Phosphorus on yield of corn and bean in sole cropping and intercropping

Abstract

The yields of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) crops were comparatively evaluated in the sole crop and intercrop according to the P availability. Three experiments were carried out in an Eutrophic Cambisol in Poço Verde, SE, Brazil, as follows: sole bean; sole corn; and corn and bean intercropped, adopting a spatial arrangement 1:3 - corn:bean, on a randomized blocks design with three replications. P was applied at levels of 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha of P₂O₅, as simple superphosphate, which was broadcasted and incorporated by disc plowing. The yields of intercropped beans at levels 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha of P₂O₅ were 29%, 40%, 44% and 47%, and intercropped corn at the same levels of P₂O₅ were 56%, 87%, 85% and 67%, respectively, compared to the ones obtained in the same sole crop. The Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was 0.85, 1.27, 1.29 and 1.14 for the levels 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg/ha of P₂O₅, respectively. The corn crops showed a linear response in the sole cropping and a quadratic response in the intercropping. The response of the bean was similar in both systems. P concentration in the plant tissue for corn and bean crops was the same in both systems.