Determination of homogeneous zones for liming recommendations of black pepper using geostatistics

Ivoney Gontijo,Fábio L Partelli,Andreia B P L Gontijo,Eduardo O De J Santos,Fábio R Pires

doi:10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v20n10p918-924

Abstract

ABSTRACT Studies aimed at determining homogeneous zones and the spatial variability of soil characteristics may improve the efficiency of agricultural input applications. The purpose of this study was to determine homogeneous zones for liming applications and to characterize the spatial variability of characteristics related to soil acidity and productivity in an Oxisol cultivated with black pepper (Piper nigrum L.). This study was carried out in São Mateus, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The experimental site was 100 x 120 m. A grid with 126 sampling points was established. Three soil sub-samples were collected at each sampling point in the black pepper canopy areas, at a 0-0.20 m depth. Crop productivity was estimated by harvesting the three plants neighboring each sampling point. Descriptive statistics and geostatistical analyses were performed. Homogeneous management zones were defined based on map of liming needs. Mathematical models adjusted to semivariograms indicated that all of the studied variables exhibited spatial dependency. An analysis of the spatial variability together with the definition of homogeneous zones can be used to increase the efficiency of soil liming.

Highlights

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is grown in environments with high soil and climate variability
The purpose of this study was to establish homogeneous areas for liming application and to characterize the spatial variability of characteristics related to soil acidity and productivity in a Latosol cultivated with black pepper, using geostatistics
All of the measured parameters, except Al and liming needs (LN), had normal distributions according to the Shapiro-Wilk test at p < 0.05

Summary

Introduction

Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is grown in environments with high soil and climate variability. When crops are managed homogeneously, lime and fertilizer applications do not take into consideration the variability of an area. This can result in excess or insufficient inputs in some zones of the sampled area, resulting in lower average productivity and higher expenditures compared with systems using differentiated management based on precision agriculture (Bottega et al, 2013). Geostatistics is an important tool for analyzing the spatial distribution of soil characteristics It allows for the quantification of the magnitude and degree of spatial dependency and for a detailed description of the spatial variability of the studied variables using an accurate and precise interpolator (Lima et al, 2013)

Objectives

Methods

Results