Bio-agronomic efficiency indices of eggplant and tomato intercropping

Resumo

The successful intercropping with vegetables depends on the type of crops grown and on the proper handling of tested treatments, such as the time of transplanting a crop in relation to transplanting another crop, among others. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the bio-agronomic performance of eggplant and tomato for industry, in intercropping, in relation to their single crops, as a function of the transplanting season of eggplant in relation to tomato in two growing seasons. The experimental design used was a randomized complete block with 10 treatments and four replications, implanted in two growing seasons, where the treatments consisted of 10 eggplant transplanting seasons (-30, -25, -20, -15, -10, -5, 0, +5, +10 and +15 days in relation to tomato transplantation) and the growing seasons of the crops from February to September and from August to February. In each block, plots of eggplant monocultures were planted in each transplanting season, as well as a plot in tomato monoculture in order to obtain the bio-agronomic indices. The indices evaluated were: relative crowding coefficient of eggplant (K_e), tomato (K_t) and intercropping system (K) cultures, eggplant CR_e and tomato (CR_t) competitive ratios, eggplant (A_e) and tomato (A_t) aggressivity, actual yield loss of eggplant (AYL_e), tomato (AYL_t), and intercropping system (AYL), and land efficient ratio of eggplant (LER_e), tomato (LER_t) and system intercropping (LER). Based on the results of these indices, it can be concluded that the variation in transplanting date of eggplant in relation to tomato significantly interferes in the bio-agronomic performance of both species. Eggplant transplanting performed between -20 and -15 days compared to tomato transplantation reduces the dominance of one crop over the other and the interspecific competition for environmental resources. The intercropping has greater land efficient ratio when the eggplant is transplanted at +15 days after transplanting the tomato.