3D reconstruction analysis of maize-soybean intercropping competition under water stress

Maize-soybean intercropping is a sustainable intensive agroecosystem, though the productivity is constrained by interspecific competition for water and light resources. To enhance the water use efficiency in this intercropping system and understand canopy structure dynamics under the water-limited conditions of arid northwest China, this study proposes a novel optimization strategy that synchronizes deficit irrigation scheduling with crop-specific water requirements during critical phenological phases. Four irrigation regimes were implemented: W1 (full irrigation for both maize and soybean crops), W2 (maize-full and soybean-deficit), W3 (maize-deficit and soybean-full), and W4 (dual deficit). Through UAV-based high-resolution 3D canopy reconstruction (R = 0.98 for plant height validation), 14 spatial-geometric descriptors were quantified. The W2 strategy demonstrated superior competitive coordination, enhancing aggressivity of maize (Ams) by 85.9 % through strategic canopy reconfiguration: 11.8 % reduction in maize maximum leaf layer width position (MLLWP), 28.3 % decrease in inter-specific canopy overlap area (COA), and 40.0 % compression of shading convex hull volume (SCHV). These optimized structural adaptations synergistically enhanced photosynthetically active radiation interception (+13.4 %) while achieving concurrent reductions in crop evapotranspiration (ET, − 19.7 %) without yield penalty, thereby elevating irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) by 14.4 % and water equivalent ratio (WER) by 15.9 %. This work provides mechanistic insights into canopy architecture-mediated resource competition mitigation and establishes a technological framework for sustainable intensification in water-limited environments.