To explore the effects of different intercropping patterns of silage corn （Zea mays L.） and sweet sorghum （Sorghum bicolor） / grain corn （Z. mays） on forage yield， quality， and interspecies relationships， and to identify the optimal intercropping configuration， this experiment used silage corn （S）， sweet sorghum （T）， and grain corn （M） as controls， setting up six intercropping patterns： S₄T₂ （4 rows of silage corn∶2 rows of sweet sorghum）； S₃T₃ （3 rows of silage corn∶3 rows of sweet sorghum）； S₂T₄ （2 rows of silage corn： 4 rows of sweet sorghum）； S₄M₂ （4 rows of silage corn∶2 rows of grain corn）； S₃M₃ （3 rows of silage corn∶3 rows of grain corn）； S₂M₄ （2 rows of silage corn∶4 rows of grain corn）. The results indicated that intercropping significantly affected the agronomic traits of the forage crops compared to sole cropping （P<0.05）. The fresh grass yield of the S₃T₃ treatment was the highest， reaching 107.8 t·hm^-2； the S₃M₃ treatment exhibited the highest yields of hay， crude protein yield， and crude protein content， measuring 36.3 t·hm^-2， 3.5 t·hm^-2， and 9.6%， respectively， an increase of 17.3%， 14.6%， and 58.2% compared to sole silage corn. Intercropping significantly improved the Land Equivalent Ratio （LER=1.1~1.4）， indicating a yield advantage in the system. Notably， S₂T₄， S₃T₃， S₂M₄， and S₃M₃ treatments demonstrated stronger aggressivity and competitive ratio （Aggressivity， A>0； Competitive ratio， CR>1） for silage corn. Comprehensive analysis revealed that the intercropping of 3 rows of silage corn with 3 rows of sweet sorghum （S₃T₃） was the optimal pattern for effectively enhancing crop yield and quality.

Intercropping  /  Silage corn  /  Production performance  /  Nutritional quality  /  Interspecific competition