To evaluate the agronomic viability of the intercropping okra crop (Abelmoschus esculentus) with small size and erect green manuring species Mucuna deeringiana and Crotalaria spectabilis, two experiments were carried out, one in conventional system at Monte Alegre do Sul, São Paulo state, Brazil, from February to July 2008 and one in an organic system at São Roque, São Paulo state, Brazil, from December 2008 to June 2009. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks, with five treatments and five replications. The five treatments were constituted by okra monoculture and okra intercropped with one or two lines of M. deeringiana and one or two lines of C.spectabilis in the seeded at the same time of the okra crop. In organic farming two new treatments were added to the experiment to evaluate the green manures in single cropping. Production, number of fruits per plant, fruit length and diameter and plant height were evaluated in okra plants and plant height and fresh matter weight were determined in the green manuring plants at different periods after seeding.. The evaluation of the efficiency of the consortium was measured by the ratio of area equivalent (RAE). Average yield per okra plant was 190.9 and 582.0 g plant-1, respectively, under conventional and organic cropping. The RAE was 1.5 and 1.6 in the consortium of okra with two rows of M. deeringiana and Crotalaria spectabilis, respectively. Intercropping erect short green manuring species with okra is agronomically viable and can be used by family farmers without interference with the yield of okra crop.
Abelmoschus esculentus; Mucuna deeringiana; Crotalaria spectabilis; production; soil management; sustainability
