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Maize relay intercropping with fodder crops for small-scale farmers in central Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2020

Alpha Bocar Baldé ,
Eric Scopel ,
François Affholder ,
Fernando Antonio Macena Da Silva ,
Jacques Wery  and
Marc Corbeels Open the ORCID record for Marc Corbeels [Opens in a new window]
Alpha Bocar Baldé
Affiliation:
ISRA, Centre National de Recherches Agronomiques, PO Box 53, Bambey, Senegal SODAGRI, Boulevard Djily Mbaye X Rue Macodou Ndiaye Immeuble Fahd 9e Etage, PO 222, Dakar, Senegal
Eric Scopel
Affiliation:
Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification of Annual Crops, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, Avenue Agropolis, F-34398 Montpellier, France
François Affholder
Affiliation:
Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification of Annual Crops, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, Avenue Agropolis, F-34398 Montpellier, France
Fernando Antonio Macena Da Silva
Affiliation:
Embrapa Cerrados, PO Box 8233, 73301-970Planaltina, DF, Brazil
Jacques Wery
Affiliation:
ICARDA, 2 Port Said, Maadi, Cairo, Egypt
Marc Corbeels*
Affiliation:
Agroecology and Sustainable Intensification of Annual Crops, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, Avenue Agropolis, F-34398 Montpellier, France CIMMYT, Sustainable Intensification Program, P.O. Box 1041-00621, Nairobi, Kenya
*
*Corresponding author. Email: corbeels@cirad.fr
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Abstract

Relay intercropping of maize with fodder crops is a promising option for sustainable intensification of dairy small-scale farms in the Cerrado of Brazil. Twenty-six intercropping trials were conducted on farmers’ fields with the following experimental treatments: sole maize crop cropping (MS), maize-Brachiaria intercropping (MB) and maize-pigeon pea intercropping (MP). The trials were managed by the farmers, i.e. choice of conventional tillage (CT) versus no-tillage (NT), sowing dates, fertilization and weed control. Maize grain yield varied strongly across the farmer fields, from 100 to 5900 kg ha−1 in the MS treatment, 500 to 6900 kg ha−1 in MP and 300 to 5500 kg ha−1 in MB. Intercropping did not significantly affect maize grain yields under NT, but yields were reduced under CT in one out of two seasons. Maize yields in the intercropped systems were also higher under NT than CT. Total biomass productivity was significantly higher in the maize-fodder than in the sole maize system. An increased interval between sowing of maize and fodder crop significantly reduced the fodder crop biomass. Relay intercropping, especially in combination with NT, is a promising option if crop calendars and fertilization are properly managed by farmers to reduce interspecific competition between the maize and fodder crop.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , August 2020 , pp. 561 - 573
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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