IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v18y2026i10p4679-d1937867.html

Sustainable Agriculture and Green Economy Using Intercropping Agronomic Systems: Comparative Analysis of Two Blackcurrant–Walnut Planting Configurations

Author

Listed:
  • Roxana-Gabriela Popa

    (Faculty of Engineering, “Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu, 210185 Targu Jiu, Romania)

  • Aniela Bălăcescu

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences, “Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu, 210185 Targu Jiu, Romania)

  • Irina-Ramona Pecingină

    (Faculty of Engineering, “Constantin Brancusi” University of Targu Jiu, 210185 Targu Jiu, Romania)

  • Aurelia Pătrașcu

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 100680 Ploiesti, Romania)

  • Florentina Alina Toader

    (Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 100680 Ploiesti, Romania)

Abstract

Intercropping systems can enhance land-use efficiency and generate early income in young orchards during the non-productive phase of perennial trees. This paper evaluates the agroeconomic performance of an organic blackcurrant–walnut intercropping system implemented under two planting configurations: (i) planting blackcurrant on walnut rows (782 plants/ha) and (ii) planting blackcurrant between walnut rows (1250 plants/ha). The study was conducted as a comparative case study in young walnut orchards in South-West Oltenia, Romania. Results indicate that, although the between-row configuration involves higher establishment and maintenance costs, it achieves higher yields and revenue, leading to improved economic efficiency and return on investment. These findings support intercropping as a viable strategy for enhancing the economic performance of young walnut plantations.

Suggested Citation

  • Roxana-Gabriela Popa & Aniela Bălăcescu & Irina-Ramona Pecingină & Aurelia Pătrașcu & Florentina Alina Toader, 2026. "Sustainable Agriculture and Green Economy Using Intercropping Agronomic Systems: Comparative Analysis of Two Blackcurrant–Walnut Planting Configurations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:10:p:4679-:d:1937867
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/10/4679/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/10/4679/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:18:y:2026:i:10:p:4679-:d:1937867. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.