Corn requires a high uptake of nitrogen. Because soil has a limited capacity to supply this N demand, other N sources as legumes and mineral fertilizers are used. Potentially, the association of these sources of N can contribute to agricultural sustainability. This work was carried out to evaluate the impact of tillage and cropping systems on N availability. A long-term experiment established on a Paleudult at UFRGS (RS), Brazil was used. This experiment had three tillage systems: conventional, minimum and […]

Organic matter is considered the soil attribute most sensitive to the changes triggered by the management systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of nine years using three soil tillage systems -conventional tillage, reduced tillage and no tillage- on soil chemical characteristics of a Humic Cambisol in southern Brazil. Soil samples were collected in September 1996 at depths of 0-2, 2-5, 5-10, 10-15, and 15-20 cm, and analysed for C and N contents in total organic […]

The objective of this paper was to study the effect of eight soil tillage systems on the aggregation status of an Albaqualf at a depth of 0-10 cm using the following parameters: distribution of water stable aggregates in different size classes and mean weight diameter aggregates. The field experiment was carried out at the “Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Clima Temperado” (EMBRAPA-CPACT) experimental station, in Pelotas (RS) in 1985. After ten years, the soil […]

The impact of winter cover crops prior to no-tillage corn on aggregate stability was evaluated throughout the agricultural year of May 1991 – May 1992, in a Hapludalf (Red-Yellow Podzolic). The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Santa Maria-RS, using the following winter cover crops as treatments: Lathyrus (Lathyrus sativus L.); Lupine (Lupinus angustifolius L.); hairy vetch (Vicia sativa L.); black oat (Avena strigosa Schieb) and winter bare soil. Water aggregate stability, organic carbon, microbial activity, soil […]

Soil water infiltration rate may be the soil property which best reflects the general soil physical conditions, especially the structural quality. A field study was conducted at the Embrapa Trigo, Passo Fundo, Brasil in an Oxisol under long-term soil tillage systems, to evaluate the influence of these systems on soil water infiltration rate as a function of the soil cover and soil physical conditions caused by the different tillage systems. During a corn cropping period, a simulated rainfall with intensity of […]

Losses of nutrients and organic matter due to hydric erosion are highly affected by soil management. Inadequate management systems may cause pollution and eutrophication of surface waters, fertilization cost increase, and ecosystems degradation. Nutrient and organic matter losses due to erosion were evaluated during six years on a very clayey Dusky Red Latosol, with a 0.03 m m-1 slope at Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil under natural rainfall conditions, and different soil management systems. The treatments applied in the crop succession […]

In this study, microbial biomass and its activity were evaluated on a soil submitted to crop rotations with wheat/soybean and wheat/maize under the no-tillage and conventional tillage systems. The evaluation was performed on an experiment established since 1976 at the Experimental Station of Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR), Londrina (PR), Brazil. Soil samples were taken in the plough layer (0-15 cm) ten days after planting and seven days before harvesting summer and winter crops during 1992, 1993 and 1994. The […]

Soil spatial variability of phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter was studied in different soils and management systems, in two counties: a) Eldorado do Sul, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on a Dark Red Podzolic-Kandiudult (conventional tillage, no-tillage, minimum tillage, and pasture), using a grid sampling of 1 x 1 m and at depths of 0-0.05 and 0.05-0.20 m; b) Passo Fundo, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on a Dusky Red Latosol – Hapludox (conventional tillage and […]

Soil and water losses were evaluated from 1987 to 1995, on a very clayey red dusky latosol, with 0.03 m m-1 slope, of Embrapa-Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Oeste, at Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Soil tillage systems used for growing wheat and soybean in succession were: chisel plow + tandem disk (ES), offset disk + tandem disk (GP), no tillage (PD) and conventional tillage, with no vegetable cover (DE). All tillage operations and seeding were in the […]