The effects of urban waste compost (UWC) on the chemical properties of a Rhodic Eutrustox and on the nutrition of gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus) were studied. The gladiolus plants variety Red Beauty were field cultivated from August 1999 to January 2000. The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design with six treatments and four replications. The treatments were: T1 – mineral fertilizer (MF); T2 – 10.0 t ha-1 of UWC; T3 – 20.0 t ha-1 of UWC; T4 – MF + 15.0 t ha-1 of UWC; […]

Green manure is one way of supplying organic matter to soil. The mixed cultivation of crops may be an alternative to increase nutrient cycling and to improve productivity. To evaluate intercrops of green manure and corn, soil chemical characteristics, green manure dry matter production and its mineral composition and corn yield were determined in a field experiment carried out between 1995 and 1997 on an Aleudalf Soil in Piracicaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Corn was sown in rows spaced […]

Chemical control of green cover crops is common in no-till systems and nutrient mineralization of the residues left on the soil surface can be intensified by rainfall over time after the plant desiccation. Potassium leaching from six green cover crops was evaluated as affected by rainfall simulated at different stages after the herbicide application. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), guinea sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), black oat (Avena strigosa), triticale (Triticum secale), Indian hemp (Crotalaria juncea), and brachiaria (Brachiaria decumbens) were grown under […]

Crop yields, associated to weather and soil conditions, depend on the availability of water and nutrients in the soil at the appropriate time and amounts. Lack and excess of water in the soil are limiting factors for plant growth and can reduce the productivity. Therefore, studies leading to a better understanding of how water behaves within the root zone of a field crop are of unquestionable importance for an adequate agricultural management. Objectives of this study were the evaluation of […]

Four experiments were conducted simultaneously in a Alluvial Soil, a Low-Humic Gley, a Humic Gley and an artificially drained bog soil with the objective of evaluating the influence of liming and manure applied in previous bean crop on residual effects of phosphorus fertilization, extractor efficiency and acid phosphatase activity in aired soils before flooding in the prediction of P availability to rice cultivated after flooding. After the bean harvest, replicates of each treatment for each soil were mixed and 3.2 kg […]

Copper and zinc adsorption is one of the main phenomena controlling the availability of these metals to plants. As a consequence, studies on the adsorption of such elements in soils may be useful tools to understand the relationship between soil characteristics and retention of these micronutrients. The present study examined the adsorption of copper and zinc in six Latosols (Oxisols) with a wide range of chemical properties. Solutions containing different Cu and Zn concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, […]

Soil management influences surface cover and roughness, and it is the major factor that affects water erosion. A rotating-boom rainfall simulator operated at a constant rainfall intensity of 64 mm h-1 and 0.2083 MJ ha-1 mm-1 kinetic energy was used to investigate water erosion and related parameters in six management systems of corn and bean crops. The experiments were carried out on a clayey loam structured soil (Hapludox) with 0.165 m m-1 average slope, on the Southern Plateau of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, from March […]

The spatial variability of physical and chemical attributes of Latosols (Oxisols) cultivated with sugarcane was assessed. The study was carried out in a 90 ha area in the surroundings of Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil (21 º 15 ‘ S and 48 º 18 ‘ W). A 50 m regular grid was projected onto the experimental area. Soil samples were obtained at each 50 m grid point (421 points) from the 0 to 0.20 m and from the 0.60-0.80 m soil layers. Organic matter, pH, P, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, H + Al, CEC, soil […]

Soybean can be a viable alternative crop for lowlands. However, soybean relies on biological nitrogen fixation, a process that is normally affected by soil flooding, depending on the macrosymbiont genotype. Moreover, the behavior of different bradyrhizobia strains in flooded soil is yet unknown. The present research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of Bradyrhizobium elkanii and Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains recommended for soybean in comparison to mineral nitrogen fertilization, in flooded soil. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, where soybean […]

The effects of liming rates on growth and heart-of-palm yield of peach palm plants (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) were studied in a two-year field experiment conducted in Pariquera-Açu, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Soils in this region are allic (sub group Ultic Haplorthox), with base saturation ranging from 15 to 26 % of the cation exchange capacity (CEC). A randomized complete block design, with five rates of dolomitic limestone (0, 0.7, 4.7, 8.7, and 14.6 Mg ha-1) and five replications was utilized. Individual plots were […]