Nitrogen use in agriculture directly impacts food security, global warming, and environmental degradation. Forage grasses intercropped with maize produce feed for animals and or mulch for no-till systems. Forage grasses may exude nitrification inhibitors. It was hypothesized that brachiaria intercropping increases N recycling and maize grain yield and reduces nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from soil under maize cropping. A field experiment was set up in December 2016 to test three cropping system (maize monocropped, maize intercropped with Brachiaria brizantha or with B. humidicola) and two N rates (0 or 150 kg ha^-1). The grasses were sown with maize, but B. humidicola did not germinate well in the first year. B. brizantha developed slowly during the maize cycle because of shading but expanded after maize was harvested. The experiment was repeated in 2017/2018 when B. humidicola was replanted. N₂O and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, maize grain yield and N content were measured during the two seasons. After the first maize harvest, the above- and below-ground biomass, C and N content of B. brizantha grown during fall-winter, and the biological nitrification inhibition potential of B. brizantha were evaluated. Maize yield responded to N fertilization (5.1 vs. 9.8 t ha^-1) but not to brachiaria intercropping. B. brizantha recycled approximately 140 kg N ha^-1 and left 12 t dry matter ha^-1 for the second maize crop. However, the 2017/18 maize yields were not affected by the N recycled by B. brizantha, whereas N₂O emissions were higher in the plots with brachiaria, suggesting that part of the recycled N was released too early after desiccation. Brachiarias showed no evidence of causing nitrification inhibition. The strategy of intercropping brachiarias did not increase maize yield, although it added C and recycled N in the system.

农业中的氮使用直接影响粮食安全、全球变暖和环境退化。与玉米间作的牧草生产动物饲料和/或免耕系统的覆盖物。牧草可能会渗出硝化抑制剂。据推测，臂膀间作可增加氮循环和玉米产量，并减少玉米种植土壤中的一氧化二氮 (N ₂ O) 排放。2016 年 12 月进行了田间试验，以测试三种作物系统（玉米单作、玉米与Brachiaria brizantha或B. weticola 间作）和两种施氮量（0 或 150 kg ha ^-1）。草上种了玉米，但B. hydricola第一年发芽不好。B. brizantha由于遮荫，在玉米周期中发育缓慢，但在玉米收获后扩大。该实验在2017/2018年重新种植B. weticola时重复进行。在两个季节测量了N ₂ O 和二氧化碳 (CO ₂ ) 排放量、玉米产量和 N 含量。第一玉米收获，以上和地下生物量后，C和N含量B. brizantha秋冬期间生长和生物硝化抑制潜在B. brizantha进行评价。玉米产量对施氮有反应（5.1 对 9.8 t ha ^-1），但对臂杆间作没有反应。B. brizantha回收了大约 140 kg N ha ^-1并留下 12 t 干物质 ha ^-1用于第二季玉米作物。然而，2017/18 玉米产量不受B. brizantha回收的 N 的影响，而在有臂的地块中N ₂ O 排放量较高，表明部分回收的 N 在干燥后过早释放。Brachiarias 没有显示出导致硝化抑制的证据。臂带间作策略虽然在系统中添加了碳和循环氮，但并未提高玉米产量。