Tannery wastes generation is increasing every year and a suitable method for tannery sludge management is necessary in order to decrease this environmental problem. The composting is recognized as a suitable method for sludge recycling.. The effect of tannery sludge compost (TSC) rates on growth, nodulation and N fixation of cowpea was investigated. Sandy and clayey soils were amended with TSC at rates of 0, 7.5, 15, 30, and 60 t ha-1. The shoot dry weight of cowpea plants 45 […]

Particle size distribution (PSD) in the soil profile is strongly related to erosion, deposition, and physical and chemical processes. Water cycling and plant growth are also affected by PSD. Material sedimented upstream of the dam constructions formed large areas of deposited farmland (DF) soils on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), which has been the site of the most severe soil erosion in the world. Two DFs without tillage on the CLP were chosen to study the combined effect of erosion […]

One of the main negative anthropic effects on soil is the formation of crusts, resulting in soil degradation. This process of physical origin reduces soil water infiltration, causing increased runoff and consequently soil losses, water erosion and/or soil degradation. The study and monitoring of soil crusts is important for soil management and conservation, mainly in tropical regions where research is insufficient to explain how soil crusts are formed and how they evolve. The purpose of this study was to monitor […]

Soil compaction at high intensity degrees is a hardly reversible process in the no-till system (NT), mainly in clayey soils. Generally, its occurrence in croplands is often irregular and restricted to areas with a previous history of pressures associated to intensive traffic of agricultural machineries. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in soil physical properties of a red Oxisol with clayey texture (450 g kg-1) and soybean yield, caused by two site-specific chisels and conventional (random) chisel […]

The most traditional method to determine the soil-water retention curve is based on the Richards’ pressure plate apparatus. For practical reasons, cheaper and faster alternatives to the Richards’ apparatus are needed. Therefore, this study evaluated the use of the filter paper method. Initially, an Oxisol was sampled and physically characterized. Undisturbed soil samples were prepared and tested in Richards’ chamber, at pressures of 0, 10, 30, 60, 100, 300, 500, 1,000 and 1,500 kPa. In the filter paper test, the […]

Birdsfoot trefoil is a perennial winter-spring forage legume, highly important in Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil. It stands out for the ability to survive in relatively acidic and nutrient-poor soils. This study aimed to select birdsfoot trefoil rhizobial strains with tolerance to acidity and aluminum toxicity and efficiency in nitrogen fixation in nutrient-poor soils. Fifty-two isolates of Lotus spp rhizobia from soils of five locations in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were evaluated. The […]

One of the expected benefits of no-tillage systems is a higher rate of soil C sequestration. However, higher C retention in soil is not always apparent when no-tillage is applied, due e.g., to substantial differences in soil type and initial C content. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of no-tillage management to increase the stock of total organic C in soils of the Pampas region in Argentina. Forty crop fields under no-tillage and conventional tillage […]

The study of Se distribution in soils is of general interest because of the narrow range between deficiency and toxicity. The chemical species of Se with the greatest toxicological potential is selenate, due to its high mobility in soils. The study of selenate chemistry is of great importance to understand Se behavior in tropical soils. A batch adsorption experiment was performed using 2 g soil samples in 20 mL of solution with 10 different Se concentrations in the form of […]

Poultry litter is an organic fertilizer with good agronomic characteristics, which serves well as conditioner of soil physical properties. In this sense, the objective of this study was to verify changes in soil properties in no-tillage systems with poultry litter. The study was conducted on a sandy loam Oxisol under continuous no-tillage in the last years, with rotation of mainly soybean, corn, cotton, and millet, with evaluations in three layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm), in three replications. The treatments consisted […]

Most studies on olive trees in Brazil and in the world have focused on yield and management. Despite the importance for plant growth and resistance to various stresses, there are no studies on the occurrence of mycorrhizal association in olive trees, in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mycorrhizal interaction in olive trees on the Fazenda Experimental de Maria da Fé – MG (FEMF – EPAMIG), underlying the production of commercial inoculants of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi […]