Volume 33, Number 4, 2009

In the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS), norms for coffee in the Upper Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais, Brazil, have not been established yet. The lack of these norms hinders the application of the DRIS to the coffee plantations in the region. The foliar diagnosis, based on the DRIS and on critical reference ranges, stands out among the tools that allow an efficient use of fertilizers. This study aimed to determine DRIS norms as well as to establish values of […]

The acclimatization of pineapple plantlets propagated by plant tissue culture is slow. The intensification of root growth by the use of humic acids may be useful during this process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the greenhouse acclimatization of ‘Vitória’ pineapple propagated by plant tissue culture in response to different doses of humic acids isolated from vermicompost and filter cake. Leaf anatomy, photosynthetic pigment content, shoot and root growth, and leaf nutrients were evaluated. An increase in growth […]

The pedogenesis of Planosolic soils, especially of the semi-arid “Agreste” region of Pernambuco State, Brazil, has n ot been properly studied. There are indications and doubts with regard to some aspects such as possible duality or differentiated reworked parent material, total of gains and losses and the relative mobility of the main constituent elements during soil evolution. Three soils with strong texture contrast were studied in a toposequence of the region. Three soils with a strong textural contrast on a […]

The cohesive character is an attribute of subsurface soil horizons with hard to extremely hard consistency when dry, and friable or firm when wetted. Despite the agricultural importance, the formation of these horizons is not yet completely understood. The objective of this study was to characterize and assess the possible mechanisms involved in the formation of cohesive horizons in soils of the Coastal Tablelands of Northeast Brazil, in order to understand their pedogenesis and to identify physical and chemical parameters […]

Conservationist soil management systems such as no-tillage (NT) can be considered activities with potential to increase soil carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was to quantify the soil C stocks and, along estimations of the nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, calculate the soil C sequestration under NT for different times of implantation in two crop successions. The experiment was installed on the farm Santa Branca in Tibagi (Paraná State, Brazil), on a clayey Oxisol (Typic Hapludox). The treatments were conducted […]

The agricultural activity can change the quantity and quality of soil organic matter (SOM), resulting in CO2 and N2O emissions from the soil. No-tillage (NT) with legume species in crop rotation is a strategy that should be considered not only to increase the SOM quantity, but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of this study was to determine the soil-atmosphere gas emissions with greenhouse effect (CO2 and N2O). For this purpose, an experiment was installed in Tibagi (Paraná […]

The management system normally affects soil nutrient availability, as a consequence of tillage practices, crop rotation and crop residues remaining in the cultivated area. The objective of this study was to evaluate the alterations in cation availability in two Oxisols in the Brazilian Cerrado under conventional and no-tillage systems for more than 10 years. The experiments were conducted in Costa Rica, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and in Luziânia, Goiás. Both soils were Oxisols, but one being a Red Latosol […]

The origin of tableland soils is related to sandloam and loam sediments of the Tertiary Barreira group. Generally they are sandy with poor contents of nutrients and organic matter. They are also typically kaolinitic and characterized by hard cohesive layers (hardsetting soils) normally located at a depth between 20 and 60 cm. Since the soil density of the hardsetting layers is high and because they are near the surface, they remarkably modify the soil water movement and affect plant development and […]

With the development of agriculture, the use of new tools for the evaluation of the properties related to plant yields have become essential to improve the management of agricultural systems. The purpose of this study was to use a fuzzy model to investigate, based on soil chemical properties, the propagation of uncertainty of the acidity of a humic Red-Yellow Latosol (Oxisol) under Arabic coffee plantation. The soil was sampled at a depth of 0 – 0.2 m, in a grid, […]

Many studies have shown the importance of the soil microbial biomass, mainly as source/sink of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in forest stands. However, there are few studies focused on microbial P (MPH), especially in relation to the determination methods of MPH in these ecosystems. For an evaluation of the methods used to determine microbial P (MPH) in soils, three methods were evaluated: fumigation-extraction (FE); radiation with microwave-extraction (RE); and radiation by microwave-extraction with a membrane for anionic exchange (EMAE). […]