Agronomic Performance and Grain Quality of Green Maize as Affected by Cover Crops and No-Till System Stages

This study evaluated the agronomic and bromatological characteristics of green maize grown under different cover crops and developmental stages of the no-till system (NTS) in the Brazilian Cerrado. A randomized block design with a 6 × 3 factorial arrangement and four replications was used. Six cover crops were evaluated: Brachiaria (B), Pearl millet (PM), Sunn hemp (SH), and mixtures B + SH, B + PM, and PM + SH. Three NTS stages were assessed: initial (1 year, NTS1), transition (8 years, NTS8), and consolidation (20 years, NTS20). Evaluated variables included cover crop dry matter (DM), green maize ear yield with husk (EYH), shucked ear yield (SEY), straw yield (SY), grain yield per ear (GYE), and grain bromatological characteristics: pH, moisture (HU), ash (AS), lipids (LIP), protein (PTN), carbohydrates (CHE), total titratable acidity (TTA), total soluble solids (TSS), and ascorbic acid (AA). SH and the PM + SH mixture produced the highest DM across the NTS stages. Cover crop residues did not affect green maize yield attributes, whereas progression through NTS stages increased SEY, EYH, and GYE. Bromatological quality was mostly unaffected by cover crops, except for moisture and TSS, while NTS stages influenced pH, moisture, LIP, PTN, TTA, TSS, and AA. The integrated use of cover crops, either as sole crops or intercropping systems, associated with long-term no-till adoption, contributes to increased biomass production and improved grain quality attributes of green maize under Cerrado conditions.