Volume 32, Number 2, 2008

Studies on the spatial variability of soil attributes influencing crop productivity are important for the development of new technologies beneficial to agriculture. Geostatistical techniques can be used to evaluate the variability of soil attributes and contribute to soil mapping and management. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the quality of the theoretical spatial model adjustments according to the Akaike Information and Filiben Criteria, Cross Validation and the maximum value of the log-likelihood function, of the soil humidity, of […]

The organic carbon accumulation observed in soils under no-till system can increase the soil elasticity, resulting in a higher resistance to soil compaction. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of water content and soil organic carbon (SOC) enrichment on soil elasticity. Samples of a Hapludalf and a Typic Hapludox in southern Brazil, both with a significant variation in SOC content, were equilibrated at four different water tensions, and then loaded and unloaded on a uniaxial apparatus. The […]

Monitoring the state of soil compaction periodically by assessing soil penetration resistance is a practical way of evaluating the effects of different management systems on the soil structure and crop root development. This study aimed to evaluate the variation of soil penetration resistance in response to the number of replications (sample population) of different field sampling forms of an Oxisol under three management types: non-tillage (PD), perennial crop (CP) and conventional tillage (PC). The experiment was carried out in the […]

Practices of soil use and management are based on the physical and hydric soil behavior. Our objective was to evaluate the inter-relationships between physical properties and coefficients of soil water retention curves in an Oxisol under different soil use systems. In 2004, three contiguous areas were selected, covered for over 20 years by forest (native), Brachiaria decumbens (fallow) and annual crops (cultivation). Twenty-five undisturbed soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-0.15 m to determine the soil water retention curves. […]

The deepening of citrus root system is important to increase crop productivity and longevity, especially in soils with subsurface cohesive horizons. The objective of this study was to evaluate the root distribution of ‘Hamlim’ sweet orange grafted onto Rangpur lime. The 15 year-old plants were located in a coastal plain soil toposequence in Sapeaçu county, Bahia, Brazil. The soils were an argisolic Yellow Latosol (LAx; Oxisol) and a Yellow Argisol (PAx; Ultisol), both cohesive, and a non-cohesive Gray Argisol (PAC; […]

The characterization of the soil water retention capacity is fundamental for an adequate irrigation management and water flow description. We present comparisons of soil water retention curves adjusted in distinct ways: by the models proposed by van Genuchten and by Hutson & Cass; by the WP4 method in a wetting and drying process; by the centrifuge method using disturbed as well as undisturbed soil samples; and by the WP4 and centrifuge using a drying process and disturbed soil samples. Disturbed […]

The physical conditioning of the soil around seeds is of great importance for an adequate initial development of a crop, ensuring a healthy plant population. A suitable soil-seed contact is a prerequisite for a fast crop germination and good establishment. In this study, computerized tomography of millimeter resolution was used to determine the soil-seed environment in a no tillage system, immediately after soybean planting. A split plot design was used, in which the plots consisted of three contents of soil […]

Kinetic studies on soil potassium release can contribute to a better understanding of K availability to plants. This study was conducted to evaluate K release rates from the whole soil, clay, silt, and sand fractions of B-horizon samples of a basalt-derived Oxisol and a sienite-derived Ultisol, both representative soils from coffee regions of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Potassium was extracted from each fraction after eight different shaking time periods (0-665 h) with either 0.001 mol L-1 citrate or oxalate at a 1:10 solid:solution […]

Through the densimetric fractionation it is possible to study the physical protection of soil organic matter (SOM). High density solutions of sodium iodide (NaI) or sodium polytungstate (SPT) have been indistinctively used for this purpose. This study aimed to assess: (a) the capacity of these two solutions at a density of 1.8 g cm-3 (NaI-1.8 and SPT-1.8) and of SPT at densities of 2.0 (SPT-2.0) and 2.2 g cm-3 (SPT-2.2) to increase C recovery in the free light fraction (FLF) and occluded light fraction […]

The soil acidity and associated variables are very important on soil management, especially at tropical and subtropical regions. In order to study some soil acidity variables and verify the influence of clay mineralogy on the relationship between pH and base saturation degree (V%), soil samples were collected from B and C horizons of different soil classes in Paraná State: Acric Red-Yellow Latossol (LBw-1), Dystric Red-Yellow Latossol (LBw-2), Dusky Red Latosol (LVdf), Alumic Cambisol (CXa) and Dystric Cambisol (CHd). The clay […]