*5.1.1. Location*

lowed to establish successfully the legume Siratro (*Macroptilium atropurpureum*) on the na‐

The higher cost of treatment to establish *Ap*, was the S+B+P, or S+B-P (USD \$ 195.00/ha), whereas the application of H-B-P was less expensive to establish *Pp* (USD \$ 86.00/ha). Herbi‐ cide application was more economical compared to the slashing treatment. (Table 11).

The banded herbicide application without application of fertilizer is the best method for introducing vegetatively Ap in native grass pastures in north-central region of Veracruz


+ P


+ P


+ P


**Table 11.** Economic costs of treatments on the establishment of *Arachis pintoi* and Pueraria phaseoloides. Mexico,

**5. Establishment of** *Arachis pintoi* **CIAT 17434 by two tillage methods in**

In the humid tropics of Mexico, native pastures are affected by climatic variations from one season to another that make it difficult, to obtain stable yields of forage during the year.

**Treatments Cost (USD/ha)**

*A. pintoi* 173.43 *P. phaseoloides* 117.16

*A. pintoi* 193.43 *P. phaseoloides* 137.15

*A. pintoi* 175.85 *P. phaseoloides* 118.12

*A. pintoi* 194.80 *P. phaseoloides* 138.12

*A. pintoi* 142.15 *P. phaseoloides* 85.57

*A. pintoi* 162.15 *P. phaseoloides* 105.57

*A. pintoi* 143.21 *P. phaseoloides* 86.53

+ P *A. pintoi* 106.53

tive grass [25].

68 Soil Fertility

**4.3. Conclusions**

State, Mexico.

Slashing

Herbicide

August 1996.


+ B


+ B

**a native pasture of Veracruz, Mexico**

Centre for Teaching, Research and Extension in Tropical Animal Husbandry of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, of the National University of Mexico (UNAM), located in the mu‐ nicipality of Tlapacoyan, Veracruz, Mexico, 20 ° 03 'north latitude and 97 ° 03' west longi‐ tude, 151 m. The climate is hot and humid on the type Af (m) (e), with an average temperature of 23.4 ° C and an average annual rainfall of 1980 mm. Soil characteristics are presented in the Table 12.


**Table 12.** Chemical and physical characterisics of the experimental soil. Veracruz, Mexico.

The study was conducted during the three seasons representative of this region: winter or "North" from November to February; drought: March to June, rain or summer: July to October. Weather conditions for the experimental period by time are presented in Figure 9.

**5.2. Results**

*5.2.1. Winter season*

14.5 and 14.7 plants/9 m2

formance at 12 weeks.

**Planting season**

Time in weeks to bring a new plant.

cient of variation of 38%.

a coefficient of variation of 38%.

cover 10% of area, is presented in Table 14.

needed more time to build a new plant (Table 13).

Number of plants. At this time, the average/treatment at 4, 8 and 12 weeks was 12.2, 15.3,

Soil Management for the Establishment of the Forage Legume Arachis pintoi as a Mean to Improve Soil Fertility...

the contrary, the interaction week x treatment was not significant. The overall average was 14.1 plants/9 m2 with a coefficient of variation of 20.0%. Treatments 2, 3 and 4 had better per‐

Regarding the rate of appearance of plants, expressed this as the time in weeks to bring a new plant, was similar among treatments 2, 3 and 4 in winter and rainy seasons, while T1

Winter 3,8 1.5 2.0 1.7

Dry 9.0 33.3 - 25.0

Rainy 1.0 0.6 0.5 1.0

Coverage. At 12 weeks, the best coverage was in T2 (P≤0.01) with 28%, while while T1 and T3 were similar, with 22.9% and 19.0% respectively. On the contrary, coverage at T4 was 18%. The overall average for this variable during the winter season was 22.1% with a coeffi‐

There were statistical differences between treatments (P≤0.05), exceeding 28% of T2 with coverage, while T1 and T3 were similar, with 22.9% and 19.0% respectively. The average for T4 was 18.2%. The overall average for this variable during the winter season was 22.1% with

Figure 10A shows the increase in coverage during the establishment period, for each treat‐ ment at 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks. There is a considerable increase for all treatments from week 12. The maximum coverage at 24 weeks is presented in conventional tillage treatments.

The rate of coverage of the ground, expressed as the average time in weeks for the plants to

**Table 13.** Appearance rate\* of *Arachis pintoi* plants on each planting season. Veracruz, Mexico.

. A significant effect (P≤0.01) by fertilizer and ages was observed; by

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/53318

71

**T1 T2 T3 T4 Weeks by treatment**

Experimental design and treatments. We used a completely randomized design with factori‐ al arrangement of 2 x 2: Conventional or minimum tillage, and fertilization or not, within each period and 12 observations (no repetitions) per treatment (T), resulting in:


T1 and T3 were: P (22), S (25), K (18), Mg (20), Ca (100), Zn (3), Cu (2) and B (1) kg / ha. Each period included a an experimental area, with dimensions of 50 m x 40 m (2000 m2 ), divided into two parts along: one, conventional tillage; and another with minimum tillage. Then each part was subdivided again in width to the treatments with and without fertilization. Each treatment involved 12 observations (no repeats) within the corresponding area of 9 m2 each for thorough preparation, and 18 m2 for minimum tillage.

Land preparation. In T1 and T2, were allocated strips of 3 m x 20 m, alternating with native grass, where the vegetation was slashed with desvaradora, followed by 4 to 5 passes of har‐ row and plowed with a hoe. On the strips, the distance between rows and plants within them was 80 and 50 cm, respectively. The legume is seeded with a seed depth of 15 cm.

Minimum tillage. For T3 and T4, there was a land clearing with machete, were traced rows of 20 m long, spaced every two meters, and the rows were holes (seed points) every 50 cm, diameter and depth of 20 and 15 cm, respectively.

Planting dates were in Nov 29/1991, March 2/1992 and jul 15/1992, with plant material, plac‐ ing 3-4 stems of 15 cm long, with only three or four leaves in the air. After 30 days, treat‐ ments were applied "with" and "without fertilization. These works were carried out in each season and in the corresponding area. Weed control was made with a hoe, in the first three months, for each treatment and time.

Variables. Data were collected at 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-seeding for number of plants, and 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks for coverage. The useful area was 9 m2 (T1 and T2) and 18 m2 (T3 and T4). The first variable was the number of facilities within the useful area and in the second, the proportion was estimated visually apparent that the legume covered the area. The data were analyzed separately for each planting season, using ANOVA, and Tukey's test was used to compare means [9]. Regression coefficients were estimated to number of plants (lin‐ ear) and coverage (exponential) to observe trends.
