Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in proximity. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. Careful planning is required, taking into account the soil, climate, crops, and varieties. It is particularly important not to have crops competing with each other for physical space, nutrients, water, or sunlight. Examples of intercropping strategies are planting a deep-rooted crop with a shallow-rooted crop, or planting a tall crop with a shorter crop that requires partial shade. Inga alley cropping has been proposed as an alternative to the ecological destruction of Slash-and-burn farming.
Mixed cropping is growing of two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. It is also known as multiple cropping. This type of cropping leads to an improvement in the fertility of the soil and increases in crop yield. The products and refuse from one crop plant help in the growth of the other crop plant and vice-versa. Mixed cropping is an insurance against crop failure in abnormal weather conditions.It also helps the farmer to improve its yield and economy and avoid crop failure which was very common in India and Asian countries.
By planting one line of one crop, then a line of another crop, both crops can get better. In one line a legume and in another line the main crop. So, if the main crop takes the nitrogen from the soil, the legume fixes the soil. Nitrogen is fixed in the root nodules of the leguminous plants in the form of nitrates (soluble form of nitrogen) and keeps the soil fertile. This helps the farmers to produce more and more crops without the nitrogen being depleted from the soil.
Mixed cropping is not the same as crop rotation. In crop rotation you plant different crops in the same field in different years. Some plants add nitrogen to the soil, some take it out. If you would plant the same crop year after year, you wear out your soil.
