Moreover, the use of relay intercropping, such as sunflower and soybean, cannot only improve land use efficiency [34], but it also prolongs the proportion of the growing season that is occupied with crops and therefore increases the overall resource capture. Thus, intercropping legume and non-legume crops appears as a feasible option for achieving a more ecological intensification of agriculture, which may help to produce more food per resource unit and simultaneously alleviate the negative effects on the environment