Nutrient Concentrations of Bush Bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivated in Subarctic Soils Managed with Intercropping and Willow ( Salix spp.) Agroforestry

Meaghan J. Wilton, Jim D. Karagatzides and Leonard J. S. Tsuji
Additional contact information
Meaghan J. Wilton: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada
Jim D. Karagatzides: Engineering and Environmental Technologies, Georgian College, Barrie, ON L4M 3X9, Canada
Leonard J. S. Tsuji: Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON M1C 1A4, Canada

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-19

Abstract: To ease food insecurities in northern Canada, some remote communities started gardening initiatives to gain more access to locally grown foods. Bush beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and potatoes ( Solanum tuberosum L.) were assessed for N, P, K, Mg, and Ca concentrations of foliage as indicators of plant nutrition in a calcareous silty loam soil of northern Ontario James Bay lowlands. Crops were grown in sole cropping and intercropping configurations, with comparisons made between an open field and an agroforestry site enclosed with willow ( Salix spp.) trees. Foliage chemical analysis of the sites revealed an abundance of Ca, adequacies for Mg and N, and deficiencies in P and K. Intercropping bean and potato did not show significant crop–crop facilitation for nutrients. The agroforestry site showed to be a superior management practice for the James Bay lowland region, specifically for P. The agroforestry site had significantly greater P for bean plant ( p = 0.024) and potato foliage ( p = 0.002) compared to the open site. It is suspected that the presence of willows improve plant available P to bean and potatoes by tree root—crop root interactions and microclimate enhancements.

Keywords: plant nutrients; subarctic agriculture; agroforestry; intercropping; bush bean; potato; ternary plots; northern agriculture management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/12/2294/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/12/2294/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2294-:d:122417

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().