{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T05:39:31Z","timestamp":1792647571572,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Wiley","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792540800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792540800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Sci Food Agric"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Cereal\u2013legume intercropping can improve forage productivity and quality at the same time as enhancing soil function and reducing environmental impacts, yet integrative evaluations under low\u2010input conditions are scarce. This study assessed oat (\n                      <jats:italic>Avena sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      L.)\u2013alfalfa (\n                      <jats:italic>Medicago sativa<\/jats:italic>\n                      L.) intercropping for forage yield, nutritive value, soil properties and greenhouse gas emission intensity. A randomized complete block design compared sole oat (80\u2009kg\u2009ha\n                      <jats:sup>\u20131<\/jats:sup>\n                      ), sole alfalfa (15\u2009kg\u2009ha\n                      <jats:sup>\u20131<\/jats:sup>\n                      ) and oat\u2013alfalfa seed ratios of 3:1, 1:1 and 1:3 without irrigation or fertilisation. Previous intercropping studies examined agronomic productivity and forage quality separately. The current study addresses the gap with an integrated assessment of forage yield, conservation quality, soil health, greenhouse gas emission intensity, livestock production potential and decision metrics of oat\u2010alfalfa under low\u2010input conditions.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Intercropping increased total forage dry matter yield (by 21%), crude protein and metabolisable energy content, and also reduced neutral detergent fibre, compared to sole oat (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). The 1:1 intercrop had significantly the highest land equivalent ratio (1.56) and system productivity index and showed better silage fermentation and dry matter recovery (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). At final sampling, intercropping increased soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, cation exchange capacity and available phosphorus, with a small reduction in soil pH (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.05). Predicted global warming potential per unit of potential liveweight gain was lower (37\u201347%) for intercrops than for monocultures for both hay and silage. Multi\u2010criteria decision analysis consistently ranked the 1:1 intercrop highest across producer\u2010centric, balanced and environment\u2010centric scenarios.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSION<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Oat\u2013alfalfa intercropping, particularly at a 1:1 seed ratio, provides a promising climate\u2010smart forage production strategy by simultaneously enhancing productivity, forage quality and soil fertility at the same time as reducing predicted greenhouse gas emission intensity under low\u2010input conditions. \u00a9 2026 The Author(s).\n                      <jats:italic>Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture<\/jats:italic>\n                      published by John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/jsfa.71184","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T05:16:53Z","timestamp":1792646213000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cereal\u2013legume intercropping for climate\u2010smart livestock production: insights from oat\u2013alfalfa intercropping"],"prefix":"10.1002","author":[{"given":"Ashraf","family":"Alkhtib","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University  Southwell UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Metekia","family":"Tamiru","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Jimma University  Jimma Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3544-6718","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jane","family":"Wamatu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas, ILRI campus  Addis Ababa Ethiopia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","volume-title":"Climate Change 2022 \u2010 Mitigation of Climate Change","author":"IPCC","year":"2023"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"The contemporary plant\u2010soil feedback in legume\u2010cereal intercropping systems: a review of carbon, nutrient, and microbial dynamics","volume":"2025","author":"Picone R","year":"2025","journal-title":"Plant and Soil"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fcr.2016.08.001","article-title":"A meta\u2010analysis of relative crop yields in cereal\/legume mixtures suggests options for management","volume":"198","author":"Yu Y","year":"2016","journal-title":"Field Crop Res"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1007\/s11104-020-04768-x","article-title":"Intercropping legumes and cereals increases phosphorus use efficiency; a meta\u2010analysis","volume":"460","author":"Tang X","year":"2021","journal-title":"Plant Soil"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s13593-023-00934-4","article-title":"Intercropping indices evaluation on grain legume\u2010small grain cereals mixture: a critical meta\u2010analysis review","volume":"44","author":"Zustovi R","year":"2024","journal-title":"Agron Sustain Dev"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","unstructured":"Heuz\u00e9V TranG BoudonAandLebasF Oat forage(2016). 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