Volume 42, 2018

ABSTRACT Termites have peculiar activities in the soil, inducing significant changes in the soil properties. The objective of this study was to assess physical and chemical properties and soil organic matter to evaluate the effect of termite activity and termite mounds on the soil. Two toposequences were selected and divided in slope thirds (shoulder, backslope, and footslope). In each of these, four termite mounds were selected. Samples were taken from the soils and termite mounds (top, center, and base) along […]

ABSTRACT Changes in land use management in agricultural areas can affect the biodiversity of spider families. This study aimed to evaluate spider diversity in different land use systems with capture by two sampling methods, and to identify soil properties that can modulate the occurrence of spiders. Five land use systems, representative of traditional agricultural areas, were evaluated in the west of Santa Catarina, Brazil, to establish a scale of land use intensity: native forest, eucalyptus reforestation areas, pastures, crop-livestock integration […]

ABSTRACT Microorganisms are excellent soil quality indicators because their properties within the soil community change quickly in response to changes in the surrounding environment. The aim of this study was to determine if the structure and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities were useful for discriminating cut flower cultures under conventional (CM), ecological (EM), and intermediate (IM) management practices. Results obtained by PCR-DGGE revealed that bacteria had lower similarity in structure and higher diversity under EM than under CM. […]

ABSTRACT The use of gypsum to improve the root environment in tropical soils in the southeastern and central-western regions of Brazil is a widespread practice with well-established recommendation criteria. However, only recently gypsum began to be used on subtropical soils in South of Brazil, so available knowledge of its effect on crop yield is incipient and mainly for soils under no-till (NT) systems. Avaiable studies span a wide range of responses, from a substantial increase to a slight reduction in […]

ABSTRACT: In geostatistical modeling of soil chemical properties, one or more influential observations in a dataset may impair the construction of interpolation maps and their accuracy. An alternative to avoid the problem would be to use most robust models, based on distributions that have heavier tails. Therefore, this study proposes a spatial linear model based on the slash distribution (SSLM) in order to characterize the spatial variability of soybean yields as a function of soil chemical properties. The likelihood ratio […]

ABSTRACT: Determining nutrient uptake and accumulation rates by cotton crops is important to define management strategies, especially for transgenic varieties, which are cultivated using high-technology approaches that require substantial investment to maximize yield. Currently in Brazil, the states of Bahia and Mato Grosso are responsible for 84.4 % of the total cotton growing area. In the present study, two trials were conducted in 2013, one that involved planting FM 940 GLT, FM 980 GLT, and FM 913 GLT varieties in […]

ABSTRACT Catharanthus roseus (L) G. Don (Madagascar periwinkle) belongs to the Apocynaceace family and is widely spread throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The plant produces several important alkaloids, such as ajmalicine and serpentine, which are used in the treatment of circulatory diseases. The potential of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and nitrogen fertilization to enhance the production of alkaloids was investigated in periwinkle. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal […]

ABSTRACT: In alkalinized and Ca-rich composts, solubilization of apatite from phosphate rocks (PRs) is not guaranteed; however, chelating agents and humified substances produced during composting may alter the soluble contents and P forms of monoammonium phosphate (MAP)-based composts. These effects may depend on the proportions of organic wastes and P source used in the compost piles. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of composting chicken manure, coffee husk, and Araxá PR, Bayóvar PR, or MAP in […]

ABSTRACT Preliminary results of in vitro experiments with multicontaminated soils and solid media indicated that nodulating diazotrophic bacteria of the genus Cupriavidus are promising for the remediation of contaminated environments due to their symbiosis with legumes and metal tolerance. Thus, strains of Cupriavidus spp. (LMG 19424T, UFLA 01-659, UFLA 01-663, and UFLA 02-71) were tested for their ability to tolerate and bioaccumulate cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in Luria-Bertani broth. Changes in the growth pattern of Cupriavidus strains […]

ABSTRACT Several soil conservation practices are used to reduce water erosion and ensure sustainable agriculture. An effective crop management practice is intercropping, in which two or more crops with different architectures and vegetative cycles are grown simultaneously in the same area. We hypothesized that intercropping of corn and jack-bean increases soil cover and reduce soil erosion by water in comparison to monocropping. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different crop systems on soil cover and […]