Yield of sorghum silage intercropped with pigeon pea and marandu grass in two spacings and chemical composition before and after ensiling
The aim of the present study was to evaluate yield of sorghum grown either solely (monoculture) or intercropped with Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu and pigeon pea cv. BRS Mandarin in two spacings. The experiment was carried out in field condition and the experimental design was in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme with four replications. The treatments consisted of two sorghum spacings, combined with four forms of cultivation as follows: (T1) sorghum as a monoculture (SOR); (T2) sorghum intercropped with marandu grass (SMG); (T3) sorghum intercropped with pigeon pea (SPP); and (T4) sorghum intercropped with marandu grass and pigeon pea (SMP). The evaluated traits were: sorghum height, stem diameter of sorghum, number of sorghum leaves, and a ratio sorghum/pigeon pea /marandu grass. The data were submitted to the statistical program SISVAR, and averages compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The 0.45 m spacing between rows provided higher silage yield in relation to 0.90 m between sorghum rows. The highest silage yield was produced at 0.45 m spacing between rows for single sorghum and triple intercropped (T4). The triple intercropped (sorghum + pigeon + marandu grass brachiaria) did not affect silage yield with the advantage of 10% of a legume in the final composition.