Initial growth of robust coffee trees submitted to cultural consortia between the lines

Abstract

Cultural management interrow in the coffee can directly influence crop productivity. The aim of this work was to evaluate the initial development of robust coffee clones, irrigated by drip irrigation, submitted to different cultural management interrow. The research area was conducted in a coffee plantation with 30 days of transplanting up to approximately 12 months, adopting a randomized block design with five replications. The treatments consisted of five distinct crops in the coffee interrow: spontaneous vegetation (weeds), maize/beans in succession, large field styles, Brachiaria ruziziensis and absence of vegetation (clean). The biometric characteristics were evaluated: plant height (cm), crown diameter, stem diameter, and number of plagiotropic branches of the coffee tree; soil bulk density, soil water content and porosity up to 0.40 m depth; Chlorophyll Falker index and gas exchanges between 7h-18h. The management with spontaneous vegetation and B. ruziziensis interfered negatively on the crown diameter and on the chlorophyll indices of the coffee tree. Higher values of perspiration (2,67 mmol m-2 s-1) were observed in the absence of cover and the lowest values (2,19 mmol m-2 s-1) in the maize and bean crop in succession. Gas exchanges are not influenced by the presence of the cultural consortium between rows and are more effective in the late afternoon and early morning. Managements can be adopted with styles, maize/beans and all clean between rows of the coffee in the formation phase.