The experiment was carried out in greenhouse at the Soil Science Departament – Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The objective was to study the effects of different CaSO4/CaCO3 ratios on the movement of nutrients in soil and cotton growth. The treatments consisted of four CaSO4/CaCO3 percentage ratios (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100), in an equivalent basis. A control treatment, without application of either CaSO4 or CaCO3, was also established. Substantial calcium and sulfate movement downwards was observed […]

The kinetic constants Kmapp and Vmaxapp of phosphatase activity from a coastal tableland soil grown with orange trees, submitted to different base saturation levels (32.0; 45.0; 64.0 and 76.6%), were determined. These determinations were made in optimum pH values for alkaline and acid phosphatases and in the pH values obtained for each base saturation level. Phosphatase activity has followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, regardless the soil base saturation levels or pH values used for enzymatic activity evaluation. Increases in the soil bases […]

The effects of the application of pure grade CaF2 and CaCO3 on the concentration of Al and other chemical elements in the percolated solution of acid soil samples, collected over an eight month period, were evaluated in a greenhouse experiment in Piracicaba county, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The pH values increased in the percolated solution of soil samples that received both CaCO3 and CaF2. The CaF2 treatments were more efficient than CaCO3 treatments on the withdrawal of Al from […]

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the nitrogen of the microbial biomass under different soil management systems by the fumigation-incubation (FI) and fumigation-extraction (FE) methods. Soil samples were collected in four seasons, during one year, from a Paleudult soil in the Central Depression of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Soil microbial biomass N was analyzed in soil under three tillages systems (conventional, reduced and direct drilling) and two crop systems: oats (Avena strigosa) + vetch (Vicia sativa)/corn […]

An experiment was carried out in January of 1994 in the greenhouse at the Crop Science Department of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effecets of aluminum on P, Ca and Al concentrations in the plants and on the P and Ca efficiencies of utilization by nine coffee genotypes. Plants were grown with 0 and 0.296 mmol L-1 of aluminum in nutrient solution, in pH 4.0, for […]

The educational process must be dynamic, with constant updating of course programmatic content, in order to adapt it to students’ expectations. The objective of this article is to present a method that has been applied in two discussion classes of the Soil Fertility course offered in the Agronomy and Forestry undergraduate programs at ESALQ/USP. The group study method was used in order to discuss the results of an experiment carried out in greenhouse at the Soil Science Department, to evaluate […]

This study was carried out at the Experimental Station “La Poveda” in Arganda del Rey (Madrid), with the following geographical coordinates: latitude 40º 19′ N; longitude 3º 19′ W Gr; and altitude 550 m. The main objective was to study the spatial variability of chemical and physical properties of a Typic Xerofluvent under three cultivation systems. Sampling for the study of spatial variability was performed according to an appropriate geo-statistical analysis in two directions. Spatial variability was observed with respect […]

This study was conducted in order to verify the influence of induced chemical properties in standard kaolinite and samples of three soils from the State of Paraná, Brazil – Hapludox Haplohumox and Tropohumults – on the spectral reflectance obtained in laboratory using a spectroradiometer, adjusted from 400 to 2500 nm. The samples were treated with solutions of calcium acetate, sodium acetate and incubated with calcium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Higher spectral reflectance was observed in the samples treated with calcium […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of different agricultural uses on alterations in the attributes of a medium-textured Latosol, in the region of cerrado and, in turn, on the formation of compacted and/or dense layers in the subsurface. In April, 1994, six sites were selected in the counties of Uberlândia and Monte Alegre de Minas, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where the soil was sampled in trenches: CC (Canadá Farm, cerrado vegetation); CP ( Canadá Farm, […]

One of the alternatives to diminish the urban waste volume to be discarded is the composting process, whose final product – the compost – can be used in agriculture. However, these composts may present toxic substances for humans, i.e. heavy metals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of waste composts from six Brazilian capitals. Samples of cattle manure, lime, ordinary phosphate, potassium chloride, and urea were analysed to compare with the waste compost. Determinations of […]