Consociazione temporanea: uno strumento per migliorare le produzioni del frumento duro

Effect of hairy vetch-durum wheat intercropping on grain quality of wheat Intercropping can be one of the most promising tools for organic farmers for de- signing more sustainable cropping systems as well as for improving yield quantity and quality of many crops. A particular kind of intercropping is performed by growing together a cash crop (usually a cereal) with a legume cover crop to reduce weed incidence and to supply more nitrogen to the cereal. The latter objective is particularly difficult to achieve by organic farmers, who can rely neither on exter- nal chemical inputs nor on cheap and effective organic fertilizers. In this paper we discuss the first results obtained from a field trial carried out for two years (2006/07 and 2007/08) at the Rottaia Experimental Station of the Dipartimento di Agronomia e Gestione dell Agroecosistema of the University of Pisa, aimed to study the effect of temporary intercropping with hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) on grain yield and quality of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). Compared to unfertilized wheat sole cropping, hairy vetch, which was ploughed under at the beginning of wheat stem elongation phase, increased grain yield and protein con- tent of durum wheat on average by 29% and 10%, respectively.