This study was conducted from July to November 2009, at Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA), Mossoró, RN, Brazil, to assess the production of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) fertilized with scarlet starglory (Merremia aegyptia L.) at different doses and times of soil incorporation. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with treatments arranged in a 4 x 4 + 1 factorial, with three replicates and 72 plants per plot, where the first factor consisted of the doses of scarlet starglory (5.4, 8.8, 12.2 and 15. 6 t ha-1 on dry basis), the second one by the times of soil incorporation (0, 10, 20, and 30 days after sowing - DAS), and additional treatment with 80 t ha-1 of cattle manure. The sugar beet cultivar grown was Early Wonder. The best productive performance for sugar beet was obtained in the dose of 15.6 t ha-1 of scarlet starglory incorporated into the soil at time 0 day. Economic indicators in the dose of scarlet starglory of 15.6 t ha-1 at time 0 day of its incorporation into the soil were higher than those obtained with the use of 80 t ha-1 of cattle manure. The cultivation of sugar beet is agro-economically viable with the use of scarlet starglory as green manure.
Beta vulgaris; Merremia aegyptia; green manure; productive efficiency
