Abstract
Machinery traffic in sugarcane ( Saccharum sp.) plantations reduces soil physical quality, and hinders both root development and crop yield. We evaluated the physical quality of an Oxisol and the development of sugarcane roots under controlled traffic. The treatments assessed were: without controlled machinery traffic (WCT), controlled traffic by adjusting the tractor and infield wagons to a 3.0 m track width with the operator guiding the machinery (CT1) and the previous treatment using real time kinematic / global positioning system (RTK / GPS) precision auto steer (CT2). Soil samples were collected from the planting rows, seedbed and inter-row center to determine the least limiting water range (LLWR) and soil porosity from scanned 2-D images. The root dry mass was sampled from monoliths, separated from the soil by washing through a 2-mm sieve and dried in an oven. A higher LLWR was observed in the planting row under CT1 and CT2 than under WCT. The planting row had a predominance of complex pores with a diameter > 500 µm in the 0.15-0.27 m depth layer under CT1 and CT2. In the planting rows under WCT, the root dry mass was only 44 % of that measured under CT2. Benefits regarding soil physical quality and growth roots were observed when the tractor-wagon track width was adjusted based on the sugarcane spacing using either precision auto steering or manual operation of the machinery.
Highlights
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) with 714 million tons of sugarcane harvested on 9.94 million hectares (IBGE, 2012) annually
The high coefficient of variation (CV) obtained for the soil resistance to penetration was due to the variability of the volumetric water content in the management systems (Table 3)
CT1 and CT2 resulted in least limiting water range (LLWR) higher than those observed under without controlled machinery traffic (WCT) in the planting row (Figure 3), which is attributable to the improved soil physical quality, stemming from the adjustment of the tractor-wagon track width
Summary
Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) with 714 million tons of sugarcane harvested on 9.94 million hectares (IBGE, 2012) annually. Sugarcane production systems involve intensive mechanization characterized by high axle loads, that lead to compaction of the soil (Otto et al, 2011; Souza et al, 2012). Intensive mechanization promotes soil compaction due to increased bulk density, reduction of soil porosity and excessive soil resistance to penetration (Chan et al, 2006; Otto et al, 2011; Silva et al, 2011). Changes in the soil structure and compaction hinder root development which may in turn reduce crop yield (Bengough et al, 2011; Otto et al, 2011)
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