Maize-crotalaria intercropping systems

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify a maize-crotalaria intercropping system feasible for producing straw while maintaining maize yield. A study with a completely randomized block design was performed in 2015 and 2016, with 7 × 2 + 1 split plot and three replications in a clayey Red Oxisol. Seven intercropping systems were allocated to each plot, and two crotalaria species (Crotalaria spectabilis and C. ochroleuca) cultivated with maize in monoculture were allocated to each subplot. Crotalaria yield, total chlorophyll content, nitrogen content, plant height, plant dry matter, thousand grain mass, and corn grain yield were evaluated. C. spectabilis was more sensitive to water level variations during the crop cycle than C. ochroleuca. Crotalaria sown before maize planting with maize seeds incorporated in the soil presented a relatively higher phytomass but decreased corn grain yield. The management system in which crotalaria was sown in the inter-row with a ridge planter at the time of maize planting and the system in which crotalaria was sown in the maize sowing furrow were feasible for straw production because they did not decrease corn grain yield and did not affect maize harvesting operations.

Nitrate Leaching in Maize (Zea mays L.) and Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Irrigated Cropping Systems under Nitrification Inhibitor and/or Intercropping Effects

“…Some authors have pointed out that maize-legume (Crotalaria sp.) intercrops can show mixed results on the maize chlorophyll content depending on the legume sowing date [35]. On the other hand, the use of nitrification inhibitors has previously shown an increase in the chlorophyll content of maize plants compared to conventionally fertilized ones [36].…”

Ecological trade‐offs in development and defence in a specialist moth when feeding on four congeneric host plants

“…is also a small native shrub (0.5-1 m tall) that occupies more permanent habitats in sandy soils and is therefore more common in humid areas near water (Flores & Tozzi, 2008). Crotalaria ochroleuca G. Don is an introduced Indotropical species, often planted for nematode control and nitrogen fixation as a part of intercrops and crop rotations (Debiasi et al, 2016;de Souza et al, 2019). Crotalaria micans and C. pallida seeds were collected in the region of Campinas.…”

Crotalaria Sowing Times Intercropped with Off-Season Maize in the Variability of Soil Temperature and Moisture

“…Within the intercropping of agricultural crops, the maize crop (Zea mays L.) is commonly intercropped with legumes such as crotalaria (Crotalaria spectabilis Roth. ), as it has numerous benefits and advantages, especially for the main crop, maize (Souza et al, 2019).…”

“…Green manures, such as crotalaria, when intercropped with maize, can be sown simultaneously with the maize crop or approximately 10 to 20 days after maize emergence (Souza et al, 2019). Thus, knowing the effect of different sowing times of crotalaria intercropped with maize on the dynamics of soil temperature and moisture, under irrigation and nonirrigation conditions, becomes an increasingly important factor in planning and in the management of irrigated agricultural crops, mainly for maize, due to the great impact this has on the country's economy, as it is one of the most exploited commodities in relation to Brazilian agriculture.…”