The study of canonical correlation makes it possible to identify and quantify the associations of morphological and productive characters with the performance of cultures. Due to the scarcity of studies on the topic of cowpea, the selection of characters of interest for grain yield is promising. The objective of this study was to verify the associations between morphological traits and yield components in cowpea. The experiment was carried out in 2016 at experimental area of the Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste, municipality of Dourados, State of Mato Grosso do Sul. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with 14 treatments and four replications. Canonical groups were established between production components (group 1) and morphological characteristics (group 2). Canonical correlation analysis was estimated between the group consisting of primary agronomic traits (grain yield, number of pods and pod length) and the group consisting of secondary agronomic traits (beginning of flowering, plant size, value for cultivation and lodging). The data were submitted to analysis of variance at 5% probability and canonical variables. Moreover, it was determined the matrix of phenotypic correlation coefficients and the multicollinearity diagnosis. The number of pods per plant, pod length and plant size showed high and positive magnitude, allowing to conclude that, in cowpea breeding program, plants with the highest number of pods per plant, earliness and optimal plant architecture for mechanized harvesting should be selected to increased grain yield.

The central Brazilian Savanna biome, known as Cerrado, has a vast area of pastures affected by some degree of degradation, where one of the main challenges is incorporating these areas into a crop production system. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pasture renewal systems on the microbiological and structural quality of a medium-texture Oxisol. A randomized blocks design was adopted, with four replications and eight pasture renewal systems: 1) soybean/off-season maize/soybean; 2) soybean/maize-grass intercropping/soybean; 3) grass for 10 months and then one soybean crop; 4) grass + rattlepod for 10 months and then one soybean crop; 5) grass for 13 months and then one soybean crop; 6) grass + rattlepod for 13 months and then one soybean crop; 7) one soybean crop; 8) original pasture (control). The microbiological quality was assessed based on soil microbial biomass carbon, soil microbial activity, microbial metabolic quotient - qCO2 and activity of the β-glucosidase enzyme; and the structural quality based on the soil structural quality index. The implementation of pasture renewal systems with grass as a single crop (systems 3 and 5) or intercropped with rattlepod (systems 4 and 6) improves the soil microbiological and structural quality. The pasture renewal system beginning with soybean/off-season maize succession (system 1) is not indicated for the medium-texture soil evaluated in this study.

Maize silage has been used as a forage reserve strategy for critical periods or continuous use in animal feed. However, new genotypes and their potential must be identified. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of maize genotypes for silage and grain in one off-season in the midwest region of Brazil, under limited water and frost, and select them for this dual purpose (silage and grain) using the GT Biplot tool. The experiment was performed at Embrapa Western Agriculture in the autumn-winter season of 2021 in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks of six maize genotypes (BRS1010, KWS9606, 1P2224, 1Q2383, BRS3046, and CAPO) with five replications under no-tillage. Silage points were evaluated at harvest when the grain milk line was at ¾ and maize grains at the maturation stage (dry plant). The 1P2224 and 1Q2383 maize genotypes present silage (high green and dry biomass) and grain yield potential. The GT Biplot tool identified the 1P2224 genotype as superior and suitable for cultivation or as a parent in a breeding program in the midwest region of Brazil for silage and grain yield evaluations of one off-season under limited water and frost.

The experiment was performed at a non-acclimatized protected screened environment. The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence predecessor crops of single and intercropping corn and brachiaria on soybean yield submitted to irrigation intervals. The experimental design adopted was in a split split-plot randomized block design with four repetitions. Two soil classes (dystroferric Red Latosol and dystrophic Red Latosol) were evaluated in the plots, three intervals between irrigations were used during the soybean flowering (each one day, two days and three days) in the subplots and three types straw in the crops autumn-winter (single corn, single brachiaria, intercropping corn and brachiaria) in the sub-subplots. The two soybean plants cultivated in polyethylene pots containing 20 liters of dystroferric Red Latosol or dystrophic Red Latosol corresponded to each repetition, according to the treatment. The irrigation intervals of three and two days, in dystroferric Red Latosol and dystrophic Red Latosol, respectively, with single brachiaria at the previous crop provided greater number and weight of pods, higher number of grains and higher soybean yield. Irrigation every three days with single corn at the previous crop in dystroferric Red Latosol and dystrophic Red Latosol, resulted in the lower soybean performance.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic performance of corn (Zea mays) grown single and intercropped with Urochloa ruziziensis in succession to soybean (Glycine max) inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum, as well as the inoculation and reinoculation of corn with Azospirillum brasilense, in two contrasting soils. The experiment was carried out in two crop years, in a randomized complete block design, in a 2x2x3 factorial arrangement, with five replicates. The first evalauted factor was composed of the two constrasting soils: a clayey Rhodic Eutrustox and a sandy Rhodic Haplustox. The second factor was corn cultivation: single and intercropped with U. ruziziensis. The third factor consisted of the inoculation onto soybean and corn in succession, as follows: no inoculation in both crops, inoculation with B. japonicum onto soybean and with A. brasilense onto corn, and reinoculation with B. japonicum + A. brasilense onto soybean and with A. brasilense onto corn. In both crop years, the highest corn yields are observed in clayey soil with seeds reinoculated with A. brasilense. The annual reinoculation with A. brasilense results in a higher corn grain yield in the intercropping with U. ruziziensis in the clayey soil. Inoculation and reinoculation reduce corn yield losses caused by the competition with U. ruziziensis in intercropping.