Leguminous Alley Cropping Improves the Production, Nutrition, and Yield of Forage Sorghum

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the growth, production, and leaf contents of macronutrients, as well as the yield of forage sorghum cultivated on the alleys of Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Kunth ex Walp.) and Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit) in the presence and absence of mineral fertilization. The experiment was conducted in two different periods: During the 2016/2017 double crop (cultivation carried out at the end of the crop cycle) and during the 2017/2018 crop (cultivation carried out at the beginning of the crop cycle). A randomized block design, in which the first factor refers to cultivation systems (single sorghum, sorghum cultivated in Gliricidia alleys, and sorghum cultivated in Leucaena alleys) and the second factor refers to mineral fertilization (presence and absence of fertilization), in a 3 × 2 factorial arrangement was used. The leguminous plants were cut, and the residues were deposited in the alleys. The cultivation in alleys without mineral fertilization increased total forage biomass when compared to the single crop cultivation. Cultivation in Leucaena alleys showed a higher leaf content of nitrogen (N) when compared to the single crop, both in the presence and absence of mineral fertilization. In the double crop, sorghum cultivated in Leucaena alleys without fertilization presented a higher forage yield (up to 67%) when compared to the single crop system. However, there was no difference in yield when mineral fertilization was applied to the treatments. Overall, the alley crops were able to increase the morphological (plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), panicle diameter (PD), and panicle length (PL) and yield (leaf dry mass (LDM), stem dry mass (SDM), total green mass (TGM), and total dry mass TDM) variables of the crop, improving the productivity of forage sorghum.