Tomato is mainly cultivated in monocrops, by intensive use of chemical products. It is an activity with economic, social and environmental risks. The intercropping has been used as a form to reduce these risks. In this work the yield of tomato in sole crop and intercropping with Foeniculum vulgare, Mentha piperita, Ocimum basilicum and Ruta graveolens was evaluated. The monocrop of tomato and its intercropping was evaluated with aromatic plants in a complete randomized design, with five treatments and four blocks. We evaluated height, canopy area, production, yield and land equivalent ratio. On the population density adopted, the F. vulgare (fennel) presented greater height and canopy area, and caused significant reduction on total production of tomato, from 12.23 kg, in monocrop, to 7.88 kg, when intercropped with fennel. However, intercropping with fennel contributed to a lesser loose caused by fruits borer (24%). The greatest loose caused by fruits borer occurred in monocropping and in intercropping with M. piperita (peppermint). Intercropping with Ruta graveolens (rue) resulted significant increase of commercial production of fruits, about 26%. The relative yield of tomato was greater in intercropping with rue (13.6 t ha-1), followed by intercropping with peppermint (9.8 t ha-1) and with O. basilicum (basil) (9.1 t ha-1), and lesser on intercropping with fennel (6.4 t ha-1). These results showed that the intercropping with rue was more advantageous than others producing more fruits. Among the studied aromatic plants, basil presented the highest yield (96.5 t ha-1). The tomato intercropping with aromatic cultures permits better use of land and higher yield, mainly when intercropping with rue. All aromatics plants evaluated represent an alternative source of gain.
Lycopersicum esculentum; Foeniculum vulgare; Mentha piperita; Ocimum basilicum; Ruta graveolens; intercropping; competition
