Volume 29, Number 6, 2005

Different sugarcane management systems on soils of coastal tablelands can cause alterations in their original soil structure. Effects of the different sugarcane management systems on the properties of a cohesive Yellow Argisol were studied in four areas of the Triunfo sugar mill in Alagoas State, Brazil. The treatments consisted of a site with and without cultivation irrigation each, one site with vinasse application and another under undisturbed native forest. Samples were collected at depths of 0-0.2, 0.2-0.4 and 0.4-0.8 m to […]

Soil compaction has led to reduced soybean yields, but the critical bulk density above which the yield decreases are poorly documented. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the soybean yield (cv. Embrapa 48) in relation to the relative bulk density (Dsr) of a sandy loam (LVd) and a clayey Oxisol (LVef). A greenhouse experiment was carried out in 2001/02 with samples collected at the 0.0-0.2 m layer, sifted through a 4.0 mm sieve, fertilized and compacted in 0.03 m layers in 0.20 high […]

Iron oxides from 22 soil samples (19 from argillic B horizons; one from a plinthic B horizon; one from a cambic horizon and one from a C horizon) were subjected to selective dissolution with sodium dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate at 20 ºC in time intervals of 5 to 3,840 minutes. Mean coherence lengths (MCL), specific surface area (SSA) and iron by aluminum substitution (Al3+-substitution) of goethite and hematite in untreated sub-samples and in selected sub-samples treated during selective dissolution were estimated by X ray diffraction analysis […]

Highly weathered tropical soils present high amount of colloids with variable electrical charge. However, there are few references related to the quantification of such charges, mainly in soils with acric attributes, which represent one of the extremes in the weathering scale. In this study permanent and variable charges were determined in four Oxisols and compared to an Alfisol with predominantly permanent charge. Samples were investigated using the Cs+ adsorption method, which measures the structural permanent charge (so) and is based […]

The aim of this study was to quantify the contribution of soluble organic-C deposition by rice root system and the CO2 evolution during 64 days in an Oxisol samples treated with glucose, and rice roots collected at different plant growth stages (40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 days after sowing). Thereafter, organic matter was fractionated to evaluate the effect of the addition of a root system on the soil humus composition. It was possible to observe the intense rhizodeposition of organic […]

The continuous cultivation of inoculated soybean in the same area can determine the soil colonization with a rhizobia population presenting low nitrogen fixation effectiveness. This fact can be a problem for the establishment of a more effective population. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the symbiotic effectiveness and competitiveness of spontaneous mutants isolated from B. japonicum (SEMIA 5079 and SEMIA 5080) and B. elkanii (SEMIA 587 and SEMIA 5019) strains. The soybean biovar BR 16 was inoculated with the same proportion of inoculants […]

A considerable part of eucalypt plantations in Brazil grows on low-fertility soils for which fertilization techniques and nutrient cycling processes are important to elevate and maintain the forest production. The response of these plantations to nitrogen fertilization has been relatively low, indicating that the soil has been capable of supplying part of the plant demand. Microbial biomass N is considered a readily available fraction, but little is known about the biotic and abiotic factors that affect its dynamics in eucalypt […]

The use of mechanistic models based on principles of solute transport may be of great utility to estimate, for example, the impact of eucalypt forest cultivation on the pools and fluxes of nutrient in soils. Among the parameters required by such models are the values of the ion absorption kinetics constants Vmax, Km and Cmin. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the values of Vmax, Km and Cmin for K, Ca and Mg, as well as to […]

This work aimed to evaluate the absorption and use of phosphorus (P) by soybean and common bean crops and by weeds. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse from August to November 2002. I was adopted a randomized block design with three replications, in a 6 x 4 factorial scheme. Six vegetal species (soybean (Glycine max), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), two Euphorbia heterophylla biotypes (susceptible and resistant to ALS inhibitor herbicides), Bidens pilosa and Desmodium tortuosum) and four doses of P […]

Lime incorporation is not desirable in no-tillage systems. Lime is therefore applied on the soil surface, concentrating the product on the first few centimeters of the profile. We evaluated the aftereffects of dolomitic limestone (2.0, 4.9 and 7.8 t ha-1) application, either on surface or incorporated, on the deeper layers of a Typic Haplustox from the Brazilian Cerrado. Soil samples were collected at six, 18 and 30 months after liming at depths of 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm. After six months the pH, […]