Presenting during the session cropping systems to maintain soil quality and available soil moisture, Khalid Hussain who is a PhD student at the University of Hohenheim stated that mixed cropping reduces the risk of crop failure and has an impact on soil moisture. His presentation was entitled “impact of mixed and alley cropping on grain yield and water use on maize“, The study was conducted in Thailand and the objectives were to; quantify the effects of mixed and alley cropping on maize yield, to evaluate impact of sole, mixed and alley cropping on maize crop performance and to assess competition for water in maize based cropping systems. Major conclusions from his research were that;  Intercropping had positive effects on the row yield of maize  Alley and mixed cropping with minimum tillage showed higher soil moisture contents than sole cropping (farmer‘s practice)  13C isotopic discrimination was variable in grains & leaves and were related to water uptake which ultimately affected the yield