Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation by Lentil Improves Biochemical Characteristics and Yield of Intercropped Wheat Under Low Fertilizer Input

To preserve the soils from deterioration caused by the overuse of fertilizers and also because of the continuous price increase of mineral fertilizers, alternative ways must be adopted to reduce their use in agriculture. On the other hand, the increasing world population demands high crop production to meet the food needs in the future. Intercropping grain legumes and cereals can solve the problem because of its high overall productivity and less fertilizer requirements. In this regard, an experiment was conducted to study the effect of three fertilizer application rates (N0K0, N20K50, and N40K50) on wheat/lentil intercropping system. Enhancement in chlorophyll content, nitrate reductase activity, nitrite reductase activity, glutamine synthetase activity, glutamate synthase activity, protein content, and seed yield occurred at lower nitrogen level (N-20) in sole and intercropped lentil and at higher nitrogen level (N-40) in sole wheat. On the other hand, intercropped wheat exhibited maximum productivity at lower nitrogen rate (N-20). Intercropping affected biochemical characteristics and yield of wheat and the system-required low fertilizer input, thus reducing negative environmental impacts of agricultural crop production.