The green manures utilization in citrus orchards is little studied yet, therefore can enhance the yield and preserve the nature. The purpose of the experiment was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of green manures on an orchard planted with 'Pera' sweet orange, situated Botucatu/SP. Four different treatments were applied: jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), lab-lab (Dolichus lablab), dwarf guandu (Cajanus cajan) and brachiaria (Brachiaria brizantha) as control. They were sown, then grubbleb and moved directed next to the line plants by the occasion of full flowering. The experimental design was a randomized blocks with four treatments, six replications, and two useful plants per plot. Characteristics evaluated were: average fruits weight, number of fruits per boxes (40,8 Kg), productivity, percentage of dry matter and the contents of macro and micronutrients in the treatments. Also, it was evaluated the juice content and ratio. The results obtained showed that there was no statistical significant differences among green manures in orange yield and the fruits quality. Dwarf guandu showed a higher dry matter content in the first year of experimentation, differing from the other treatments. In the second year, it differed from jack bean and lab-lab, producing a higher quantity of biomass.
Citrus sinensis; Citrus limonia; yield; growth; green manure; fruits quality
