Volume 37, Number 1, 2013

The feasibility of no-tillage in the Cerrado (Savanna-like vegetation of Brazil) depends on the production of sufficient above-ground crop residue, which can be increased by corn-forage intercropping. This study evaluated how above-ground crop residue production and yields of soybean and late-season corn in a soybean-corn rotation were influenced by the following crops in the year before soybean: corn (Zea mays L.) intercropped with Brachiaria (Urochloa) brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens cv. Basilisk, B. ruziziensis, cv. comum., Panicummaximum cv. Tanzânia, sunn […]

Rainfall erosivity is one of the main factors related to water erosion in the tropics. This work focused on relating soil loss from a typic dystrophic Tb Haplic Cambisol (CXbd) and a typic dystrophic Red Latosol (LVdf) to different patterns of natural erosive rainfall. The experimental plots of approximately 26 m2 (3 x 8.67 m) consisted of a CXbd area with a 0.15 m m-1 slope and a LVdf area with 0.12 m m-1 slope, both delimited by galvanized plates. […]

The conversion of natural areas for agricultural use can degrade the soil structure and increase the occurrence of compression. This study aimed to evaluate changes in the physico-mechanical and hydro-physical properties of an Endoaqualf, caused by the conversion of a natural area into a rice field. Hydro-physical (density, porosity, macroporosity, microporosity, void ratio, and water retention) and mechanical properties (preconsolidation pressure, compression index, coefficient of decompression, and recovery rate) were evaluated in the horizons A1 (0.0-0.25 m), A2 (0.25-0.51 m), […]

In the Amazon region, pastures provide a satisfactory grass yield in the first years. Over time, overgrazing by livestock, the lack of pasture maintenance and choice of regionally unsuitable forage species can lead to soil degradation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different soil management systems on some soil physical properties of a Red-Yellow Oxisol (LVA) under degraded pasture, in the State of Rondônia (RO). The soil management systems were T = control; G = […]

Studies about reduced tillage in soil cultivated with roots and tubers are rare and controversial. Thus, this study assessed the impact of tillage systems on physical properties of an Alfissol and on the growth of sweet potato tubers. To evaluate the soil physical properties, an experiment was conducted in a randomized block, split-plot design. The plots consisted of the treatments conventional tillage with mounds and reduced tillage with straw on the soil surface and the subplots of two sampling periods: […]

The intensive use of Cerrado soils for agricultural production coupled with an inadequate management has resulted in soil degradation. This created the need for the introduction of more sustainable systems such as no-tillage and crop-livestock integration. This study analyzed the effect of succession of corn+forage and soybean on soil physical properties. For this purpose, four forages (Brachiaria brizantha, B. ruziziensis, Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia, and P. maximum cv. Áries), were sown in an intercropping trial with maize in three modalities […]

The succession of events after revegetation has rarely been studied. A plant consortium with a good initial development may come to be inadequate later, resulting in exposed soil, susceptible to the weathering forces. The objective of this study was to monitor characteristics associated with vegetative stabilization and, in the long term, the appearance of new cover forms or soil exposure in response to planting grasses and legumes on a steep road slope alongside a highway. After four years of recovery, […]

In areas of intensive pig production, pig slurry is used as an important nitrogen (N) source of crops, but is also a major cause of soil, air and water pollution. Strategies are required to reduce N losses from this organic material to the environment and to improve the agronomic efficiency as plant N source. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the use of a nitrification inhibitor (NI) and the split application of pig slurry (PS) […]

Knowledge on As and Cd levels in soils is important to monitor the entry of these elements into the food chain from anthropogenic sources. The purpose of this study was to determine the natural content of As and Cd in representative soils of the Cerrado region, Brazil. Soil samples were collected from three sub-regions: G (eastern Goiás), T (Triângulo Mineiro) and N (northeastern MG). To determine the soil levels of As and Cd, samples were digested by acid attack in […]