Desenvolvimento inicial do cafeeiro cultivados com diferentes plantas de cobertura nas entrelinhas

The cultivation between the lines of the coffee tree is an important practice in which it requires care because it can directly influence the development and even the health of the plants. This use of the between the lines, most of the time, occurs in order to seek benefits to the coffee tree or a second source of income in the area, thus taking advantage of the space in which it would be useless. The implantation of the species used between the lines can occur at any stage of development of the coffee tree, but it is necessary to study which plants to use, seeking better results. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the development of young coffee plants, with the use of different cover plants, being; Brachiaria ruzizienses (Brachiaria), Glycine Max (Soybeans), Natural vegetation (weeds). The experiment was carried out in the experimental field of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Minas Gerais (IFMG) - Bambuí Campus, in which a randomized block design (DBC) was adopted, consisting of three treatments, characterized by the use of soybeans, brachiaria and natural vegetation, implanted between the lines of the coffee tree, with 7 replications, totaling 21 plots, with 5 coffee plants in each plot totaling 105 plants. Coffee plants were evaluated 16 months after planting. The data of the characteristics of plant heigth, number of plagiotropic branches, and weight of green matter) were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) by the F test, at the level of 5% probability and the means when significant were compared by the Scott-Knott test at 5% probability. There was no significant difference for all characteristic evaluated.