Tillage affects soil physical properties, e.g., porosity, and leads to different amounts of mulch on the soil surface. Consequently, tillage is related to the soil temperature and moisture regime. Soil cover, temperature and moisture were measured under corn (Zea mays) in the tenth year of five tillage systems (NT = no-tillage; CP = chisel plow and single secondary disking; CT = primary and double secondary disking; CTb = CT with crop residues burned; and CTr = CT with crop residues […]

Brazilian literature lacks data on soil and water loss by water erosion in perennial crops although such data would be essential for conservation planning and erosion modeling studies. Data of soil and water loss under natural rainfall (July 1960 to June 1972) in Pindorama, State of São Paulo, Brazil, were used to calculate the soil loss ratio (SLR) and C factor for the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) in coffee (Coffea arabica L.) planted in five spacings (3.0 x 0.5 m, 3.0 x 1.0 m, 3.0 x 2.0 m, […]

Inadequate soil management systems can lead to water erosion, nutrient losses and superficial water pollution, accelerating environmental degradation. The P and K losses caused by water erosion were evaluated from November 1999 to October 2001 in an Inceptisol with 0.102 m m-1 slope, in Lages, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, under natural rainfall conditions. The evaluated soil management systems were: no-tillage for six years (NT6), no-tillage for nine years (NT9), chiseling plus one disking for nine years (C + D9), and […]

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 […]

Soil management has an impact on soil cover and roughness, and, together with other variables, affects water erosion. In São José do Cerrito, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, three simulated rainfall tests were evaluated during the soybean cycle March 2000 through June 2001 in combination with the five tillage systems: plowing + disking (bare soil) (BS); plowing + disking and soybean crop on dry oat residues (PD); chiseling + disking and soybean crop on dry oat residues (CD); soybean crop […]

Rainfall and runoff together are the active agents of water erosion, furthermore influenced by soil cover and roughness, crop and soil tillage. Compared to conventional tillage, water erosion is reduced in soil conservation tillage because this method is less intensive, preserves the cover longer, and sometimes increases soil roughness. Erosion losses (soil and water) of a clayey Hapludox with a slope of 0.09 m m-1 were evaluated in Chapecó, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from November 1994 to October 1999 under natural rainfall. […]

Soil and water loss data under natural rainfall in Lages, Santa Catarina State (Brazil), from November 1992 to October 1998, were utilized to calculate the soil loss ratio (SLR) and C factor for the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) under three soil tillage systems for corn and oat in rotation with other crops. The studied treatments were: plowing followed by disking twice (P + D), chiseling plus disking (C + D) and no-tillage (NT)/direct sowing, cultivated with corn (Zea mays) […]

Paty do Alferes in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a county with agricultural tradition, whose main economical source is horticulture. Topography and rainfall regime of the region are favorable for erosion. Due to the lack of an appropriate soil management, besides excessive application of agrochemicals, physical and chemical soil degradation processes are favored, causing serious environmental impacts. With the objective to evaluate accumulated heavy metals in soil and in tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), raised in different […]

Erosion control benefits provided by conservation tillage can be diminished if mulch fails or loses its effectiveness. A field experiment was carried out at the Agriculture Experimental Station of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Eldorado do Sul, RGS, Brazil, on a 0.105 m m-1 slope, sandy loam Ultisol, to investigate mulch failure for different forms of residue management under no-till system. Simulated rainfall (63.5 mm h-1) was applied with the rotating-boom rainfall simulator until steady-runoff rates […]

Soil and water loss under natural rainfall in Lages (SC – Brazil), from November 1992 to October 1998, were used to calculate soil loss ratio (SLR) and C factor for the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) under three soil tillage systems and two crops. Treatments studied were plowing followed by two disking (P+D), chiseling plus disking (C+D) and no-tillage (NT), cultivated in succession with soybean (Glycine max) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), compared to a check plot: plowing followed by […]