Yield of soybean, pasture and wood in integrated crop-livestock-forest system in Northwestern Paraná state, Brazil

The integrated crop- livestock-forest system can enhance the production of soybeans, meat and wood in regions characterized by sandy soils and warm climate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of soybean, Urochloa ruziziensis grass and eucalyptus in an integrated system during the first four years after the establishment of eucalyptus in the northwestern region of Paraná state, Brazil. The experiment was established in October 2009, using soybean (summer) -U. ruziziensis (autumn/winter) succession between single rows of Corymbia maculata (eucalyptus species). The spacing between tree rows and eucalyptus plants in the row were 14 and 4.2 m, respectively. Adjacent plots had the same soybean-U. ruziziensis succession, but without eucalyptus. The spatial variability of soybean grain yields and grass shoot dry matter production was evaluated with and without trees, and the data was analyzed using geostatistics, with the results expressed as spatial variability maps. The tree component did not significantly affect soybean yield in the first two growing seasons. In the 3rd and 4th growing season (2011/12 and 2012/13), the interference of eucalyptus reduced the soybean grain yield by 2.9 and 27.0%, respectively, and the effect was stronger close to the tree rows. In July 2012, the tree component reduced the shoot dry matter productivity of U. ruziziensis by 29.2%. At 19 and 35 months after eucalyptus planting, the cumulative wood volume production was 0.73 and 5.17 m³ ha-1, respectively.