Phosphate fertilizers contain heavy metals, including Cd, which is potentially toxic to humans, animals and plants. The objective of this study was to assess the bioavailability of Cd contained in phosphate fertilizers. Six phosphate fertilizers (two natural phosphates, two simple superphosphate, a triple superphosphate and a monoammonia phosphate) were selected for the study of bioavailability in a greenhouse experiment, using Avena strigosa as an indicator of the bioavailability of Cd. The Cd was bioavailable in phosphate fertilizers, since it was […]

Nutrition and crop yield can be affected by chemical modifications of the soil owing to lime and phosphogypsum surface application. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of surface application of lime and phosphogypsum, at the establishment of a no-tillage system, on nutrition and grain yield of black oat, in a dry-winter region, in area previously used with conventional tillage. The experiment was carried out in 2003 and 2004, on a Haplorthox in Botucatu County, São Paulo […]

Dry matter production of winter annual pastures is usually low due to the limited soil nutrient availability, which can be amended by the use of liquid swine manure (LSM). This experiment, carried out from May to November 2003, aimed to evaluate the efficiency of LSM in the production and accumulation of dry matter, and N-leaf concentration of an oat/Italian rye grass mixture, as well as the effect on some chemical attributes of an Oxisol in the soil layers 0-5, 5-10 […]

The use of pig slurry before implanting cover crops in the fall/winter is becoming a common practice in southern Brazil, although its effects on crops and soil are still poorly investigated. The objective of the present study was to analyze the dynamics of soil N as well as to study the cover crop yields under use of pig slurry in the fall/winter. The study was developed in the growing season 2000 on an experimental area of the Soils Department of […]

No-tillage has been increasingly adopted by farmers in South Brazil and it has increased the interest for the mixtures of cover crops in the autumn/winter as source of nitrogen to the corn in succession. A field experiment was carried out on a typic Hapludalf at the experimental area of the Soil Science Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, in 1998/99 and 1999/00 to evaluate the effect of single crop and mixtures of […]

In Southern Brazil, black oat (Avena strigosa, Schieb), is a common cover crop, preceding maize in no-tillage systems. However, where N supply is restricted or absent, this sequence can affect the corn yield due to the N immobilization process. The practice of fertilizing cover crops with N to control this effect is not well investigated yet. Main goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of N application on black oat regarding residue decomposition and residue N release, as […]

The performance of no-tillage systems depends, among other factors, on the quantity and quality of residues added to the soil. In Southern Brazil, the main cover crop anteceding summer crops is black oat (Avena strigosa, Schieb). The growth of this grass is often limited by N deficiency. In this situation, nitrogen fertilization is a possible option to increase the efficiency of this cover crop in no-tillage systems. Main goal of this study was the evaluation of effects of N rates […]

The effect of topdressed N on the dry matter production of no-till oat (Avena strigosa Schreb) planted onto native pasture, without desiccation with herbicides, in soil classified as Dark-Red Latosol (Haplorthox), was studied in three experiments. Experiment 1 was carried out in 1994 to evaluate the effect of rates of nitrogen (0, 20, 40, 80, 160, and 320 kg ha-1 ), split into three applications (1/3, 30 days after emergence of plants-DAE, 1/3 after the first cutting, and 1/3 after […]