Economic analysis of bean yield according to nitrogen levels and cover crops

Abstract

Nitrogen is the nutrient applied in greater amounts in bean crops, the most limiting to the growth and development of bean plants and the most onerous to its production cost. A good option for producers to reduce costs, concerning nitrogen fertilizers, is the use of ground cover plants, also known as green manures. So, this study aimed at evaluating the production costs and profitability rates of different treatments involving cover crops and topdressing nitrogen doses, in irrigated no-tillage bean crops, in the winter of 2010 and 2011. The experiment was conducted in an experimental area, in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, in a typical Oxisol. The treatments consisted of six cover crops (Crotalaria juncea, millet, pigeon pea, Crotalaria juncea + millet, pigeon pea + millet and fallow ground), and four nitrogen doses (0 kg ha^-1, 30 kg ha^-1, 60 kg ha^-1 and 90 kg ha^-1). The total operating cost, gross revenue, operating profit, profitability index and equilibrium productivity and price were evaluated. It was concluded that the use of Crotalaria juncea as a ground cover crop resulted in the highest values for total operating cost and operating profit and the highest profitability indexes, and that increased nitrogen levels also increased the total operating cost, with an increasing trend for productivity and, consequently, for the equilibrium price.