Polycultivation and agroforestry systems impact the vegetative growth of vegetables

Abstract

This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the performance of vegetable production in different agrobiodiverse cropping systems, comparing two successive agroforestry systems (SAFS) with a non-tree vegetables polyculture. The experiment was conducted in an experimental design in randomized blocks, with three treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of two SAFS with biological diversity: one SAFS with fruit trees (SAFS-F) and another with conilon coffee (SAFS-C), in addition to the non-tree vegetables polyculture (SC-H). The results showed that, on average, the agroforestry systems had a lower performance than the non-tree vegetables polyculture. However, the vegetables submitted to the non-tree polyculture and to the agroforestry system with fruit trees had a better vegetative growth, while the vegetables cultivated in agroforestry system with coffee did not show satisfactory results in the evaluated parameters. This study contributes to the development of sustainable agricultural production technologies, seeking solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture.