Forage production for smallholder farmers in the semi-arid region of Brazil

摘要

Except for limited areas of irrigation, cultivation practices in the semi-arid region of Brazil involve slash and burn or shifting cultivation, with cropping cycles between three to five years. The low economic status of the farmers in this region results from low rainfall and soil fertility. Pigeonpea, (Cajanus cajan), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and millet (Pennisetum glaucum) are drought-resistant crops for food and forage uses in the Brazilian semi-arid region where soil and water may be a limitingfactor. Intercropping is used to increase productivity, using resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a sole crop. Our objective was to evaluate forage production by pigeonpea in a sole and intercropping system with millet and sorghum. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Semiarido, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. Treatments were: monoculture of sorghum, millet and pigeonpea; pigeonpea intercropped with sorghum or millet; and pigeonpea/millet /sorghum. To have a greater synchronization between the rates of growth of the species, the grasses were sown 10 days after sowing of pigeonpea. Millet showed the highest rate in the launch of panicles followed by sorghum, while the pea flowers first presented 35 days after the grasses. A 'Training Workshop' was held before harvesting the plots with community farmer leaders. They were provided with seminars/and on-site one-on-one site presentations and informational pamphlets were developed and provided to the participants. These results suggest thatthe farmers will get more forage when they plant pigeonpea and sorghum together. Intercropping systems, therefore, have an economic advantage for low-income farmers. The farmer's leaders suggested that a second workshop with smaller groups should be provided. Rotation farming and intercropping are common practices in the semi-arid region of Brazil by small-scale farmers and pigeonpea seems to be an important crop for this region.