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Coordinated and published by The Grassroots Institute, the Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources (GJNR) is an international journal dedicated to the latest advancements in natural resources throughout the world. The goal of this journal is to provide a platform for scientists, social scientists, policy analysts, managers and practitioners (on all academic and professional levels) all over the world to promote, discuss and share various new issues and developments in different arenas of natural resources.
Volodymyr Mokriienko*1, Svitlana Kalenska2
1Department of Plant Science, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
E-mail: mokrienko@ukr.net | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5604-442X
2Department of Plant Science, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
E-mail: kalenskaya@nubip.edu.ua | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3392-837X
*Corresponding author
Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 9(2): 108-136. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
Received: 17 March 2026
Reviewed: 21 April 2026
Provisionally Accepted: 27 April 2026
Revised: 16 July 2026
Finally Accepted: 22 July 2026
Published: 31 August 2026
The present study aimed to quantify how the photosynthetic apparatus of maize and soybean is reorganized under binary intercropping and to establish how that reorganization translates into yield formation under contrasting fertilization regimes in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. A five-year field experiment (2021–2025) was carried out on typical low-humus chernozem in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe as a two-factor split-plot design with four replications. Factor A comprised five cropping systems, namely sole maize (hybrid RZhT Zanetikks, FAO 340), sole soybean (cultivars Sireliya and Sakuza) and two binary maize–soybean intercrops established in an additive arrangement with soybean at 50% of its sole-crop seeding rate. Factor B comprised three fertilization regimes, namely an unfertilized control, N₆₀P₄₅K₄₅ and N₉₀P₆₀K₆₀. Leaf area index (LAI), photosynthetic potential (PP), net assimilation rate (NAR), grain yield, land equivalent ratio (LER) and stability parameters were determined. Binary intercrops reached a maximum canopy LAI of 6.56–6.81, which exceeded sole maize by 44–50% and sole soybean by 78–85%. Photosynthetic potential attained 4.00–4.32 million m²·days ha⁻¹, or 43–54% above sole maize, and canopy NAR reached 8.63–10.78 g m⁻² d⁻¹. Total intercrop grain yield of 9.92–15.13 t ha⁻¹ exceeded sole maize by 36–45%, and the maize component alone yielded 11.5–19.1% more in the intercrop than in sole cropping at identical maize density. Partial LER for maize was consistently above unity (1.12–1.19), which provides a formal, design-independent quantification of facilitation, while total LER ranged from 1.89 to 2.15. Agronomic efficiency of the intercrop was 59.5–61.5 kg grain per kg N at N₆₀P₄₅K₄₅ and declined at the higher rate. The intercrop gross margin was 63–91% above sole maize. Increasing fertilization from N₆₀P₄₅K₄₅ to N₉₀P₆₀K₆₀ gave a VCR of only 1.79–1.83, supporting N₆₀P₄₅K₄₅ as the more efficient tested rate.
Binary intercropping; Forest-Steppe of Ukraine; Gross margin; Land equivalent ratio; Leaf area index; Net assimilation rate; Photosynthetic potential; Yield stability
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Mokriienko, V. and Kalenska, S. (2026). Photosynthetic Dynamics and Yield Formation in Maize and Soybean under Sole Cropping and Binary Intercropping Systems. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 9(2): 108-136. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
Mokriienko, V., & Kalenska, S. (2026). Photosynthetic Dynamics and Yield Formation in Maize and Soybean under Sole Cropping and Binary Intercropping Systems. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 9(2), 108-136. https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
Mokriienko V., Kalenska S. Photosynthetic Dynamics and Yield Formation in Maize and Soybean under Sole Cropping and Binary Intercropping Systems. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 2026, 9 (2), 108-136. https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
Mokriienko, Volodymyr, Kalenska, Svitlana. 2026. “Photosynthetic Dynamics and Yield Formation in Maize and Soybean under Sole Cropping and Binary Intercropping Systems”. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 9 no. 2: 108-136. https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
Mokriienko, Volodymyr and Svitlana Kalenska. 2026. “Photosynthetic Dynamics and Yield Formation in Maize and Soybean under Sole Cropping and Binary Intercropping Systems”. Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources, 9 (2): 108-136. https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.090205
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