Koussihouede H. auteur aut IRD Aholoukpe H. auteur aut IRD Adjibodou J. auteur aut IRD Hinkati H. auteur aut IRD Dubos B. auteur aut IRD Chapuis Lardy Lydie auteur aut IRD Barthès Bernard auteur aut IRD Amadji G. auteur aut IRD Clermont Dauphin Cathy auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Beninese smallholders associate food crops and cash crops with immature oil palms to reduce field maintenance costs and gain income before the palms reach productive phase. Little is known about the effects of these crops on the nutritional status and growth of the palms in their immature phase even though the yield of adult palms can be affected by the management practices during this phase. The objective of this study was to evaluate the most common oil palm-based intercropping systems found in southern Benin in terms of nutritional status and growth of the palm. Within 15 oil palm farms, we compared 15 immature oil palm fields where the crop succession associated with the oil palms was dominated by maize, cassava, tomato, and pineapple. The nutrient concentrations in the soil and the palm leaves, and growth indicators were measured at the end of the immature phase. We found that the palm growth indicators were the lowest in the successions with pineapple. N and P nutrition of the immature palms was satisfactory but K was deficient in all systems, especially in those with pineapple. The K levels in the soils and palm leaves were correlated. Rough field budgets comparing the amounts of N and K applied to the crop successions with their N and K exports from non-returning products indicated that soil indigenous K supply would be particularly depleted in the systems with pineapple. We concluded that the young oil palms were affected by the competition for K exerted by the crop successions with pineapple even though they were the most fertilized in the region. The high profitable crop is therefore associated with the lowest growth rates of the immature palms. The mineral fertilizer management in these oil palm temporary intercropping systems should be improved. specialized Intercropping systems Oil palm Annual crops BENIN 076 068 56 3 371-386 2020 0014-4797 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079684 10.1017/s0014479720000022 0014-4797 [F B010079684] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079684 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2020/09/010079684.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-10-09 2025-02-24 fdi:010079684 fre