Victória Santos Souza1, Jaqueline Balbina Gomes Ferreira3, Darliane de Castro Santos3, Lucas T. Greschuk1, Bruna Emanuele Schiebelbein1, Larissa de Souza Bortolo4, Tulio Porto Gonçalo5, Arlini Rodrigues Fialho6, Stéfany Oliveira de Souza7, Tiago do Prado Paim3, Rodrigo Estevam Munhoz de Almeida8, Lourival Vilela6 and Maurício Roberto Cherubin1,2
1 Department of Soil Science, “Luiz de Queiroz” College of Agriculture – University of São Paulo (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba, SP, Brazil,
2 Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON) – USP, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil,
3 Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Goiano, Rio Verde, GO, Brazil,
4 Mato Grosso Agricultural Research Support Foundation, Rondonópolis, MT, Brazil,
5 Grower Agronomic Consulting, Rio Verde, GO, Brazil,
6 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa Cerrados, Distrito Federal, Brazil,
7 São Paulo State University “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil, and
8 Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation – Embrapa Pesca e Aquicultura, Palmas, TO, Brazil
Abstract
Intercropping annual cash crops with grasses is a strategy that promotes both diversification and intensification of production in the same area, contributing to sustainable food systems. This study evaluated the impact of intercropping maize with different Urochloa species on maize and subsequent soybean yields over three years in the Brazilian Savannah. The treatments included: (1) maize monoculture; (2) maize intercropped with Urochloa ruziziensis; (3) maize intercropped with U. brizantha cv. Marandu; and (4) maize intercropped with U. brizantha cv. BRS Paiaguás. The evaluations included maize grain yield, land equivalent ratio (LER), forage biomass and soybean yield in succession. The results confirmed that maize intercropped with U. brizantha cv. Marandu and U. brizantha cv. BRS Paiaguás achieved grain yields comparable to monoculture. Demonstrating that these forage species do not significantly compete with maize in 2018 and 2019 in Montividiu and 2018 and 2020 in Rio Verde. In Montividiu, intercropping with U. brizantha cv. BRS Paiaguás resulted in an average LER of 1.13 over three years, highlighting its advantage in optimising land use. In addition, the intercropping system was particularly beneficial in sandy soils, where faster biomass decomposition accelerated improvements in soil structure, moisture retention, and nutrient availability, leading to earlier benefits in soybeans grain yield compared to clay soils. These findings emphasise the potential of maize-forage intercropping to enhance land-use efficiency and soil health while maintaining crop yields in tropical agroecosystems. However, site-specific management is essential to maximise benefits and minimise trade-offs. Future research should focus on long-term soil health dynamics and refining intercropping strategies to improve sustainability in different environmental conditions.
Keywords
Land equivalent ratio, soil health, sandy soils
