Brazil has been producing maize in almost all regions, although the costs of production increased in the last years. New techniques which provide economy without yield loss can motivate producers, as maize is an important culture used at crop rotation system. Green manure may reduce maize production costs, maily to the incorporation of nitrogen. Data from an experiment were used for these comparisons; treatments were conducted in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil in three precedent maize cultures (black oat, oilseed radish and hairy vetch) and six nitrogen fertilizers levels (zero, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 kg/ha). Maize after black oat showed damage when N 25 kg/ha was used, while increasing levels increased yield up to 150 kg/ha, wherein the maximum yield was 1233 kg/ha. Maize after oilseed radish showed under zero rate a yield of 1500 kg/ha, but MEE occurs at N 40 kg/ha. Maize after hairy vetch showed no response to N, so MEE occurs at zero N, where yield was 2100 kg/ha. Maize antecessor cultures that release more nitrogen could provide higher yield to the system with lower use of fertilizers.
