Objective: Intercropping, as one of the pillars of sustainable agriculture, can manage weed populations through various ecological mechanisms and can serve as an alternative or reducer of reliance on herbicides. This research was conducted to investigate the yield characteristics of wheat and faba bean under intercropping conditions and its impact on weed control.

Methods: The experiment was carried out as a factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The studied factors included faba bean seed spacing on the planting row (10, 20, and 30 cm) and wheat density (200, 400, and 600 plants per square meter). The row spacing for faba bean was set at 60 cm according to the regional conventional practice, and two rows of wheat were planted with 20 cm spacing between the rows within the inter-row space of faba bean.

Results: The results indicated that the effects of faba bean seed spacing, wheat density, and their interaction were significant on the number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 1000-seed weight, and grain yield of faba bean, as well as on the number of spikes per square meter, number of seeds per spike, 1000-seed weight, grain yield of wheat, and weed density. The highest grain yields of faba bean and wheat were obtained at the 20 cm faba bean spacing and wheat density of 400 plants/m², amounting to 9500 and 4859 kg/ha, respectively. The lowest wheat grain yield (3500 kg/ha) was associated with the 200 plants/m² wheat density and 10 cm faba bean spacing, while the lowest faba bean grain yield (6138 kg/ha) was recorded at the 600 plants/m² wheat density and 10 cm faba bean spacing. The results also demonstrated that the highest weed density occurred at the 30 cm faba bean spacing and 200 plants/m² wheat density, whereas the lowest weed density was observed at the 10 cm faba bean spacing and 600 plants/m² wheat density.

Conclusions: In general, although the highest weed control was achieved at the 600 plants/m² wheat density, since achieving maximum economic yield for the entire system is the ultimate goal, the practical recommendation of this study for local farmers is to adopt the planting pattern with a wheat density of 400 plants/m² and a faba bean spacing of 20 cm. This pattern ensures high yield for both crops, provides acceptable and sustainable weed control, and represents an effective step towards achieving sustainable agriculture and reducing dependence on chemical inputs.