Root foraging elicits niche complementarity-dependent yield advantage in the ancient ‘three sisters’ (maize/bean/squash) polyculture

Since ancient times in the Americas, maize, bean and squash have been grown together in a polyculture known as the 'three sisters'. This polyculture and its maize/bean variant have greater yield than component monocultures on a land-equivalent basis. This study shows that below-ground niche complementarity may contribute to this yield advantage.