Abstract

This study aims to determine the ideal time of green manures deployment and assess what kind of green manure will produce a favorable quantity of mass for the farming without interfering in the maize production. The experiment was conducted in Toledo - PR in 2013. It was designed in randomized blocks, in a factorial scheme (2 × 3 + 1) with 4 replications; the first factor is the species of intercropped coverage (Avena strigosa and Brachiairia ruziziensis), the second factor is the time of implementation of green manures intercropped with maize according to the phenological stages of the crop (VE, V4 and V8), and the single maize is the control treatment. The evaluated parameters were: Diameter of the stem base, ear insertion height, diameter of the base, middle and apex of the ear, ear length, number of grains per row and number of rows per ear, 1000 grain weight and productivity, and in the green manure the dry matter production. The results showed that the use of intercropping system did not affect maize yield, as well as the time of implementation of green manure. The more delayed the sowing of brachiaria, the lower its dry matter production; on the other hand oats showed opposite results, because the later its seeding is performed, the better are the results, presenting their normal development cycle. So the most feasible kind of green manure to be used according to the dry matter production is B. ruziziensis in the first sowing season (VE), being a profitable and favorable system for soil cover, without affecting maize productivity.

Key words: Zea mays, Brachiaria ruziziensis, Avena strigosa, crop-livestock integration.