ABSTRACT Demand for phosphate fertilizers in Brazil, combined with its reliance on external sources, highlights the need to explore alternative phosphorous (P) sources for limed cultivated soils. This study aimed to characterize and evaluate the agronomic performance of phosphates from various sources, including national sedimentary (Arraias, Bonito, and Pratápolis) and igneous deposits (Catalão and Registro) imported sedimentary sources (Algeria, Bayovar, and Morocco), and residue-recovered sources (Bonechar and effluent recovered phosphate – ERCP). Phosphates underwent mineralogical and chemical characterization, including P […]

ABSTRACT Studies on lability of soil phosphorus (P) under integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) are still scarce, especially for deep soil layers (more than 0.20 m depth) and different managements in the crop and livestock phase. Distinct management in these phases may lead to a different distribution of soil P pools according to its lability (labile, moderately labile, less labile and residual) and, consequently, the P availability for plant nutrition. This study aimed to determine the soil P pools, by P […]

ABSTRACT For decades, researchers around the world search for strategies aiming at higher sustainability in agriculture. The microbial inoculants or biofertilizers are biotechnological products used for different purposes, the main one being to totally or partially replace chemical fertilizers, with an emphasis on N-fertilizers, reducing costs of production and decreasing the contamination of the soil, water, and atmosphere. Depending on the microorganism and the inoculated crop, inoculants can also induce plant protection to abiotic and biotic stresses and positively modify […]

In tropical regions there is rapid decomposition of plant material deposited on the soil, and the ability to recycle nutrients through this decomposition is one of the most important aspects of cover crops. The aim of this study was to evaluate the yield and nutrient release from forage crops intercropped with maize for silage, and soybean in succession. The study was conducted in the experimental area of Universidade Estadual Paulista, Ilha Solteira campus, Brazil. The experiment consisted of maize for […]

Continuous agricultural production in the Amazon region requires correction of soil acidity and understanding of the long-term interactions of liming with chemical soil properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the immediate and residual effects of lime on annual crop production and soil properties of medium-textured Oxisols in the Brazilian Amazon. Field experiments were conducted at two locations in the Northeast of Pará from 2003 to 2008, one in the county of Terra Alta and the other in […]

Potassium (K) availability to plants is estimated based on the exchangeable K fraction. Multielement methods increase the analysis efficiency in soil laboratories. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of soils may affect the prediction of available K. Thus, the purpose of this study was to estimate the available K for corn and soybean in soils in the Rio Grande do Sul (RS) state using Mehlich-1 (M1), Mehlich-3 (M3), ion-exchange resin (resin), ammonium acetate pH 7.0 (AcNH4), and verify whether the CTC affects […]

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization can reduce the efficiency of urea applied to the surface of no-till (NT) soils. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the magnitude of NH3 losses from surface-applied urea and to determine if this loss justifies the urea incorporation in soil or its substitution for other N sources under the subtropical climatic conditions of South-Central region of Paraná State, Brazil. The experiment, performed over four harvesting seasons in a clayey Hapludox followed a randomized block […]

A sustainable management of soils with low natural fertility on family farms in the humid tropics is a great challenge and overcoming it would be an enormous benefit for the environment and the farmers. The objective of this study was to assess the environmental and agronomic benefits of alley cropping, based on the evaluation of C sequestration, soil quality indicators, and corn yields. Combinations of four legumes were used in alley cropping systems in the following treatments: Clitoria fairchildiana + […]

Compaction is one of the most destructive factors of soil quality, however the effects on the microbial community and enzyme activity have not been investigated in detail so far. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil compaction caused by the traffic of agricultural machines on the soil microbial community and its enzyme activity. Six compaction levels were induced by tractors with different weights driving over a Eutrustox soil and the final density was measured. Soil […]

The agricultural activity can change the quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM), resulting in CO2 and N2O emissions from the soil. No-tillage (NT) with legume species in crop rotation is a strategy that should be considered not only to increase the SOM quantity, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this study was to determine the soil-atmosphere gas emissions with greenhouse effect (CO2 and N2O). For this purpose, an experiment was installed in Tibagi (Paraná […]