Phosphate release kinetics from manures are of global interest because sustainable plant nutrition with phosphate will be a major concern in the future. Although information on the bioavailability and chemical composition of P present in manure used as fertilizer are important to understand its dynamics in the soil, such studies are still scarce. Therefore, P extraction was evaluated in this study by sequential chemical fractionation, desorption with anion-cation exchange resin and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR) spectroscopy to assess the […]

Glyphosate is a systemic post-emergent herbicide of the non-selective organophosphate group widely used in apple orchards in the South of Brazil. It may have adverse effects on beneficial soil microorganisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biodegradability of glyphosate by soil microbiota in apple orchards with different histories of application of the product. For that purpose, soil samples from the region of Vacaria, Rio Grande do Sul, were used, with the biodegradation of glyphosate being evaluated by […]

Digital elevation models (DEM) are fundamental sources for correlating the occurrence and distribution of soils in the landscape by digital soil mapping (DSM). The influence of the types and resolutions of DEMs on the predictive capability of prediction models of soil classes has not been greatly studied. This study evaluated and compared the effects of different DEMs on the prediction of occurrence of soil mapping units (MU). Twelve predictor variables derived from different DEMs were correlated with the occurrence of […]

In acid soils of a more tropical environment containing smectites, as well as in highly buffered subtropical soils containing Al hydroxide interlayered smectite (HIS) or vermiculite (HIV), the values of exchangeable Al, extracted by KCl solution (Al-KCl), may be exceptionally high, but not always toxic to the crops. This “exchangeable” Al does not come solely from electrostatic sites. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the Al extracted from the soil by KCl and ammonium oxalate solutions, and clay […]

Can vinasse accelerate the change of minerals in rock dust to obtain fertilizers, using residues from alcohol agro-industries and mining? Answering this question was the main objective of this study. Therefore, an experiment was set up in the laboratory in a completely randomized design using Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) columns, in which the 0-50 cm layers of a clayey soil (eutroferric Red Oxisol) and sandy soil (Typic Quartzipsamment) were reproduced. We applied three different rates of basalt powder (0.0; 2.0, and […]

The addition of organic residue byproducts in the soil may lead to changes in the dynamics of soil organic matter, influencing the activity and the use of C by microorganisms in the soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the application of increasing rates of a byproduct from a coffee agroindustry on the biological properties of two soils with different clay contents as a function of incubation time. A randomized block experimental design was used […]

Crop residues on the soil surface of no-till systems can intensify ammonia volatilization from N fertilizers applied to cereal crops. This study assessed the magnitude of N losses through ammonia volatilization from urea applied to no-till winter (wheat) and summer crops (maize) on a Typic Hapludox in the south-central region of Paraná, southern Brazil. In addition, the potential of alternative N sources (urea with urease inhibitor, liquid fertilizer, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate) and different urea managements (fertilizer applied in […]

Soils of the tropics are prone to a decrease in quality after conversion from native forest (FO) to a conventional tillage system (CT). However, the adoption of no-tillage (NT) and complex crop rotations may improve soil structural quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physical properties of an Oxisol under FO, CT, and three summer crop sequences in NT: continuous corn (NTcc), continuous soybean (NTcs), and a soybean/corn rotation (NTscr). Both NT and CT decreased soil […]

A form of increasing the efficiency of N fertilizer is by coating urea with polymers to reduce ammonia volatilization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of polymer-coated urea on the control of ammonia volatilization, yield and nutritional characteristics of maize. The experiment was carried out during one maize growing cycle in 2009/10 on a Geric Ferralsol, inUberlândia, MG, Brazil. Nitrogen fertilizers were applied as topdressing on the soil surface in the following urea treatments: polymer-coated urea […]

Selection of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars with enhanced root growth would be a strategy for increasing P uptake and grain yield in tropical soils, but the strong plasticity of root traits may compromise their inclusion in breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of the genotypic variability of root traits in common bean plants at two ontogenetic stages and two soil P levels. Twenty-four common bean genotypes, comprising the four growth habits that […]