EVALUATION OF THE AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF CORN AFTER GREEN MANURE IN NO-TILLAGE SYSTEM

Abstract

The main causes of low utilization of cover crops on farms is the lack of awareness of its importance, the limited availability of seeds and the lack of dissemination of research results related to the subject. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development and agronomic performance of corn in succession to different cover crops by tillage technique. The experiment was conducted in the Experimental Field of the Centro Universitário do Plantalto de Araxá in Araxá, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with plots of 2.5 x 5 m, with five treatments and three replications. The treatments were: T1) control, T2) crotalaria, T3) consortium of lupine and millet, T4) estilosantes Campo Grande, and T5) cocktail of legumes (Crotalaria + estilosantes + lupine). At 69 days after sowing (DAS) it was evaluated plant height, height of ear height, stem diameter and number of green leaves. At 130 DAS evaluated the length, ear diameter in the middle third of the spike and productivity. The results were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey’s tests at 5% significance. The cocktail of legumes and sunn hemp were green manures that provided the greatest yields, grain weight, ear length, number of green leaves and stem diameter of maize plants.