To study the arrangement of mixtures of maize (Zea mays L.) with beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) or cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp), mixed cropping experiments were planted in 1995 and 1996, in Rio Branco, Acre. Four different arrangements (one, three, five, seven rows of beans or cowpeatone row maize) were tested in a randomized block design with four replications. The productivity of the beans and the cowpea in the 1:1 arrangement proved to be significantly inferior to the others, showing that the legumes were effected by the competition with the maize. The productivity of the maize decreased linearly in accordance with the arrangement owing to lower population densities. The most promising mixture, demonstrated by equivalent productivity, was composed of a row of maize to three rows of legumes.
Zea mays; Phaseolus vulgaris; Vigna unguiculata; planting systems