Efficiency of an agrosystem designed for family farming in the pre-Amazon region

Abstract In the humid tropics, the continuous use of the same area reduces nutrient availability and increases the incidence of weeds. To circumvent these obstacles, farmers practice itinerant agriculture associated with slashing and burning with negative effects on the local and global environment. In search for a suitable system for humid tropical agriculture, the objective of this study was to investigate the performance of no-till alley cropping in conjunction with the use of annual legume crops grown during the off-season. The experiment was implemented in a one-hectare alley cropping system in which the leguminous tree clitoria (Clitoria fairchildiana R.A. Howard) was used. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with four replications of the following treatments: Stylosanthis (Stylosanthis capitata), showey rattlebox (Crotalaria spectabilis), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) and a control with clitoria alone, without an annual legume. In January 2007 and 2008, maize was planted in each alley. One hundred and twenty days after annual legumes were sown, the total biomass was recorded. Weed incidence was assessed 35 days after maize planting. Analyses of the C, N, P, K, Ca and Mg contents of the legumes were carried out. To assess soil organic matter (SOM), composite soil samples from the surface 0–5 cm were collected from experimental plots. Two adjacent areas were also sampled for comparison: a 10-year-old secondary forest and an area of conventional tillage. The SOM was fractionated using a densitometric and a granulometric method. Conventional systems reduce the silt and free light organic matter fractions more than no till. The use of annual legumes changes the composition of the weed community, replacing the more aggressive types with those less competitive. The use of showy rattlebox (C. spectabilis) may be an effective strategy for reducing weed density in the long-season crop. Furthermore, relative to the use of leguminous trees alone, higher yields of maize can be obtained with the use of showy rattlebox (C. spectabilis) and sunn hemp (C. juncea) without the application of additional N.