Global Maize Project in Brazil: Ponta Grossa, Paraná

Cropping system intensification will be necessary to meet the future demands for corn. The proposed system of Ecological Intensification (EI) seeks cereal production systems that satisfy these future demands while developing cultivation practices with minimum interference to the surrounding environment. A Global Maize Project was established to identify gaps in yield between current technology and improved technology aimed at achieving EI.

The experiment was first established at Ponta Grossa, Paraná, in May 2011, by seeding the winter crops to the respective treatment plots. The soil in the area is an Oxisol that has been in a no-till system for 6 years. The experiment had a split-plot design with the main plots involving three types of management systems and the sub plots being three levels of N input plus a control. Different management systems used were: 1) farmer practice (FP) involving a 2-year complete crop rotation cycle of black oats, corn, wheat, and soybean; 2) FP + silage production; and 3) EI of black oats + forage peas, corn, black oats, and soybean. The EI treatment is planned to occur twice, alternating the crop rotation initiation point to permit the production of corn every summer. The levels of N application for the corn were 70, 140, and 210 kg N/ha, plus a control with no N added.

The results for dry-matter yield for the winter crops varied from 3,907 for black oats to 5,725 kg/ha for ryegrass. Up to 140 kg/ha of N were applied to the soil for growing winter crops. The summer crops are currently in the area, and it is possible to visualize the effect of the winter forage peas through their addition of N to the system (lower N response in the corn crop). Soil samples were collected to evaluate the soil physical properties. Also, tissue samples were collected from the summer crop for laboratory analysis. IPNI-19