ESTABLISHMENT OF LEUCAENA-LEUCOCEPHALA INTERCROPPED ON DIFFERENT GRASS PASTURES

An experiment was carried out in a ferralitic rough sed soil (Acrisols ) in order to study the establishment of leucaena in pastures of diffe rent grass especies. A random block design with 4 replications was use d. Treatments were: intercropping Leucaena leucocephala cv. Peru in Pa nicum maximum (guinea grass), Paspalum notatum (Paspalum) and Dichanth ium annulatum (pitilla) pastures. The poor growth of leucaena in all t reatments, 10 months after sowing appeared on intercropping in Paspalu m with 141 cm of plant height and weight/plant of 30 g DM and 50 leave s/plant, which differ (P < 0.05) from treatments with pitilla and guin ea grass. The same situation appeared a year after the beginning of gr azing when leucaena plants intercropped in pitilla and guinea grass ha d a higher growth (P < 0.01) than with Paspalum, 187 and 175 cm high, a weight/plant of 20.7 and 24.6 g DM and branches/plant of 13 and 21, respectively. The number of plants was only affected (P<0.01) in leuca ena intercropped on Paspalum with less than 2 plant/clump and 2 plants in linear m. The costs of preparing the soil and harvesting was $63.5 4 in all treatments and represented 69.5% of the expense. It is conclu ded that the type of graminae determines the establishment of leucaena . Furthermore, the growth control of the accompanying grass, together with the soil preparation, an the components determining the establish ment costs of Leucaena and it is not advisable to intercrop Leucaena i n Paspalum swards.