We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Productivity and nutrient export in a maize and forage grasses intercropping under semiarid conditions.
- Authors
PONTE FILHO, Francisco Augusto Machado da; GUEDES, Fernando Lisboa; POMPEU, Roberto Cláudio Fernandes Franco; SAGRILO, Edvaldo; de ANDRADE, Hosana Aguiar Freitas; COSTA, Carlos Pedro de Meneses; de SOUZA, Henrique Antunes
- Abstract
The aim was to evaluate the productive performance and nutrient export of maize intercropped with drought-tolerant forage grasses. The experimental design was a randomized blocks in a 2x2x2+1 factorial scheme (two forage grasses species - Massai and Buff el; two forage sowing methods - in the furrow and broadcast; and two forage sowing times - anticipated and simultaneous; and monoculture maize as an additional control), with three replicates. The maize+forage intercropping promoted greater competition for resources, especially water, limiting N uptake, chlorophyll synthesis, and biomass production by maize under semiarid conditions. Early sowing gave forage plants a competitive advantage, favoring forage establishment before or immediately after the sowing of maize. Thus, the simultaneous sowing of forage grasses in a semiarid environment is a more appropriate option considering the importance of high levels of chlorophyll to ensure high photo synthetic activity in maize plants and greater capacity of biomass synthesis. Massai intercropped with maize exhibits a greaterpotential for biomass production than Buffel under semiarid conditions. Maize+Buffel result in highest macronutrient export by maize, while maize+Massai result in highest macronutrient exports by total forage biomass under a semiarid environment. The choice of the forage species and its sowing time in relation to maize are the main determinants of successful intercropping systems under semiarid conditions.
- Subjects
CATCH crops; INTERCROPPING; GRASSES; MONOCULTURE agriculture; BIOMASS production; FORAGE plants; PLANTING; PLANT capacity; CORN
- Publication
Revista Brasileira de Saúde e Produção Animal (RBSPA), 2023, Vol 24, p1
- ISSN
1519-9940
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1590/S1519-994020220029