eLife: Crops grown together fit better in just two generations

These findings provide preliminary evidence of how quickly crops bred in a single variety or "monoculture" environment adapt to grow

Growing multiple food crops at the same time is a more sustainable agricultural practice that mimics high-yielding wild plant communities

Laura Stefan, lead author of the study, explains: "However, most commercial crops are bred to make them highly productive

To learn more about the adaptability of different crops, the team planted wheat, oats, lentils, flax, flax and coriander

They found that two generations of plants grown in the same multi-crop environment competed less with each other and cooperated more

"Our study shows that annual crops can quickly adapt to become more cooperative in just two generations, but this does not increase yield advantages without fertilizers," said

The authors argue that the study's short time frame — just over three years — may explain why no more differentiation

Long-term studies may observe more adaptations

"Our findings have important implications for the transition to a more diverse agriculture," concludes senior author Christian Sch?b, head of the agroecology group, who previously worked at ETH Zurich and now at the University of Rey Juan Carlos