Sustainable Production Systems under No-till in the Cerrado of Brazil - Piaui

IPNI-2011-BRA-58

27 Mar 2014

2013 Annual Interpretive Summary


Continuous cultivation of lands under continuous monocropping systems tends to promote soil degradation and to increase the incidence of crop diseases, pests, and weeds that may reduce crop yield potential. This is a 3-year research project looking into various aspects of sustainable agricultural systems. The project gives emphasis to crop rotation and other alternatives to generating long-term profitability. This research is believed to be instrumental to supporting many farms located throughout the Brazilian Cerrado. Part of this project is dedicated to the study of soil fertility management under these systems. One experiment containing seven different cropping systems, involving soybean and maize, was initiated in 2011.

Results from the first year of this project (2012) showed that growing maize and brachiaria grass together increased the grain yield of maize. Increasing N application rates also increased grain yield and dry matter of cobs and husks. Results from the second year of this project (2013) showed that ecological intensification (EI) promoted higher grain yield and seed weight of maize as compared to other systems. EI promoted higher grain yield, plant height and seed weight of soybean as compared to other systems. Nitrogen fertilizer application increased grain yield and dry matter of leaves and cobs of maize, and previous N application promoted higher grain yield and seed weight of soybean. This project will end in 2014 and final report will be available by the end of the year.