Table 1: Nutrients cycling by the cover crops

Results

The results showed important benefits of nutrients cycling by the cover crops, weed control between the coffee rows, and among others improving soil moisture and soil biology (biodiversity).

Table 2: Productivity of the treatments in the 2nd year of the trial

In table 2, the data comprising effects of penergetic and penergetic combined with cover crops, including or not chemical fertilizers, show significate differences in dry grain yield when compared with control plot. Very good results are obtained when penergetic is involved. Using cover crops + penergetic + 50% fertilizer (treatment 6), it was possible to achieve 65.6 bags of coffee (1 bag = 60 kg of dry bean coffee grain) per hectare. That is an increase of 33% compared with treatment 2 (control + cover crops) and of 22% compared with treatment 7 (100% fertilizer).

With the Penergetic Technology and cover crops species intercropped and slashed in the flowering stage (when the soil contains reasonable nutrient levels), it is possible to reduce the dosis of chemical fertilizer and still have an increase in yield. Comparing treatment 7 (100% fertilizer) and treatment 10 (75% fertilizer + PNG + CC), treatment 10 realized 33% more yield.

Table 3: Ranking productivity results

Table 3 is presenting the ranking achieved and compared among all treatments. Comparing treatment 10 (75% fertilizer + PNG + CC mix) and treatment 6 (50% fertilizer + PNG + CC mix), probably the costs of fertilizer are quite similar to the grain coffee improvement. This leads to conclude that with 50% fertilizer + PNG + CC mix, it´s possible to achieve high coffee grain yield with profitability, and almost 23% higher yield when compared to treatment 7 with just 100% chemical fertilizer.