Zishen Wang and Bei Dong earned their PhD from Wageningen University in May 2024, under the supervision of Dr. Wopke van der Werf, Dr. Tjeerd Jan Stomph, and Prof. Dr. Jochem Evers. Both theses were part of ReMIX project, the predecessor of IntercropVALUES.
The PhD thesis of Zishen Wang focused on productivity and use efficiencies of light and nitrogen in strip intercropping in the Netherlands. Wang conducted a two-year field experiment involving six intercrops with maize, wheat, faba bean, and pea under Dutch growing condition. Through the experimental and modelling work, Wang found that light is the primary limiting resource in intercropping systems when water and nutrients are tailored to species’ demands. Relay intercropping with maize enhances light capture and improves fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency due to temporal complementarity, whereas simultaneous intercropping without maize can reduce light and nitrogen capture for less competitive species. Overall, intercropping impacts resource capture more than resource conversion. Wang´s work highlights the importance of selecting appropriate intercropping patterns, species, and management strategies based on specific production goals and using suitable performance metrics for evaluation.
The title of Bei Dong´s PhD thesis is ‘Resource capture, plant morphological traits and maize photosynthesis in intercropping’. Dong investigated the eco-physiological responses of crop species in strip intercropping under conventional management in the Netherlands. The intercropping effects were explored at multiple levels: i) field level- N uptake per unit area of species strip; ii) plant level- plant morphological traits; and iii) leaf level- leaf photosynthetic traits of maize. A two-year field experiment was conducted with four crop species (maize, wheat, faba bean, and pea) combined in bi-specific strip intercrops in six combinations and in monocrops. Dong concluded that increases in resource capture due to temporal complementarity underlie the productivity increasing effects of relay intercropping. Resource capture and conversion are modulated by plant trait responses to changes in the light environment and available N that result from temporal complementarity.
For more information, please reach out to Zishen Wang´s PhD thesis: PhD Thesis_Zishen Wang and/or Bei Dong´s PhD thesis: Bei Dong PhD thesis.pdf
Zishen Wang and Bei Dong would be delighted for the opportunity to connect and discuss any relevant research topics related to intercropping. They are currently looking for researcher or postdoc positions. You can reach them at wang.zishen@outlook.com and bei.dong@outlook.com