DIVERSify - Designing InnoVative plant teams for Ecosystem Resilience and agricultural Sustainability

Society globally faces major challenges in producing sufficient nutritious food for human populations, while using natural resources sustainably, avoiding environmental degradation and further biodiversity losses, and coping with climate change. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in delivering these goals and must adapt.

Intercropping or 'plant teams' offer a promising partial solution to stagnating crop yields and inter-annual yield instability, particularly under a changing climate. DIVERSify aimed to promote more widespread growing of plant teams containing legume crops, increasing the availability of plant protein for healthy and nutritious diets.

The overarching goal of DIVERSify was to provide a novel system for sustainable crop production by developing arable and grassland 'plant teams' with improved productivity, pest and disease control and environmental benefits. The six objectives were: 1) identify current best practice for plant teams; 2) determine the mechanisms promoting positive crop-crop and crop-environment interactions; 3) devise improved plant teams and identify potential breeding targets for crops used in plant teams; 4) work with farmers to test plant teams and their management; 5) construct a decision aid for plant team selection and agronomy; and 6) work with stakeholders for participatory knowledge exchange.

The SLU team contributed to all objectives, and had main responsibilities for objectives 2 & 3.

Project outcomes & legacy

Although the DIVERSify project is now finished, researchers continue to build on its activities and results. Partners are currently researching plant team breeding and working with farmers to build value chains around plant team products. A major project outcome is an InfoHub guide for farmers and agronomists for advice on crop combinations, management and inputs. The project has also facilitated a network where farmers and other stakeholders can share information and learn from each other.

Research outputs are collected in an EU Open Repository for this project.

Research output produced by the SLU team

H N C Berghuijs, Z Wang, T J Stomph, M Weih, W Van der Werf, G Vico (2020) Identification of species traits enhancing yield in wheat-faba bean intercropping: development and sensitivity analysis of a minimalist mixture model. Plant and Soil 455:  203-226. 

H N C Berghuijs, M Weih, W Van Der Werf, A J Karley, E Adam, Á M Villegas-Fernández, L P Kiær, A C Newton, C Scherber, S Tavoletti, G Vico (2021) Calibrating and testing APSIM for wheat-faba bean pure cultures and intercrops across Europe. Field Crops Research 264:  108088. 

M Weih, A J Karley, A C Newton, L P Kiær, C Scherber, D Rubiales, E Adam, J Ajal, J Brandmeier, S Pappagallo, A Villegas-Fernández, M Reckling, S Tavoletti (2021) Grain yield stability of cereal-legume intercrops is greater than sole crops in more productive conditions. Agriculture 11:  255. 

O Jäck, J Ajal, M Weih (2021) Altered nitrogen availability in pea-barley sole- and intercrops changes dominance of two nitrophilic weed species. Agronomy 11: 679. 

J Ajal, O Jäck, G Vico, M Weih (2021) Functional trait space in cereals and legumes grown in pure and mixed cultures is influenced more by cultivar identity than crop mixing. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 50: 125612.

M Weih, E Adam, G Vico, D Rubiales (2022) Application of Crop Growth Models to Assist Breeding for Intercropping: Opportunities and Challenges. Frontiers in Plant Science 13:  720486. 

L P Kiær, O D Weedon, L Bedoussac, C Bickler, M R Finckh, B Haug, P P M Iannetta, G J Raaphorst-Travaille, M Weih, A Karley (2022) Supply chain perspectives on breeding for legume–cereal intercrops. Frontiers in Plant Science, section Plant Breeding 13:  844635. 

M Weih, M I Mínguez, S Tavoletti (2022) Intercropping Systems for Sustainable Agriculture. Agriculture 12: 291. 

J Ajal, L P Kiær, R J Pakeman, C Scherber, M Weih (2022) Intercropping drives phenotypic plasticity and changes in functional trait space. Basic and Applied Ecology 61: 41-52.

J Ajal, M Weih (2022) Nutrient accumulation pattern in mixtures of wheat and faba bean is strongly influenced by cultivar choice and co-existing weeds. Biology 11: 630. 

D Rubiales, J Enjalbert, P Hohmann, N P Anten, M Weih (2023) Breeding for intercropping (Editorial) Frontiers in Plant Science, section Plant Breeding 14: 1143653. 

PhD thesis: J Ajal (2021) Growth and nitrogen economy of cereal-legume sole- and intercrops, and their effects on weed suppression. Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae 
2021:54.

Some additional works that emerged from this project:

T Brannan, C Bickler, H Hansson, A Karley, M Weih, G Manevska-Tasevska (2023) Overcoming Barriers to Crop Diversification Uptake in Europe: A Mini Review. Frontiers Sustainable Food Systems 7: 1107700. 

T Mai Ha, O Jäck, G Manevska Tasevska, M Weih, H Hansson (2023) Farmers’ intention towards intercropping adoption: the role of socioeconomic and behavioural drivers. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 21: 2270222.

T Mai Ha, G Manevska-Tasevska, M Weih, H Hansson (2024) Heterogeneity in farmers’ stage of behavioural change in intercropping adoption: an application of the Transtheoretical Model. Agricultural and Food Economics 12: 12.

G Manevska-Tasevska, V Wei Huang, Z Chen, O Jäck, N Adam, TT Mai Ha, M Weih, H Hansson (2024) Economic outcomes from adopting cereal-legume intercropping practices in Sweden. Agricultural Systems 220: 104064. 

T M Ha, F Svensson, J Thelin, G Manevska-Tasevska, M Weih, H Hansson (2025) Farmers’ perceived values in intercropping: An application of the means end chain framework in Swedish agriculture. Journal of Rural Studies 120: 103835.

S M Bedi, R Bommarco, M Weih, H Hansson (2025) Intercropping can enhance long-term farm economic performance: evidence from Swedish agriculture 2001-2018. European Review of Agricultural Economics 52: 1170-1205.