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Intercropping research interest is increasing globally due to its contribution to agriculture sustainability, crop productivity, and soil quality. To better understand the advantageous effect of in...

To evaluate the effect of planting distance on yield and agro-morphological characteristics of Bara variety (local variety of rice), a field experiment was carried out at the experimental station of the Agricultural Faculty of Kunduz University in 2016. Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with four replications was used in the experiment. Transplanting distances with four levels viz. 10x10 cm, 15x15 cm, 20x20 cm, and 25 x 25 cm were used as treatment. Results showed that planting distance had significant effects on tillers number, leaf color, non-filled grain, total grain, and 1000 grains weight. In contrary, no significant effects on plant height, panicle length, number of filled grain per panicle and grain yield were observed between spacing. The spacing of 25 x 25 cm had produced the highest performance for most of the agro-morphological traits evaluated. Grain yield was found similar in all spacing but other yield components like total number of tillers (16.63) and total grain per panicle (119.43) were found statistically superior in 25 x 25 cm planting distance. Overall, the results of this study revealed that the planting distance of 25 x 25 cm seemed to be the best as requires lower seed and fertilizer (lower cost) and can, therefore, be suggested to the farmers for a better valorization of Bara variety in northeastern Afghanistan. Similar investigations are strongly recommended in other agro-ecological zones of the country where Bara variety is largely grown to confirm these findings.

A hydroponic experiment was carried out to study the accumulation characteristics of copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) combined pollution in three ornamental plants. The results showed that these tested ornamental plants had higher tolerance to Cu-Pb combined pollution and could effectively accumulate the heavy metals. The Cu and Pb concentrations were higher in the roots of the ornamental plants than that in the shoots. For Panax notoginseng (P. notoginseng), Chlorophytum comosum (C. comosum) and Calendula officinalis (C. officinalis), the average Cu and Pb concentration in the three ornamental plants were 1402.1 mg/kg, 829.5 mg/kg, and 1473.4 mg/kg for Cu and 2710.4 mg/kg, 4250.3 mg/kg, and 4303.6 mg/kg for Pb, respectively. The three ornamental plants accumulation and tolerance to Cu-Pb were demonstrated through the hydroponic-culture method in this study. Therefore, the three ornamental plants should have great potential to be used in remediation of soils contaminated by Cu and Pb and beautifying the environment simultaneously.

Intercropping is an old cropping system which dates back to ancient civilization and practice globally to achieve more yields and to satisfy the world food demand [1-6].

The synergistic regulation effect of coordinated application of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) on the protein concentration and amino acid balance in maize grains was investigated. The results showed that the coordinated application of N and S significantly increased the protein concentration of maize grains, and there were significant N × S interactions. In addition, the coordinated application of N and S also increased concentration of essential amino acid in maize grains, and N × S interactions reached a significant level. Simultaneously, the ratio of total essential amino acid to total non-essential amino acid in maize grains was increased, which promoted the balance of amino acid in grain protein. Notably, lysine and tryptophan that were usually most deficient in maize grains were significantly increased due to coordinated application of N and S, which was critical for improving nutritional quality of maize. Overall, synergistic application of N and S simultaneously improved protein concentration and amino acid balance in maize grains, thereby significantly improving nutritional quality of maize.

Belowground nitrogen (N) transfer from legumes to non-legumes provides an important N source for crop yield and N utilization. However, whether root contact facilitates N transfer and the extent to which N transfer contributes to crop productivity and N utilization have not been clarified. In our study, two-year rain shelter experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of root contact on N transfer in a maize/alfalfa intercropping system. N transfer occurred mainly one direction from alfalfa to maize during the growth period. Following the N0 treatment, the amount of N transfer from alfalfa to maize was 204.56 mg pot&minus, 1 with no root barrier and 165.13 mg pot&minus, 1 with a nylon net barrier, accounting for 4.72% and 4.48% of the total N accumulated in maize, respectively. Following the N1 treatment, the amount of N transfer from alfalfa to maize was 197.70 mg pot&minus, 1 with no root barrier and 139.04 mg pot&minus, 1 with a nylon net barrier, accounting for 3.64% and 2.36% of the total N accumulated in the maize, respectively. Furthermore, the amount of N transfer without no root barrier was 1.24&ndash, 1.42 times higher than that with a nylon net barrier regardless of the level of N addition. Our results highlight the importance and the relevance of root contact for the enhancement of N transfer in a maize/alfalfa intercropping system.