ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1663361
This article is part of the Research TopicOptimizing Photosynthetic Efficiency for Sustainable Crop Production in Varied Climatic ConditionsView all articles
Optimal row configuration in jujube-cotton intercropping systems increases cotton yield by enhancing growth characteristics and photosynthetically active radiation in arid region
Provisionally accepted
Jinbin Wang1*
Peijuan Wang1
Xiao-Fei Li2
Zhengjun Cui1
Ling Li1Qiang Hu1Hang Qiao1Wei Zhang3Sumei Wan1Guodong Chen1*- 1Tarim University, Aral, China
- 2Insitute of Cotton research, chinese academy of agriculture science, Anyang, China
- 3Shihezi University, Shihezi, China
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In southern Xinjiang, intercropping cotton with jujube trees improves resource use efficiency and boosts farmers' economic benefits compared to monoculture jujube systems. However, the optimal row configuration for cotton in jujube-cotton intercropping systems remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of cotton row configurations (2 rows (IC2), 4 rows (IC4), and 6 rows (IC6)) on cotton growth characteristics, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), yield, and land equivalent ratio (LER) in jujube-cotton intercropping systems. The leaf area index (LAI) and leaf area duration (LAD) followed the order of IC6 > IC4 > IC2. The intercepted PAR was improved with the increasing rows of cotton, while the transmitted PAR showed a decreasing trend. Dry matter accumulation (DMA) under IC2 and IC4 decreased by approximately 71% and 36% respectively, compared to IC6. While DMA under IC2 was 54.9% lower than that under IC4. Cotton yield under IC6 increased by approximately 98% and 31% compared to IC2 and IC4, respectively, which demonstrated a 51% significant improvement under IC4 compared to IC2. IC4 and IC6 exhibited a higher LER than IC2. However, the jujube yield under IC6 was lower compared to IC2 and IC4. The total yield under IC4 was higher than that under IC2 and IC6. As the number of cotton rows increased, the rate of improvement in cotton growth characteristics demonstrated a diminishing trend. Cotton yield was significantly correlated with LAI, PAR, and DMA. PAR showed significant relationships with LAI and DMA. Taken together, four rows' cotton planted between jujube trees is recommended for the jujube-cotton intercropping system in the South Xinjiang region.
Keywords: Jujube-cotton intercropping, Four rows, photosynthetically active radiation, Growth characteristics, Total yield
Received: 10 Jul 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Wang, Li, Cui, Li, Hu, Qiao, Zhang, Wan and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jinbin Wang, Tarim University, Aral, China
Guodong Chen, Tarim University, Aral, China
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