Intercropping of Cowpea with Eucalyptus in Northern Brazil

Intercropping consist in growing two or more species with different vegetative cycles and architectures, simultaneously cultivated in same field and same period of time, not necessarily having been sown at the same time. The objective of this study was to evaluate different populations of cowpea development intercropped with Eucalyptus, in order to determine the number of rows of cowpea generates higher grain productivity. This work was carried out at Universidade Federal do Tocantins, in Gurupi, Tocantins, Brazil. The treatments were arranged for different densities of cowpea rows: eight rows, six rows, and four rows of cultivars BRS Nova Era and BRS Sempre Verde, also a control in conventional cropping. The cowpea sowing occurred after 12 months eucalyptus planting. The evaluated characteristics were Flowering (FLOW), Mass of 100 grain (GM), Number of grains per green pod (NGP), Chlorophyll Index (CI) and Grain yield (GY). The density of eight rows have obtained better results for most characteristics, being the density limiting factor for bean production could unfeasible the intercropping system. The BRS Nova Era responds better on most characteristics, probably for a better adaptation to the environment and hold superior characters than BRS Sempre Verde.