Paulo Roberto Coelho, Lopes José Barbosa dos Anjos, Aderaldo de Souza Silva, Maria Sonia Lopes da Silva
EMBRAPA - Semi-árido
Caixa Postal 23
56.300-000, Petrolina -PE, Brasil
E-mail: proberto@cpatsa.embrapa.br

Crop residues management effects associated with rainwater catchment practices were evaluated in a rain-fed maize cropping. The Guimarães Duque rainwater catchment system was used. Five treatments were carried out with the following arrangements: T1 Control (catchment system, without annual recovery, removing crop residues from soil surface after harvesting; T2 Catchment system with annual recovery, removing crop residues from soil surface; T3 Catchment system with annual recovery, incorporating crop residues with the sowing line; T4 Catchment system with annual recovery, planting black mucuna as green manure, incorporated in the sowing line together with crop residues; T5 Catchment system without annual recovery, planting black mucuna as green manure, but leaving crop residues on the soil surface. The treatments leaving crop residues as mulching or incorporating them in the sowing line (T5, T4, and T3) showed higher yields, but they did not statistically differ from each other. However, they significantly differed from those where crop residues were removed from the soil surface after harvesting (T1 and T2).