The objective of this work was to evaluate biomass productivity of maize, intercropped or not with gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium), and to evaluate the effect of manure and gliricidia prunnings fertilization on maize and spontaneous vegetation biomass productivity. The work was conducted from 2003 to 2005 within an area with gliricidia rows, spaced 6 m between each other and 1 m between trees, in a Typic Usthorthent, in Esperança, PB, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized split plot with two main treatments (with and without gliricidia), and three secondary treatments (control, fertilization with manure, fertilization with gliricidia prunnings), with four replications. During the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of the study, maize grain productivity in the plots without gliricidia were 268, 129 and 116% greater than yield of plots with trees, respectively. However, total biomass productivity (sum of the biomass produced by maize, gliricidia and spontaneous vegetation) was 86, 120 and 37% greater in the plots with gliricidia in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years of the study, respectively. Maize and spontaneous vegetation biomass productivity did not differ between plots fertilized with manure or gliricidia prunnings, but these two organic fertilizers led to significantly greater biomass productivity compared to the control plots.
Agreste; agroforestry systems; green manure
