Agronomic characteristics of common bean and castor bean hybrids in intercropping and monocropping

ABSTRACT Common bean has great importance in the Brazilian economy and castor bean is still emerging in Midwestern Brazil, but with great potential of exploitation by farmers due to the prevailing climatic conditions and flat topography. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic characteristics of common bean cultivars and castor bean hybrids in intercropping and monocropping under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Cerrado region. The randomized block design was used in 4 x 2 + 6 factorial scheme, with three replicates. Treatments were composed of four cultivars of common beans (BRS Pérola, BRS Esteio, BRSMG Realce and BRS Pitanga) intercropped with two castor bean hybrids (Tamar and Ag Ima), plus the respective crops in monocropping. In common bean cultivars, plant height was influenced in the intercropping with castor bean hybrids; however, agronomic characteristics of the castor bean hybrids were not influenced by common bean cultivars. The intercropping between common bean cultivars (BRS Esteio, BRSMG Realce and BRS Pitanga) and castor bean hybrids (Tamar and Ag Ima) was classified as viable by the area equivalence index, since this index presented values greater than 1.0 for the intercropping between these cultivars. This fact indicates that it would take more than one hectare in monocropping to produce the same amount than one hectare in intercropping.