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The field of two-dimensional magnetic materials has paved the way for the development of spintronics and nanodevices with other functionalities. Utilizing antiferromagnetic materials, in addition to layered van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnetic materials, has garnered significant interest. In this work, we present a theoretical investigation of the behavior of MnBi2Te4 devices based on the nonequilibrium Green's function method. Our results show that the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics can be influenced significantly by controlling the length of the device and bias voltage and thus allow us to manipulate the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) with an external bias voltage. This can be further influenced by the presence of the boron nitride layer, which shows significantly enhanced TMR by selectively suppressing specific spin channels for different magnetic configurations. By exploiting this mechanism, the observed TMR value reaches up to 3690%, which can be attributed to the spin-polarized transmission channel and the projected local density of states. Our findings on the influence of structural and magnetic configurations on the spin-polarized transport properties and TMR ratios give the potential implementation of antiferromagnetic vdW layered materials in ultrathin spintronics. © 2023 American Physical Society.

Combinability of species in intercrops depends on the production conditions and there is limited information on the potential of intercropping under conventional (i.e., non-organic) management in Western Europe. Here we determined productivity of four crop species (maize, Zea mays L.; wheat, Triticum aestivum L.; faba bean, Vicia faba L.; pea, Pisum sativum L.) in six different bi-specific mixture compositions. Species were spring-sown and fertilized in their strips according to common practice for monocrops. Strips were 1.5 m wide enabling strong interspecific interactions. Intercrops with maize, a species sown and harvested later than the other three species, had land equivalent ratio (LER) values that were in four out of six cases significantly greater than one, from 1.14 ± 0.04 to 1.22 ± 0.05 in 2018, and from 0.98 ± 0.06 to 1.15 ± 0.01 in 2019. Simultaneous intercrops comprising two of the other three species had LER values that tended to be lower than one, even though many LERs were not significantly different from one: from 0.94 ± 0.02 to 0.95 ± 0.04 in 2018, and from 0.80 ± 0.08 to 0.93 ± 0.04 in 2019. The yield gain (net intercropping effect; NE) in relay intercrops with maize ranged from 1.33 ± 0.59 to 2.01 ± 0.54 Mg ha−1 in 2018, and from 0.29 ± 0.41 to 1.04 ± 0.14 Mg ha−1 in 2019. The NE of simultaneous intercrops ranged from −0.43 ± 0.13 to −0.27 ± 0.22 Mg ha−1 in 2018, and from −1.17 ± 0.49 to −0.36 ± 0.22 Mg ha−1 in 2019. Results indicate that temporal complementarity between species drove the LER (or NE) in these experiments. On the other hand, values of the LER (or NE) were similar in species combinations with or without legumes, suggesting no major role for complementarity for nitrogen capture under the conditions of the study. Faba bean was the most competitive species and reached high partial LER and NE values in intercrops at the expense of the companion species. Competition from faba bean reduced the grain yield of wheat and pea more than it in

Data has been presented in Figs. 4 - 8 in the publication. Ten treatments have been indicated by treatment codes as "MM" for maize monocrop, "WW" for wheat monocrop, "BB" for faba bean monocrop, "PP" for pea monocrop, "MW" for maize/wheat intercrop, "MB" for maize/faba bean intercrop, "MP" for maize/pea intercrop, "BW" for faba bean/wheat intercrop, "BP" for faba bean/pea intercrop, and "WP" for wheat/pea intercrop., Data has been presented in Figs. 4 - 8 in the publication. Ten treatments have been indicated by treatment codes as "MM" for maize monocrop, "WW" for wheat monocrop, "BB" for faba bean monocrop, "PP" for pea monocrop, "MW" for maize/wheat intercrop, "MB" for maize/faba bean intercrop, "MP" for maize/pea intercrop, "BW" for faba bean/wheat intercrop, "BP" for faba bean/pea intercrop, and "WP" for wheat/pea intercrop.

Intercropping is the simultaneous cultivation of plant species in the same field for a considerable proportion of their growing periods. Interest in intercropping for sustainable agriculture is on the rise and the number of scientific studies on intercropping is strongly increasing. Here we assess the current status of knowledge on factors that determine yield, yield stability and resource use efficiency of intercropping as compared to sole cropping. Distinguishing resource use into acquisition and conversion shows that intercrops are mainly improving acquisition rather than conversion efficiency. We also make an attempt to quantify the importance of reduced biotic stresses through pests, diseases, and weeds. We particularly focus on blank spots in the knowledge and possible bias in existing literature and ask which research approaches are needed to advance the field and pave the way for a wider usage of intercropping in modern sustainable agriculture.