Studies about nitrogen and carbon mineralization in soils amended with urban waste compost are important to evaluate the reactions of this waste in soil and to define the best rates for crops. Two experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions to evaluate carbon and nitrogen mineralization in an Ultisol fertilized with urban waste compost. The Ultisol first experiment had a completely randomized design, with five urban waste compost rates of 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 t ha-1 and three replicates. In […]

Soil management systems affect the P dynamics in content and forms. The aim of this work was to measure the effect of several cultivations systems in the long term (16 years) on the different soil P forms. The treatments consisted of combinations of the two cultivation systems: sole corn (C) and corn-bean intercrop (CB), with two levels (0 and 1) of organic fertilizer (OF), at rates of 0 and 40 m3 ha-1 year-1 and three levels (0, 1, 2) of mineral fertilizer (MF) […]

Land evaluation is a process that estimates the land use potential based on its properties. A large variety of analytic models can be used in this process. In Brazil, the two most widely used land evaluation systems are the “Sistema de Classificação da Capacidade de Uso da Terra” and “Sistema FAO/Brasileiro de Aptidão Agrícola das Terras”. Although different in several aspects, both require the crossing of countless environmental variables. ALES (Automated Land Evaluation System) is a computer program that allows […]

Lime recommendations developed for conventional systems are being used in no-tillage systems with different dynamics of the acidity attributes, due to organic matter and nutrient accumulation on the superficial layer and lower aluminum toxicity. This study associated different acidity indicators of a Rhodic Hapludox after eight years under no-tillage system with soybean plant characteristics in order to establish liming criteria. Two field experiments were compared, both under no-tillage for eight years; one had previously been under conventional tillage and the […]

The concentration of orthophosphate ions released from Fe-K-P compounds (Fe3KH8(PO4)6 .6H2O and Fe3KH14(PO4)8 .4H2O) present in superphosphates increases with pH, which initially suggests that the agronomic effectiveness of P fertilizers containing high amounts of these compounds would also increase with soil pH but studies considering activity, instead of concentration, are necessary. With this purpose, both compounds were synthesized under laboratory conditions, characterized by elemental chemical analysis, optical microscopy, X ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and […]

In no-tillage systems lime is applied on the soil surface to avoid soil mobilization. Nitrogen fertilization adds anions that can increase the solubility of basic cations of the soil due to formation of ionic pairs. The objective of this study was to characterize the dynamics of anions (SO42- and NO3–) and cations (NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+) in the soil solution, and the nutrient uptake by cotton plants subjected to different lime application forms and ammonium sulfate fertilization, with straw […]

Soil temperature is a property that directly affects crop growth and is influenced by the energy balance on the soil surface. Thus, soil management systems influence soil temperature because they change soil surface conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of three soil management systems on soil temperature throughout the snapbean cycle. A field experiment was arranged in a randomized block (split plot) design with four replicates, on a soil classified as Hapludalf. The treatments were […]

Soils formed from serpentinized rocks or serpentinites constitute a special group of soils on the earth surface. These rocks present ultramafic characteristics, with more than 70 % mafic minerals (iron and magnesium oxides). The mineralogy of serpentinites is poor in silica and aluminum and very rich in Mg. Only few studies have looked into the morphology, mineralogy, genesis and classification of soils developed on this type of parent material. In the humid-tropical climate of southwestern Minas Gerais state, three representative soil […]

The aim of this study was to characterize the morphological, physical and hydraulic soil properties in a toposequence under native plant cover in a permanent observation plot of 320 x 320 m installed in the Assis Ecological Station, São Paulo State, Brazil. The plot is covered by a remnant Savanna Woodland (Cerradão) vegetation of the southern border zone of the great Cerrado domain. The bi-dimensional geometry (horizontal and vertical) of the soil horizons in a toposequence provided details on the […]

Gliricidia sepium is a leguminous tree that has been used in alley cropping systems in the Northeastern semi-arid region of Brazil because of its good development under water stress conditions. However, little information is available on the effects of the introduction of this species into regional agroecosystems. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the distance of Gliricidia sepium plants on the characteristics of maize crop, soil properties and microclimate conditions in the semi-arid region […]