MIXED STANDS of Eucalyptus urograndis AND Acacia mearnsii IN AN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM: I - BIOMASS PRODUCTION

This study aimed to evaluate a mixed stand of Eucalyptus urograndis and Acacia mearnsii in an agroforestry system with corn (Zea mays L.) in Bagé, RS. The design entailed a randomized block with five treatments and three replicates (T1- 100E; T2- 100A; T3- 50E:50A; T4- 75E:25A e T5- 25E:75A), with 4.0 m x 1.5 m planting space. Three lines of corn were planted, between the eucalyptus and/or black-wattle lines. Ten months after the installation, the biomass from forest species were quantified and separated in fractions (leaf, branch and stem). Corn biomass was collected at the end of the cycle and separated in fractions (leaf, straw, grain, corn cob and stem). In mixed stands, the treatment T5 (25E:75A) showed the highest biomass accumulation, being 35.1% in the leaves, 25.8% in branches and 39.1% in stem. The black wattle showed higher growth than the initial eucalyptus, both alone and in the mixed stand. The yield of corn was between 1.01 to 1.26 Mg ha-1, which was not statistically different (p>0.05) between treatments.