Volume 34, Number 6, 2010

Biological N fixation in soybean is indispensable in Brazil, sparing the use of mineral N and reducing crop production costs. The objective of this study was to compare in-furrow inoculation of soybean with Bradyrhizobium to the traditional practice of seed inoculation, in an experiment performed in a soil with low organic matter content and without soybean-nodulating rhizobia. A field experiment was carried out in the Cerrado of Roraima in 2006 and repeated in 2007, with the treatments: (1) control (no […]

To analyze the process of degradation caused by natural or anthropogenic influences tools are required, preferentially low-cost, to indicate the degradation stages aiming the selection of techniques to reclaim degraded areas. The purpose of this study was to analyze the variability of microbiological and chemical soil properties as indicators of desertification processes in areas with increasing levels of degradation in the semiarid region of the State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Three environments were sampled: conserved, moderately degraded and heavily degraded in […]

Eighteen Pisolithus basidiomes were collected from Eucalyptus plantations in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. These basidiomes were characterized morphologically and molecularly. The basidiomes varied in shape, color and size. One of them was found underground, indicating a hypogeous fungus. The main morphological distinctive characteristic was spore ornamentation, which distinguished two groups. One group with short and erect spines was identified as Pisolithus microcarpus, and the other with long and curved spines as Pisolithus marmoratus, after analyzing the cladogram obtained […]

Crop species with the C4 photosynthetic pathway are more efficient in assimilating N than C3 plants, which results in different N amounts prone to be washed from its straw by rain water. Such differences may affect N recycling in agricultural systems where these species are grown as cover crops. In this experiment, phytomass production and N leaching from the straw of grasses with different photosynthetic pathways were studied in response to N application. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and congo grass […]

Little is known about the agronomic effectiveness of phosphate rocks in high-yielding crop rotation systems under no-till in the Center-South of the state of Paraná, Brazil. This field study was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of rock phosphates and soluble P fertilizers to increase the yield of several annual crops grown in two consecutive triennial crop-rotation cycles under no-tillage. The experiment was carried out in an Oxisol, in Guarapuava, PR, from 2000 until 2006. Two phosphate rocks (PR – Gafsa […]

Detrimental effects of glyphosate on plant mineral nutrition have been reported in the literature, particularly on Mn uptake and redistribution. However, in most of the experiments conducted so far glyphosate-susceptible plants were used. Effects of glyphosate on Mn absorption kinetics, accumulation, and distribution within the plant, as well as soybean response to Mn as affected by glyphosate were studied in three experiments. In the first experiment, in nutrient solution, the effect of glyphosate on soybean Mn uptake kinetic parameters (Imax, […]

In Brazil, along with the intensification of clonal forestry, the management of more productive and more nutrient-demanding genotypes has led to the appearance of micronutrient deficiency symptoms, mainly of Boron, and more recently, of Copper (Cu) and Zinc, especially in Cerrado areas. The purpose of this study was to evaluate three extractant solutions to determine Cu availability (Mehlich-1, Mehlich-3 and DTPA pH 7.3) for eucalyptus seedlings grown under greenhouse conditions in six Cerrado soil samples and to assess the influence of […]

Urease is an enzyme that hydrolysis urea in carbon dioxide and ammonia. Urease distribution and influencing factors are highly relevant for the use of urea in agriculture. In this context, the purpose of this study was to verify the adequate time of soil sampling to measure urease activity, after N application to common bean as related to different soil tillage systems and cover plant species. The experiment was conducted on a dystrophic Dark Red Latosol where common bean cultivar Valente […]

The use of the shallow Neossolos (Leptosols and Regosols) is limited in view of the small depth and rock fragments on the surface. There is a lack of information about the definition of the contacts between soil, saprolite and rock in this soil class, as well as tools that would facilitate the morphologic field identification. The objectives of this research were an evaluation of the morphology of the contact between soil, saprolite and rock in the Neossolos derived from the […]

Restinga is a term currently used for the vegetation on the poor and sandy soils of the coastal plains of Brazil. The soils of these environments have been poorly studied. The counties Cananéia, Ilha Comprida and Bertioga were selected for this research due to the representativeness of the environmental conditions of the state of São Paulo. In these environments 31 soil profiles were described and sampled, many of them in chronosequences. The samples were characterized chemically and analytical evidence converged […]