Efficiency in land utilization and yield of crops in association

Abstract

A field experiment evaluating dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), corn (Zea mays L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) as sole crops as well as the intercropping of these species two by two was conducted during the 1981/82 growing season at the Agronomic Experimental Station of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Guaíba, RS, Brazil. The main objectives of this research were to compare the efficiency of monocultures and intercrops in land utilization and evaluate the individual behavior of crop species when submitted to interplant competition. All the crop systems, seaded at the same date, were submitted to two nitrogen fertilization levels (0 and 80 kg/ha) and to two weed control practices (with and without hoeing). The Land Equivalent Ratios (LER), a measure of land use efficiency, showed greater indices for the intercropping systems as to the correspondent sole crops. Sunflower demonstrated high competition ability when associated with beans or com. The response of dry beans to nitrogen fertilizer and to weed control was higher when intercropped with com than when associated with sunflower.