The intensive use of the paddy soils in the production of flooded rice becomes more and more necessary. In this sense, the adoption of the no-till system of rice in succession to winter cover crops is an important alternative to facilitate the cultivation in the same area every year. A trial was conducted with the purpose to identify more appropriate cover crops for cold season to participate of a succession system with no-till system of flooded rice genotypes at the Estação Experimental do Arroz of Instituto Rio Grandense do Arroz, in Cachoeirinha, RS, Brazil, in the 1996/97, 1997/98 and 1998/99 growing seasons. The treatments consisted of four flooded rice genotypes (BRS6, BR-IRGA 409, IRGA 416 and IRGA 417) installed in no-till system on plots with the grasses black oat (Avena strigosa Scheib), white oat (Avena sativa L.) and rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.); with the legumen "serradela nativa" [Ornithopus micranthus (Benth.) Arechavaleta]; with spontaneous vegetation and with nude soil (check). For grain yield there was interaction between cover crops and growing seasons. In the three growing seasons, only the rice cultivated in succession to the legumen "serradela nativa" presented similar grain yield to that one obtained in the control. On the other hand, the rice cultivated in succession to the rye grass was the only one presenting inferior grain yield in relation to the check in the three growing seasons.
cover plants; sequential cropping; crop yield; agronomic characters
