The intercropping common bean with maize improves the rhizobial efficiency, resource use and grain yield under low phosphorus availability

• Common bean–maize intercropping enhances N and P nutrition.
• Intercropping strengthens correlation between rhizosphere P and nodulation.
• Increased resource use in P-deficient soil resulted in improved grain yield in intercropping.

In order to better understand how mixed crop cultures mitigate stressful conditions, this study aims to highlight the beneficial effect of the intercropping legume-cereal in enhancing soil phosphorus (P) availability for plant growth and productivity in a P-deficient soil of a northern Algerian agroecosystem. To address this question, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. El Djadida) and maize (Zea mays L. cv. Filou), were grown as sole- and inter-crops in two experimental sites; S1 (P-deficient) and S2 (P-sufficient) during two growing seasons (2011 and 2012). Growth, nodulation and grain yield were assessed and correlated with the rhizosphere soil P availability. Results showed that P availability significantly increased in the rhizosphere of both species, especially in intercropping under the P-deficient soil conditions. This increase was associated with high efficiency in use of the rhizobial symbiosis (high correlation between plant biomass and nodulation), plant growth and resource (nitrogen (N) and P) use efficiency as indicated by higher land equivalent ratio (LER > 1) and N nutrition index (for maize) in intercropping over sole cropping treatments. Moreover, the rhizosphere P availability and nodule biomass were positively correlated (r2 = 0.71, p < 0.01 and r2 = 0.62, p < 0.01) in the intercropped common bean grown in the P-deficient soil during 2011 and 2012. The increased P availability presumably improved biomass and grain yield in intercropping, though it mainly enhanced grain yield in intercropped maize. Our findings suggest that modification in the intercropped common bean rhizosphere-induced parameters facilitated P uptake, plant biomass and grain yield for the intercropped maize under P-deficiency conditions.