Intercropped Soybean Plant Population in a Coffee Plantation and Its Effects on Agronomic Parameters and Geospatial Information

Abstract

Coffee farming has high land use value, which can result in economic losses without proper land use planning. Intercropping has improved coffee production by providing an alternative income source to producers, especially in the crop formation phase. The objective of this study was to evaluate productivity, growth, and geospatial data in different soybean plant populations intercropped with coffee. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Uberlândia, in Monte Carmelo, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It had an experimental randomized block design with five treatments: the control (no soybeans); 80 thousand plants ha−1; 160 thousand plants ha−1; 240 thousand plants ha−1; and 320 thousand plants ha−1. Productive and vegetative characteristics of coffee and soybeans were evaluated, as well as the NDVI and GNDI vegetation indices. The mass of 1000 grains of soybean reached its peak (178.96 g) with a population of 222 thousand plants of soybean ha−1. The maximum soybean productivity of 102.78 bags ha−1 was obtained in the population of 185 thousand plants soybean ha−1. An increasing population of 240–320 thousand plants ha−1 soybean between coffee rows reduced soybean yield due to reduced light, causing plant lodging. The biometric parameters of the coffee trees did not change, which was evidenced by high normalized and green normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI and GNDVI, respectively). Therefore, it is concluded that the use of soybeans between the coffee trees does not affect the vegetative and productive parameters of the coffee tree, making the use of the intercrop viable.