The use of green manure is not a common conservation practice in "cerrado" regions. In order to investigate the phenological characteristics and mineral composition of leguminous plants used as green manure at different sowing times, three experiments were conducted during the 1991/92 growing seasons at the Soils National Research Center/West Center Coordination - EMBRAPA, in EMGOPA's Experimental Station, Senador Canedo, GO. Four species, Crotalaria juncea L., Mucuna aterrima (Piper & Tracy) Merr., Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. and Canavalia brasiliensis, were tested for three sowing dates. A randomized block design was used, with three replications. The results obtained allow the following conclusions: 1) In all sowing dates Crotalaria juncea e o Cajanus cajan showed the highest dry matter yield; 2) The sowing delay in relation to the begining of the rainy season accelerates flowering of the leguminous plants and decreased the dry matter yield of C. juncea and C. cajan.
Crotalaria juncea; Mucuna aterrima; Canavalia brasiliensis; Cajanus cajan; sowing date