Intercropping grain legumes with cereals reduces synthetic fertilizer requirement

Intercropping or cultivating simultaneously more than one species on the same land is a means of improving resource use in agriculture. In a recent analysis, scientists Jensen et al. revealed that intercropping grain legumes with cereals could reduce the requirement for synthetic N-fertilizer by 26% on a global scale, thus allowing important net land saving. Intercropping supports, therefore, the development of more sustainable cropping systems.