Volume 36, Number 4, 2012

The crystalline shield rocks that outcrop in the central-east and north-east of the state of Santa Catarina lie in a strong and wavy relief characterizing the northern Santa Catarina Coastal Mountains. The irregular surface results from the magmatic metamorphic cycles of the crust, responsible for the reworking of ancient rocks formed from the Archean to the Proterozoic. This compartment consists of metamorphic rocks while information about genesis and mineralogical composition of the soils derived from it are scarce, motivating this […]

The agricultural potential is generally assessed and managed based on a one-dimensional vision of the soil profile, however, the increased appreciation of sustainable production has stimulated studies on faster and more accurate evaluation techniques and methods of the agricultural potential on detailed scales. The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using soil magnetic susceptibility for the identification of landscape segments on a detailed scale in the region of Jaboticabal, São Paulo State. The studied area has […]

The region of greatest variability on soil maps is along the edge of their polygons, causing disagreement among pedologists about the appropriate description of soil classes at these locations. The objective of this work was to propose a strategy for data pre-processing applied to digital soil mapping (DSM). Soil polygons on a training map were shrunk by 100 and 160 m. This strategy prevented the use of covariates located near the edge of the soil classes for the Decision Tree […]

Studies on the spatial variation of soil properties associated with the response of crop yields may contribute to a rational application of inputs, enabling economic and environmental gains. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the variability and spatial correlations among soil Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, and organic matter contents and yield of black pepper grown on a Yellow-Red Latosol. The study was carried out on a black pepper plantation under microsprinkler irrigation, in São Mateus, State of Espirito […]

Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) of tree seedlings in the nursery is a biotechnological strategy to improve growth, survival after transplanting, biomass production and to reduce the use of fertilizers. Archontophoenix alexandrae and Euterpe edulis are palm species used in southern Brazil to produce the palm heart, the latter being included in the list of threatened species due to the overexploitation of its native population. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the effect of mycorrhizal inoculation on […]

The exploration and knowledge of bacteria-plant interaction mechanisms may be used for a more sustainable production of several crops, e.g., of sugarcane. The objective of this paper was to isolate bacteria associated with sugarcane with the ability to fix nitrogen and solubilize inorganic phosphate in areas with and without the application of termiticide. Endophytic bacteria were isolated from leaves and roots and from the rhizoplane, four months after planting of three commercial sugarcane varieties (RB 92579, RB 867515 and RB […]

Soil moisture using the time domain reflectometry (TDR) has been evaluated using probes or waveguides (length > 0.10 m), with little information in the literature for lower lengths. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the estimation of soil moisture from the dielectric constant using TDR probes with different rod lengths. TDR waveguides were fabricated with different rod lengths (0.30, 0.15, 0.12, 0.10, 0.08, 0.06, and 0.04 m). In the laboratory, the soil was placed for drying in air, […]

The dispersion of the samples in soil particle-size analysis is a fundamental step, which is commonly achieved with a combination of chemical agents and mechanical agitation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of a low-speed reciprocal shaker for the mechanical dispersion of soil samples of different textural classes. The particle size of 61 soil samples was analyzed in four replications, using the pipette method to determine the clay fraction and sieving to determine coarse, fine and […]

In view of the importance of the macroporosity for the water transport properties of soils, its quantitative assessment is a challenging task. Measurements of hydraulic conductivity (K) at different soil water tensions and the quantification of water-conducting macropores (θM) of a soil under different tillage systems could help understand the effects on the soil porous system and related hydraulic properties. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of Conventional Tillage (CT), Chisel Plow (CP) and No Tillage […]

Routine tests to determine physical and chemical soil properties have been used for several years. However, due to economic and environmental problems, new assessment methods must be developed. In this context, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is a promising and quick tool in the determination of these properties. The objective of this work was to study the spectral behavior of the silt, sand and clay fractions and evaluate the possibility of quantifying these properties with regression models generated for each individual element. […]