Cultivar mixtures have been proposed as a way to increase diversity and thereby improve plant production, but our understanding of the effects of mixing cultivars on crop diseases and resource-use efficiency remains fragmentary. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the effects of cultivar mixtures on crop yield, yield stability, resource-use efficiency, and disease severity compared with monocultures of twelve major crops. We found that, overall, mixing of cultivars increased crop yield by 3.82%. Yield gains from mixing cultivars were highest in rice (+16.1%), followed by maize (+8.5%), and were lowest in barley (+0.9%) and sorghum (no increase). Temporal yield stability increased with the number of cultivars in the mixtures. Overall, mixing cultivars increased crop biomass, leaf area index, photosynthetic rate, and Water-use efficiency by 5.1, 7.2, 8.5 and 4.3%, respectively, and decreased disease incidence by 24.1%. Cultivar mixtures were more effective in mitigating diseases and increasing yields in studies performed at lower latitudes, higher mean annual temperatures, and higher mean annual precipitation. Our study complements and adds to previous research, indicating that cultivar mixtures reduce crop losses to disease and enhance resource-use efficiency compared with monocultures globally. We conclude that the targeted use of cultivar mixtures with appropriate management practices can reduce resource and pesticide inputs while maintaining high yields, thereby promoting sustainable and productive agriculture.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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品种混合物可提高全球作物产量和产量稳定性。荟萃分析

品种混合已被提议作为增加多样性从而提高植物产量的一种方式，但我们对混合品种对作物病害和资源利用效率的影响的理解仍然不完整。我们进行了一项荟萃分析，以评估与 12 种主要作物的单一栽培相比，品种混合对作物产量、产量稳定性、资源利用效率和疾病严重程度的影响。我们发现，总体而言，品种混合使作物产量提高了 3.82%。混合品种的产量增幅最高的是水稻（+16.1%），其次是玉米（+8.5%），最低的是大麦（+0.9%）和高粱（没有增加）。随着混合物中品种数量的增加，产量的时间稳定性增加。总体而言，混合品种使作物生物量、叶面积指数、光合速率和水分利用效率分别提高了5.1%、7.2%、8.5%和4.3%，病害发生率降低了24.1%。在低纬度、较高年平均气温和较高年平均降水量的研究中，品种混合物在减轻疾病和增加产量方面更有效。我们的研究补充并补充了之前的研究，表明与全球范围内的单一栽培相比，品种混合物可以减少疾病造成的作物损失并提高资源利用效率。我们的结论是，有针对性地使用品种混合物并采取适当的管理措施可以减少资源和农药投入，同时保持高产，从而促进可持续和高产农业。

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