Chemical attributes of soil and production of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu

Abstract

In the region of Canindeyu, milk production is one of the main forms of saving for small producers. However, the use of agricultural inputs is not practiced in the production of pastures, generally due to the lack of information on their importance, mainly fertilization. The objective of this work was to characterize the physical and chemical attributes of soils under Marandu grass and determine their productivity using different fertilizations. The study was conducted in four areas located in the district of Jasy Cany. In order to evaluate the chemical attributes, soil samples were collected before fertilization in the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm layers, using the levels of Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, extractable P, base saturation, aluminum saturation, exchangeable acidity, Al3+, CTCpH7,0, pHCaCl2 and organic matter as chemical indicators of soil quality. For dry matter production and height of the pasture, a complete randomized block design was used and the treatments consisted of control (without fertilization), nitrogen fertilization (100 kg ha-1) and fertilization with N-P2O5-K2O (100-40-80 Kg ha-1). Based on the results the soils present a medium acidity, with no Al3+ toxicity, good base saturation, low MO and CTCpH 7.0, lack of Ca2+, K+ and extractable P and high Mg2+ content in relation to Ca2+. Fertilization with N and N-P2O5-K2O provided significant increases in dry matter yield and height of Marandu grass presenting high responsive capacity, and it is possible to conclude that fertilization is the fundamental factor for pasture productivity.