Schwinning Lab

Plant Ecology

Intercropping

Corn and Bean

The mixture of corn and bean is a classic intercrop combination

Intercropping is an ancient farming practice in which crops are going together in a field rather than separately in monocultures. Increased trait diversity and facilitative interactions between species combine to produce higher and/or more stable crop yields over time. Modern agriculture, as practiced in the industrialized nations using industrial fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides, made intercropping all but obsolete. However, the resurgence of low input and organic agriculture has recently rekindled the interest in intercropping in Europe and the USA. Combinations of nitrogen fixing legumes (e.g. beans) and C4 cereals (e.g., corn, millet, sorghum), sometimes in combination with squash ("The Three Sisters") are particularly common.

The productivity of intercropping systems depends not only on the species selection, but also on the densities, planting arrangements and the timing of planting. Graduate student Sarah Eisenmenger is currently investigating the consequences of varying the timing of bean relative to corn establishment. She is testing the hypothesis that small variation in planting order affects intercrop performance and that there may be an optimal planting order for bean and corn intercrops. This project is hosted by "My Father's Farm", an cerified organic farm in Seguin, Texas.

Lab News

Recent student presentations

Evan Simon presented his research at the 2022 TXSER in Austin entitled "The Relationship Between Elevation and Response of Trees of the Edwards Plateau to Drought." He won the first prize for an Oral Presentation by an Undergraduate Student.

Highlighted publications

A long-awaited Special Feature in the Journal of Ecology has finally been completed. These are our lab's contributions:

Schwinning, S., DeFalco, L.A., Esque, T.C. 2021.What common-garden experiments can tell us about climate responses in plants. Journal of Ecology 110: 986-996 pdf

Custer, N.A., Schwinning, S., Lortie, C.J., Esque, T.C., DeFalco, L.A. 2021. Local climate adaptations in two ubiquitous Mojave Desert shrub species, Ambrosia dumosa and Larrea tridentata. Journal of Ecology 110: 1072-1089. pdf

Other lab news

The following students have received research awards in 2022:

Evan Simons, who conducted research towards an undergraduate honors thesis, was awarded an undergraduate research followship by the College of Science and Engineering. He also won the first prize for the 'Best Undergraduate Oral Presentation' at the TXSER conference (Society for Ecological Restoration, Texas Chapter).

Owen Moorhead won the Ann Miller Gonzalez Graduate Research Grant from the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) to conduct an experiment in prairie restoration in collaboration with the Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT).

Silas Jenkins won the Ann Miller Gonzalez Graduate Research Grant from the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT) to investigate the importance of mycorrhizal fungi for the survival of oak seedlings under drought.

Contact information

Susan Schwinning

601 University Drive

312 Supple Science Bldg

Texas State University

San Marcos, TX 78666, USA

Email: schwinn@txstate.edu

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Comments on the contents of this site should be directed to Susan Schwinning