Maize intercropped between Eucalyptus urophylla in agroforestry systems in Brazil

The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic characteristics of maize intercropping with Eucalyptus urophylla at agroforestry system in two triple row distance (alleys) at different sampling distances and positions in relation to the eucalyptus external row (transect), and three positions in relation to the cardinal points: east side, west side and middle. Eucalyptus (E. urophylla) seedlings were planted with spacing of 1.5 m between plants and 3.0 m between rows (triple rows) and two triple row distances: 16.5 and 37.1 m apart, with the spatial exposure of the rows towards north and south, ranging from 888 to 464 plants ha-1. It was observed that treatments differed in relation to the number of ears ha-1 and grain yield in both seasons. In addition, in relation to the final plant density ha-1, in the 2014/2015 season, the maize at 4.2 m distance from eucalyptus at 16.5 m triple row distance had lower number of ears ha-1 and grain yield, and maize at 8.2 m from eucalyptus at 37.1 m triple row distance had greater number of ears and grain yield. The cardinal positions (W/E) in relation to the eucalyptus did not influence the agronomic characteristics of the maize.