Aztec advances in health (18): intercropping

‘Throughout the Americas, Indians frequently planted corn, squash and pole beans in the same hill... or grouped them together in flat fields. Planting several types of crops together not only maximised yield through more effective land use but also fostered better growth because the plants complimented each other. Companion planting also often served as a natural form of pest control, a concept touted by today’s organic gardeners.
’Corn stalks provided a place for the bean runners to climb and partial shade for squash plants that covered the ground. This ground cover prevented moisture from evaporating as quickly as it would otherwise do. Because squash plants provided competition for weeds, farming became less labour-intensive, since there was less weeding to do. Modern agricultural researchers have discovered why the bean plants helped the other plants: bacterial colonies on the roots of bean plants store nitrogen from the air, releasing some of it to the soil. Corn needs large amounts of nitrogen in order to prosper.’

Pic 1: Tlalhuica farmers (‘dwellers of the hot lands’) growing maize, chile and cotton; Florentine Codex Book 10

Moreover, companion planting significantly increases the yield in maize. Bernard Ortiz de Montellano explains the process: ‘Beans are legumes that can fix nitrogen biologically and make it available in the soil as a fertiliser. Squash helps to control weeds by creating a dense shade that allows very little light to penetrate, and chemicals washed from its leaves enter the soil to act as herbicides. Intercropping of beans and corn also reduces the damage caused by the corn-ear worm and increases the crop yield by fifty percent. Intercropping has been recommended as a way to decrease the need for pesticides and fertiliser in modern agriculture’ (1990: 95).

Pic 3: Maize, at the heart of Mesoamerican farming, and life; exhibit at ‘The Story of Corn’, Museum of Popular Culture, Mexico City