Volume 22, Number 2, 1998

The dispersive transport of solutes in soils is described by diffusive equations and by models that assume the existence of a causal relationship between physical characterisitcs of porous media, its water content and the macroscopic manifestation of processes that take place in it. The validity of this proposition, as a criterion in the formulation of process models that govern the transport of solutes in soils, is discussed heuristically. Based on indicators derived from a moment analysis of breakthrough curves (BTCs), […]

This study was carried out at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil, with the objective of obtaining information about the effect of different application levels of water/vinasse (100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1,000 m3 ha-1) on hydraulic conductivity of soil samples homogeneously packed in columns. A constant head infiltrometer and the instantaneous water profile method were utilized to determine saturated and unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity, respectively. The increase of the vinasse […]

Mechanical impedance of clayey and gravelly soils is often needed to interpret experimental results from tillage and other field experiments. Its measurement is difficult with manual and hydraulic penetrometers, which often bend or break in such soils. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a hand-operated “Stolf” impact penetrometer to measure mechanical impedance (soil resistance). The research was conducted in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA (35o 45’N, 78o 42’W, elevation 75 m). Corn was planted on April […]

Since 1986, the occurrence of water repellency has been observed in soil samples collected for soil surveys conducted by the Soil Department of Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) and by the National Center for Soil Research of EMBRAPA. With the objective of studying the causes of this phenomenon, seven soils were selected and their water repellence rating was determined by two methods: the molarity of ethanol droplets and water drops penetration time. Two methods of extraction were […]

Hematites from nine soils and one from itabirite rock were concentrated with 5 mol L-1 NaOH, and analyzed by XRD (step scanning 0.02o2θ/20 s), to determine the unit cell parameters. The samples were dissolved by extraction with DCB to determine the Fe (Fed) and Al (Ald) content. Al substitution was estimated from a0 using established regressions currently in use based on hematites synthesized at 25°C (Al25) and 70°C (Al70). The a0 values ranged from 0.50380 to 0.50200 nm, corresponding to […]

A gibbsitic Red-Yellow Oxisol with electropositive carater was used to study the effect of organic matter on electrochemical properties and dispersion mechanisms. Two organic sources were used, one characterized by non-humified compounds (cattle manure) and another by humified compounds (peat humic acids). The soil was incubated with 0; 7,5; 15,0; 22,5 and 30,0 g kg-1 of organic manure. Water dispersible clay, electrical conductivity, water and KCl pH, and the zero point of saline effect (ZPSE) and superficial electric potential (Ψo) […]

Iron oxihydroxides form strong chemical bonds with phosphate anions, reducing P availability to plants. The objective of this study, conducted in 1994/95, was to quantify forms of iron oxides in soils from Uruguay, and to study their relationships with phosphorus sorption. Iron oxides extracted with dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (Fed) from ten soil samples (0-15 cm depth) ranged from 1598 to 8.592 mg kg-1 and were related with their parent material. Poorly ordered Fe-oxihydroxides, extracted by 0.2 mol L-1 ammonium oxalate at pH […]

Four strains of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii were screened for their use in inoculants for red clover (Trifolium pratense) in the Soil Microbiology Sector, Department of Soils, University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, from January 1994 to March 1995. In greenhouse experiments, all four strains presented similar efficiency in nitrogen fixation. However, when mixed strains were used, the strain SEMIA 222 was more effective in nodule formation. In a yeast manitol sucrose medium, growth rate was higher […]

The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions at the Federal University of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from March to August 1995. The purpose of this study was to determine if suppression of seven soil classes could inhibit infection of soybeans by R. solani, and how suppression might relate to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of these soils. After infesting soils with R. solani, grown on autoclaved sorghum grains, disease intensity increased in soybean seedlings grown in all […]

The effects of soil preparation systems and doses of nitrogen on total dry matter, straw and grain production and on nitrogen accumulation by corn plants (Zea mays L.) cultivated under irrigation were evaluated in a field experiment in a Dark-Red Latosol (Oxisol), originally under cerrado vegetation, at EMBRAPA/CNPMS experimental station, Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, from November, 1995 to June, 1996. The soil preparation systems studied were: no till, conventional till with disk plow and conventional till with moldboard […]