Author(s): SANTOS, J. C. F.; CUNHA, A. J. da; FERREIRA, F. A.; SANTOS, R. H. S.; SAKIYAMA, N. S.; LIMA, P. C. de

Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cultivation of perennial herbaceous legumes on weed control and yield of the coffee crop in the Cerrado. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. The 10 treatments tested in factorial 4 × 2 + 2, were four legumes: forage peanut (Arachis pintoi), hybrid Java (Macrotyloma axillare), perennial soybean (Neonotonia wightii) and wild ground nut (Calopogonium mucunoides); two forms in the interrows of coffee plants with two and three rows of legumes spaced by 0.50 m and 0.25 m, respectively; and two additional treatments consisted of hand weeding with hoe and chemical control with glyphosate. The hybrid Java and wild ground nut in the first year and the hybrid Java and perennial soybean in the second year, all followed by forage peanut, promoted lower density and biomass of the weeds. The wild ground nut in the first year and forage peanut in the second year showed higher soil cover. The hybrid Java had its highest biomass production in two years, and wild ground nut being higher in the first year. The cultivation of perennial herbaceous legumes promoted weed control without interfering in the productivity of the coffee crop.

Publication year: 2013

Types of publication: Journal article

Unit: Embrapa Coffee

Keywords: Legumes intercropping, Soil cover, Weed control