Volume 25, Number 4, 2001

The effect of three water table management systems on the physical-morphological adaptation of snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, L. ), cv. BAT 477 to flooding tolerance was studied and the relative influence of the main physical, chemical and biological interfering factors discussed. The trial was conducted at ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba (SP) Brazil, from March to June, 1999, under maximal simulation of natural low land conditions. A 1.000 L concrete box was used as plot, under a completely randomized design, with four treatments […]

High phosphorus (P) sorption capacity is a typical feature of oxidic oxisols. P is mainly sorbed by inner-sphere complex affecting charge balance, particle dispersion and, consequently, water-soil relationship. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of P sorption on physical and hydric properties of samples of a Typic Hapludox, from Campos Mantiqueira Region (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples, from 0-0.03 and 0.27-0.30 m depth, were saturated in pure water or P solution to reach […]

This work aimed to evaluate mineralogic transformations along pedogenetic alterations of soil profiles in the region of Lavras; Minas Gerais, Brazil, differentiated by acid, intermediate and basic geochemical composition of the parent material. Three profiles were selected: Profile 1 – Hapludult developed from granitic rocks (Granite from Itutinga); Profile 2 – Rhodudalf formed from dioritic rocks (Diorite from Rosário); and Profile 3 – Argiudoll formed from basic rocks of the Greenstone-Belt of Lavras. Along each soil profile, from the consolidated […]

Six soil profiles were selected in a drained lowland área at Coruripe sugarmill aiming to study chemical properties of acid sulfate soils occurring in the fluvial plain of the Coruripe river valley, Alagoas State, Brazil. The soils were morphologically characterized and samples were taken from each horizon to determine chemical properties of soil and saturation extract, using dry and wet samples (field conditions). A greenhouse liming experiment was carried out with compound samples collected at the sites of two selected […]

Low molecular organic acids have been utilized in kinetic studies on potassium release from K-bearing minerals in soils. This study was undertaken to investigate the kinetics of potassium release from two soils of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A horizon samples (0-20 cm) of a Gleisol and a Chernosol were extracted with oxalic acid 0.01 mol L-1, in fifteen sequential extractions ranging from 1 to 864 h, through a period of 3,409 h. Oxalic acid induced K […]

Ectomycorrhizal fungi are able to tolerate toxic heavy-metal concentrations in host plants, although being also negatively affected by excessive metal. Isolates of Pisolithus tinctorius and Scleroderma bovinus were grown for 20 days at 28°C in a liquid medium with increasing levels of Zn, Cu and Cd sulfates in 125 mL conical flasks containing 50 mL of MMN medium, adjusted to pH 4.8. Fungi growth was inhibited by heavy metal increasing concentration, which was different for fungi and metals. The 50% […]

Ectomycorrhizal symbiosis can play a crucial role in protecting plant roots from heavy metals. However, a high heavy metal contamination can inhibit ectomycorrhizal fungi growth and activity, negatively influencing mycorhizal symbiosis. The growth of nine isolates of Pisolithus tinctorius, two of Suillus bovinus and one of Scleroderma sp. was assessed to evaluate the effect of Zn, Cd, Cu and Pb contaminated soil-sand mixes added to the liquid culture media, at different proportions. Addition of contaminated soil to the media reduced […]

In the tropical humid environment, microbiotic crusts are widespread on exposed natural and antropic saprolites; yet, their biogeochemical and structural role is virtually ignored. In this work, the interactions involved in the biogeochemical weathering resultant of the action by microorganisms and inferior plants in gneiss saprolites of the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais region were studied. The effects of organo-minerals associations on the formation and structural stabilization of the aggregates were investigated as well as the micropedological of features […]

Soil microbial biomass plays an important role in nutrient cycling in soils. Among the several methods that have been used to estimate the soil microbial biomass-C (SMBC), chloroform fumigation incubation (CFI) and chloroform fumigation extraction (CFE) are the most studied. Although several studies in the literature have compared the efficiency of these two methods to estimate SMBC, there is little information for the acid soils of the Cerrado region. The present study compared the efficiency of these two methods in […]

Soil acidity is one of the greatest problems faced in the management of agricultural lands around the world, mainly in the tropics, where phosphorus and nitrogen are also limiting factors. In the case of nitrogen, biological nitrogen fixation is the most economical and ecological alternative to decrease the use and impact caused by nitrogen fertilizers. Two “in vitro” experiments and one under greenhouse conditions using four Bradyrhizobium strains (BR 4406, BR 29, SEMIA 587 and INPA 03-11B) were carried out […]