicated a slight negative effect of intercropping systems on sapling quality. Yield and growth characteristics were lower in the vegetables subjected to intercropping. On the other hand, Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) and Net Economic Profit (NEP) were higher in intercropping systems. LER value varied between 1.86 and 1.97, and NEP value between 3328 and 6962 USD/da. These results indicated that land-use efficiency was increased with the examined intercropping systems. As a result of the study notwithstanding the quality and yield loses, it was concluded that intercropping of lettuce and radish in fruit sapling production is a beneficial growing application for the mentioned aims.