INTRODUCTION Maize (Zea mays L.) is one monocotyledon from the family Poaceae of great economic importance for Brazil as well as for the whole world. In recent years, Brazil increased significantly its production and export. In the states in the Midwest region of Brazil, agriculture is based in succession between soybean and corn. However, in most of the crops, soon after the corn harvest, the soil is maintained with little coverage of straw, leaving it thus exposed and consequently more vulnerable to degradation. Important changes in the system of production of these crops have occurred in recent years and had as a result the expansion in direct sowing system (SSD) and also in the integration of crop breeding (CLI). This latter system, the CLI, consists of the deployment of the implantation of the intercropping of annual cultivations with fodder species, being that the grass Urochloa genus (formerly called Brachiaria) is the forage species more used, being a kind that presents a good competitiveness with weeds, tolerance to shading, soil high protection, tolerance to drought and also presents a wide adaptability climate change, as well as forming dense pastures, when submitted to favorable conditions. The corn intercropping with Brachiaria is an important alternative to increase and keep the straw on the soil surface, with quality and quantity sufficient to express the maximum potential of SSD, since it increases the inflow of the vegetable waste and provides higher economic return in the cultures that will be sown in succession (Ceccon et al., 2008). Due to the climate conditions of the West, the SSD Center along with the rotation of crops and pastures, is pointed out as the form of soil management more adequate to reconcile productivity with sustainability. The agriculture, however, presents high vulnerability to climate conditions and variations in market price quotations. To alleviate these problems, it is recommended to use the appropriate practices of soil management, as the SSD and the diversification of activities.