Urban waste compost is an organic manure frequently used in horticultural areas. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of urban waste compost on soil fertility, on lettuce production and on nutrient accumulation in plants. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse using PVC columns. It was used a randomized block design with five treatments and eight replications. The treatments consisted of five urban waste compost rates (0; 30; 60; 90; and 120 t ha-1). The columns […]

Nitrogen (N) is the mineral nutrient required in largest amounts and is the one that most influence corn yield. With the objective of evaluating the best timing and methods of N fertilizer application on corn in a no-tillage system in a cerrado soil, this experiment was carried out at the Vargem Grande farm in Montividiu County, state of Goiás, Brazil, on a dystrophic Red Latosol (Rhodic distrophic Haplustox) during the 1996/97 crop season. The experimental area had been cultivated with […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of burning native pastures and of cultivating Pinus sp in monoculture in Lages, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Total organic carbon (TOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial basal respiration (C-CO2), the microbial metabolic quotient (qCO2), and the ratio MBC/TOC were analyzed. Four representative areas of the region with 0.5 ha each were selected: (a) native pasture without burning for at least 50 years (NP); (b) native pasture burnt off every year (NPF); […]

Soil micromorphological studies enable a detailed observation of the modifications in soil pore structure and space imposed by cultivation and agricultural machinery traffic. This study tested the hypothesis that compaction caused by machinery affects the form and class distribution of pores in a distinct way and that such alterations can be used as soil quality indicators. The objectives of this study were to evaluate and quantify, through micromorphological studies, the modifications in porosity caused by biological activity (biopores) in a […]

The possibility of using norms obtained at a given site for different climate and soil conditions can confer the methods of diagnosis of nutritional status a universal character. In this sense, the methods Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS), modified DRIS (M-DRIS), and Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis (CND) were applied in Eucalyptus grandis plantations aiming at comparing the diagnosis established by the methods with either specific or general norms at several sites in the central-eastern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, […]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sorption and desorption of imazaquin in soils with different granulometric, chemical and mineralogical characteristics. Isotherms and kinetics studies were carried out to quantify the hysteresis between sorption and desorption processes. The soils were classified as Rhodic Hapludox (LVdf), Typic Hapludox (LVA) and Typic Quartzipsamment (RQ). The soils were air-dried and passed through a 2 mm mesh sieve, and the chemical, physical and mineralogical properties characterized. The radiolabeled molecule (14C) was imazaquin, an […]

Water and nutrient availability in the soil at suitable times and in adequate amounts, as related to edaphic and climatic conditions, are undeniably relevant for crop yields. The objective of this work was to evaluate the actual evapotranspiration of an orange plantation, analyze its variability and verify the influence of the soil water loss on crop productivity. The experiment was carried out in Piracicaba County (SP), Brazil, on an Oxisol. The actual evapotranspiration was evaluated by a soil water balance […]

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of application of increasing doses of an alkaline biosolid on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, as well as on the organic matter quality of an Oxisol cultivated with eucalyptus, after five years of biosolids application. The study was conducted at the Experimental Station of ESALQ/USP, in Itatinga County, São Paulo State, Brazil. The experiment was initiated in March 1998 on an area where a seven-year-old Eucalyptus grandis plantation had […]

Researchers have suggested soil organic matter (SOM) as a key indicator of soil quality (SQ), due to its positive influence in other important soil attributes. With the objective to evaluate the potential use of SOM as an indicator to select soil management systems, two long-term experiments carried out on Paleudults in southern Brazil were used. In the first ten-year experiment located in Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil) at the Federal University of Santa Maria, five treatments composed […]

Soil degradation under cultivation results mainly from the inadequate management and it reflects in low crop yields. With the purpose of evaluating the effect of legumes on physical attributes and organic carbon content of an Alfisol, an experiment was conducted in the Alagoinha County-PB, Brazil, between 1997 and 1999, with the following species: Crotalaria juncea L, Cajanus cajan L, Cajanus cajan (L) Millsp, Calopogonium mucunoides L, Canavalia ensiforme L, Dolichos lab lab L, Pueraria phaseoloides L, Macroptilium atropurpureum L, Leucaena […]