https://doi.org/10.37229/fsa.fjas.2024.06.10

Two consecutive pot experiments were conducted during the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 winter growing seasons at the Central Laboratory of Organic Agriculture (CLOA), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt. The study aimed to evaluate the agro-ecological efficiency of various intercropping systems. It involved a resistant faba bean cultivar (Giza 843) and a susceptible one (Nubaria 1); each cultivar was separately intercropped with two companion crops acting as trap crops fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum and flax Linum usitatissimum using staggered planting dates for each, with the objective of improving Orobanche control and maximizing faba bean yield components. The experiment was laid out in a split-split-plot arrangement within a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replicates. Agronomic traits, yield components, and broomrape growth indices (above-ground flowering spikes and below-ground tubercles) were measured at physiological maturity. Combined statistical analysis revealed consistent results across both seasons; the resistant cultivar "Giza 843" significantly and consistently outperformed the "Nobaria 1" cultivar in all key economic traits (pod number, pod weight, and seed yield). In contrast, the independent effect of the companion crops was limited, with fenugreek significantly outperforming flax only in terms of pod number. The highly significant three-way interaction revealed that the combination of the "Giza 843" cultivar and fenugreek in the fourth treatment (T4) yielded the best results regarding crop and vegetative growth parameters. Furthermore, treatment T4 effectively inhibited the growth and development of the parasitic weed Orobanche crenata, recording the lowest number of visible flowering spikes (2.50) and the lowest parasite biomass (6.80 g); this effectively arrested the parasite at the subterranean tubercle stage (6.08 tubercles/pot), thereby preventing flowering and seed formation.