Soil Cover and Weed Control on Coffee Intercropping Perennial Legume
Julio Cesar Freitas Santos, Aquiles Junior da Cunha, Benjamim de Melo

Abstract
The legumes are favorite species in green manure and, depending on the management, they can promote good soil coverage between the rows on the coffee plantation and reduce the weed infestation. This study evaluated soil coverage and weed infestation on the producing coffee management with forage peanut and perennial soybean. The experiment was done in Patrocínio, MG, in a 11 years old producing coffee orchard, cultivar Catuaí Vermelho IAC-99, spaced by 3.80 x 0.70 m. Nine treatments were evaluated as a 2³+1 factorial, in randomized blocks, with 4 repetitions, with two perennial legumes: forage peanut (Arachis pintoi) and perennial soybean (Glycine wightii); two types of side management: without side management, or with side management with glyphosate at 50 cm from canopy projection; two types of vertical management: without vertical management, or with legume vertical management at 5 cm above soil level. The additional treatment was done with the herbicide glyphosate (1.0 kg ha^-1 of acid equivalent) between the rows. Intercropping forage peanut and perennial soybean in all management provided good soil cover, reducing the weed infestation. The forage peanut with side and vertical management and perennial soybean presented smaller weed infestation. There was a negative and significant correlation among legume soil cover and weed infestation.

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