Volume 24, Number 4, 2000

Young guava plants were grown in a nutrient solution in the presence of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 mg L-1 aluminum, with pH being kept at 4.0. After 110 days, the plants were harvested and their content of macronutrients, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Al were determined. Visual toxicity symptoms, developed under 20 and 25 mg L-1 aluminum, were as follows: reduction in height, absence of branching, decrease in diameter of stem dark roots and smaller leaves presenting […]

Superficial liming is an alternative way to correct soil acidity in no till system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of superficial and incorporated liming on native pasture. The experiment was carried out at the experimental field of the Soil Science Department, at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (Brazil), on a Plinthaquult medium texture and with high potential acidity under native pasture. Lime rates of 0.0, 2.0, 8.5 and 17.0 Mg ha-1 were used. On […]

Root growth impairment has sometimes been attributed to zinc deficiency. A greenhouse experiment was conducted in Botucatu, SP, Brazil, in 1997/98, using 2.5 L pots. Zinc redistribution within the plant and the effect of zinc deficiency on root growth were studied in corn (Zea mays) plants grown in nutrient solution containing from 0.0 to 2.0 µmol L-1 of Zn. Half of the pots also received foliar application of Zn. The experiment was terminated 40 days after plant emergence. Dry matter […]

Soils with brown or yellowish brown hues are dominant in the high altitude areas of southern Brazil. This feature is a consequence of the cool weather and high humidity conditions, which contribute for the formation of goethite and complete soil xantization. However, in some sites, soils present brown and yellowish brown hues in surface and transitional horizons, yet preserving red colors in subsurface horizons what may represent a relic of a drier and hotter climate condition from the past. In […]

In the region of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, soils profiles with argillic horizons were selected to evaluate the alterations which occurred during the process of soil formation and to investigate pedogenetic characteristics related to the parent material. Within this region, these soils occur on sloping and hilly landscapes. They were selected for this study because they preserve characteristics inherited from the original bedrocks. Three profiles formed from geologic material with different chemical composition were selected: Profile 1 – Red-Yellow Argisol […]

The current research was carried out in Itapé and Itaju do Colônia, towns located in the South coast of Bahia state. The objective of this study was to characterize the pasture environment emphasizing the soils and their natural cover in order to measure and evaluate the pasture degradation. These areas are basically formed by Mollisols where forest and cacao crops cultivated in “Cabruca” were replaced by pastures (Panicum maximum, cv. Colonião and Sempre Verde). Those pastures have been cultivated for […]

This study was carried out to assess the influence of Winter plant cover on the physical soil properties in a Structured Terra Roxa soil in the state of Santa Catarina. The plant cover consisted of an association of black oats (Avena stirgosa Schreb) with pasture turnip (Raphanus sativus L.) and organic fertilization with poultry manure and 2 mineral fertilization. Soil samples collected in August 1994 and January 1995, at depths of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm, from an experiment started […]

This study was carried out to assess the influence of winter plant cover on the grain yield in the bean/maize crop rotation in a Structured Terra Roxa soil in the state of Santa Catarina. The plant cover consisted of an association of black oats (Avena stirgosa Schreb) with pasture turnip (Raphanus sativus L.) and organic fertilization with poultry manure and mineral fertilization. The soil cover influenced the grain yield in the bean plant, but not the maize. This may have […]

The effects of irrigation and cropping on the properties of soils were studied in the region of the low-medium São Francisco river basin. Six sites were selected, three of them involving Oxisols collected at the Senador Nilo Coelho Project, in Casa Nova, BA, while the remaining three involved Ultisols collected at the Curaçá Irrigation Perimeter in Juazeiro, BA. The selected sites involved non irrigated and irrigated land, different crops and irrigation methods. The soils were morphologically characterized and samples were […]

A long-term field trial was carried-out in Jaboticabal (SP) to estimate the effect of production systems on soil nitrogen and soil organic matter fractions. The treatments tested were corn in conventional sowing in summer and no tillage in winter (C-Mi-P), maize in direct sowing in summer and no tillage in winter (D-Mi-P), maize in direct sowing in summer, Mucuna aterrina as green manure in winter (D-Mi-Mu), maize in direct sowing in summer, Cajanus cajan as green manure in winter (D-Mi-Gu), […]