The macro and micromorphological characteristics of the surface and subsurface diagnostic horizons of Oxisols and Quartzipsamments of the South American and Velhas geomorphic surfaces were analyzed in profiles under native vegetation cover, in order to establish a reference for future comparisons with similar areas under ongoing human intervention. The soils in their respective subregions and geomorphic surfaces were classified in three groups: Group 1: hypo to mesoferric, clayey to very clayey soils; Group 2: hypoferric; sandy to sandy loam soils, and Group 3: […]

Tebuthiuron adsorption was determined in samples from 0-10 to 10-20 cm layers of three soils from the county of Ribeirão Preto (SP)-Brazil: Quartzarenic Neosol (Entisol), Red Latosol dystrofic and Red Latosol dystroferric (Oxisols). Sorption data were obtained by batch equilibrium and fitted to four adsorption models: Freundlich, linear, Langmuir and Lambert. Several statistical criteria were applied for selection among these isotherms. Freundlich model showed the best fit to the data. Kd values ranged from 0.723 to 2.573 L kg-1, and […]

In Brazil, upland rice is cultivated mainly on cerrado soils, which, due to their highly weathered degree, present low pH, low base saturation and low ratio of Si oxides of Fe and Al. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of upland rice to calcium silicate as well as its effect on correcting soil acidity. The treatments consisted of six levels of SiO2 (0; 125; 250; 375; 500 and 625 mg kg-1 of soil) as of wallastonite, Wansil-10 (50% of […]

With the objective to evaluate the desorption of phosphorus by silicon in surface layers of a Dark-Red Latosol (Oxisol) under cerrado vegetation and Cambisol (Inceptisol), under open cerrado vegetation at Campos das Vertentes physiographical region State Minas Gerais, experiments were carried out under greenhouse conditions at the Soil Science Department of the Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, from August 1997 to May 1998. Each soil was submitted to three sequential incubations: (a) CaCO3 + MgCO3 to maintain […]

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 […]

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 […]

Estimates of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, primarily for shifting cultivation and pastures, exceed the land area for the State of Rondônia. An experiment was conducted on a Xanthic Hapludox near Manaus, Brazil to establish soil nutrient depletion patterns and fertilizer and lime requirements for continuous cultivation after slash-and-burn clearing. Yield responses to N, P, K, Mg, S, B, Cu, Mn, Zn and lime were evaluated during eight years of cultivation. Seventeen crops were grown during the period from 1981 […]

The efficiency of two nitrogen fertilizers, ammonium sulphate and urea, labelled with 15N, in two major Central-Amazonian soils (Yellow Latosol – an Oxisol and Red-Yellow Podzolic – an Ultisol), was studied in greenhouse experiments in Nancy, France, 1992. Italian rye-grass (Lolium multiflorum L.) was used as the test plant. Rye-grass nitrogen uptake of ammonium sulphate ranged from 44 to 49%, and of urea from 60 to 70%. Immobilization and losses of nitrogen were dependent on the fertilizer type. Microbial nitrogen […]

This study was carried out under laboratory conditions from September to December, 1992. The objective was to evaluate the mineralization of nitrogen in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) green manure, using 15N as tracer, in three major soils of Central Amazon: an Oxisol, an Ultisol and a Low-Humic Gley. The variation in amount and form of the mineral N from cowpea residues was related to the chemical characteristics of each soil. In the Oxisol and Ultisol the incorporation of green manure […]