Nitrogen fertilization on common bean after out-of-season maize intercropped with Urochloa brizantha and Urochloa ruziziensis

Abstract

Common bean plant demanding higher amounts of nitrogen (N), but are scarce information about common bean N demanding when grown after maize intercropped with palisade grass. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of N fertilization in common bean grown under no-tillage system, in succession to out-of-season maize intercropped with Urochloa brizantha (Syn. Brachiaria bryzantha) or Urochloa ruziziensis (Syn. Brachiaria ruziziensis). The experiment was conducted during two agricultural years, on a dystroferric Haplorthox. A randomized blocks design, in a split plot scheme, with four replicates, was used. The plots were composed by two types of straws previous common bean crop (maize + U. brizantha and maize + U. ruziziensis) and subplots were composed by four N rates (0, 35, 70 and 140 kg ha-1), using ammonium nitrate as source. Nitrogen application improved N nutrition  and increased the growth of common bean plants grown after out-of-season maize intercropped with U. brizantha or U. ruziziensis, but little influenced grain yield. Grain yield of common bean grown after out-of-season maize intercropped with U. brizantha or U. ruziziensis was similar.