ABSTRACT The expansion of the sugarcane industry in Brazil has intensified the mechanization of agriculture and caused effects on the soil physical quality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the limiting water range and soil bearing capacity of a Latossolo Vermelho distroférrico típico (Rhodic Hapludox) under the influence of different tractor-trailers used in mechanical sugarcane harvesting. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with five replications. The treatments consisted of green sugarcane harvesting with: harvester without […]

The intensive traffic of agricultural machinery of cultivation and harvesting operations of sugarcane can promote soil compaction and affect crop yield and longevity. One of the ways to evaluate soil degradation due to compaction is by analyses of soil compressibility and least limiting water range. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sugarcane cultivation on pre-compaction pressure (sp), laboratory-determined soil penetration resistance (LPS) and on the least limiting water range (LLWR) of a cohesive Yellow Ultisol […]

One of the ways to evaluate the soil structural status is by means of the pre-compaction pressure and soil penetration resistance. In view of the importance of associations between two variables in soil science, the objective of this study was the decomposition of the direct and indirect effects (“path coefficient analysis”) of soil physical properties and organic matter on pre-compaction pressure (sp) and laboratory-determined soil penetration resistance (LPS) of a cohesive Yellow Ultisol under sugarcane in the coastal tablelands of […]