Effects of some eucalypts on growth and yield of Amaranthus caudatus and Abelmoschus esculentus

Abelmoschus esculentus (L) and Amaranthus caudatus (L) were both grown for ten weeks in a savanna grassland (control) and under the effects of decomposing eucalypts' plant parts in an old eucalypts' plantation with a well-lit floor (treatment).Measurements of soil characteristics showed that pH was lower, but organic matter content and water holding capacity were higher in the plantation. Morphological studies showed that the two species growing in the plantation did not behave alike in most properties studied. While shoot height did not vary in A. caudatus in the two sites, in A. esculentus, it was higher in the control. Although total leaf number in the two species was significantly reduced in the plantation, area per leaf in A. caudatus did not vary between plants in the two sites. In A. esculentus, specific leaf area and chlorophyll content did not vary between plants growing in the two sites, but in A. caudatus both parameters were higher in the control.In A. esculentus, total flower abortion was observed after the third week of flower initiation, with fruit number and dimensions being significantly lower in plants growing in the plantation. It is concluded that the two crop species are incompatible with eucalypts in agrosilvicultural practices.