Corn yield, forage production and quality affected by methods of intercropping corn and Panicum maximum

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate methods of intercropping corn and Panicum spp. forages and their effects on corn yield and forage development. Two experiments with Panicum spp. were conducted, one with 'Tanzania' and other with 'Massai' in the municipality of Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the 2012/2013 growing season. In both experiments, the treatments were: broadcast seeding of Panicum spp. at the same time of corn sowing; corn with Panicum spp. between rows; Panicum spp. sown with fertilizer; Panicum spp. sown between corn rows after corn establishment; broadcast seeding of Panicum spp. after corn establishment; and sole corn sowing. For corn, leaf nitrogen content, ear height, and grain yield were evaluated. For Panicum spp. cultivars, height, dry mass, tiller density, and leaf:stem ratio were evaluated. The intercropping establishment methods used do not affect corn growth, grain yield, and N leaf content. The seeding of both cultivars of Panicum spp. when corn plants had four expanded leaves reduces forage dry mass production and increases the leaf:stem ratio. The Panicum spp. broadcast method, performed after corn was established, does not allow appropriate establishment, with few plants in the area.