The effect of soil compaction on plant growth is widely used as orientation for soil management. Although the limiting water range (LLWR) underlies the systematization of the relationship between compaction and physical factors directly related to plant growth, its efficiency to predict biological responses, especially of grain yield, has not yet been proven. Results of research at the cellular level indicate that the water and mechanical stress levels that occur in the roots during soil drying are partially represented by […]

Soil management strategies to improve and maintain soil physical quality (SPhQ) are essential for the sustainability of intensive agricultural systems. The least limiting water range (LLWR) is an indicator of SPhQ defined by the range of least restrictive soil water content to plants, i.e., a soil water content within the LLWR indicates an appropriate SPhQ for plants. In this context, soil mulching with crop residues can contribute to the SPhQ by increasing the frequency at which soil water availability is […]

The mechanical harvesting of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) increases the risks of soil physical degradation. The objective of this study was to determine the least limiting water range (LLWR) and S index to evaluate the physical quality in soils under mechanically harvested sugarcane. Three soils were sampled (layers 0-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m): clayey Oxisol (clayey LV), loam Oxisol (medium-textured LV) and a sandy Ultisol (sandy PVA). In decreasing order, the LLWR was clayey LV < sandy PVA < medium-textured LV. In […]

The intensive use of land alters the distribution of the pore size which imparts consequences on the soil physical quality. The Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) allows for the visualization of the effects of management systems upon either the improvement or the degradation of the soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) submited to cover crops in the period prior to the maize crop in a no-tillage and […]

The least limiting water range (LLWR) was used to determine several factors that influence plant growth. The LLWR is defined as the water content range in which aeration (AFP) and soil resistance to root penetration (RP) are not restrictive, within the field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP). The aim of the present study was to determine the LLWR and soybean grain yield in an Oxisol under non-tillage (NT) and chiseled no-tillage (CNT) systems. The soil density, LLWR, soil […]

Soil tillage systems and the crop residue management are essential for the sustainability of cassava production in sandy and sandy loam soils of Northwestern Paraná State, Southern Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different tillage systems used for planting cassava: no-tillage (NT), minimum tillage using chiseling (MT) and conventional tillage with moldboard plow and disking (CT) on some physical properties of a dystrophic Red Latosol. The following soil physical properties were evaluated in the […]

The understanding and quantification of the impact caused by soil use and management on the physical soil quality are fundamental for the development of sustainable agricultural systems. The objective of this research was to quantify some physical soil properties to evaluate the physical quality of a dystrophic Red Latosol (Rhodic Ferralsol) in the northwest of the State of Paraná, Brazil. Undisturbed soil samples were collected from two contiguous areas on an Experimental Farm of the State University of Maringá. One […]

Compaction is one of the main causes of degradation of agricultural soils and it has been evaluated through several indicators of: (a) soil structural quality for crop growth, such as the least limiting water range (LLWR), and (b) load support capacity of the soil, i.e., the preconsolidation pressure (σp). This research was carried out with the objective to relate the LLWR and the σp, as well as to determine critical pressures values that can be applied to the soil without […]

Soil physical attributes, i. e., soil water potential, soil oxygen, and soil strength, directly affect plant growth. The least limiting water range (LLWR) is the range of soil water content within which plant growth is least limited by water potential, aeration and mechanical resistance and has not been evaluated in tropical soils. The objective of this research was to characterize the LLWR of a Typic Hapludox cropped to corn under no-tillage. Seventy-two undisturbed soil samples were collected at the crop […]