Abstract
The use of different legume species, as green manure, may affect differently soil biological and chemical properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of four legumes species used as green manure on soil biological and chemical properties in short-term. We evaluated the following legume species: Crotalaria, Cajanus, Mucuna and Canavalia. The study was arranged in a completely randomised design with four replicates. The plants were incorporated into the soil (0-20 cm) by harrow and the chemical and biological properties were evaluated 30 and 60 days from the incorporation. Soil chemical and biological properties showed different trends according to legume species used. Soil P and K contents were highest in plot with Crotalaria, while soil Ca content was highest in plot with Mucuna. Soil microbial biomass was higher in plot with Mucuna as compared with others green manure species. Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis was higher in plots with Mucuna and Canavalia than the others plots. Our results supported the hypothesis that different types of legume used as green manure affect differently the biological and chemical properties of soil. In this case, Mucuna was more effective to improve soil biological properties, while Crotalaria seems to be more efficient in the improvement of chemical properties. Key words: Organic fertilization, alternative agriculture, legumes.
Highlights
The use of legumes species as green manure is an important practice for sustainable agriculture as the legumes may fix N and have deep and extensive root system, allowing greater extraction and recycling of plant nutrients
Our results supported the hypothesis that different types of legume used as green manure affect differently the biological and chemical properties of soil
Mucuna was more effective to improve soil biological properties, while Crotalaria seems to be more efficient in the improvement of chemical properties
Summary
The use of legumes species as green manure is an important practice for sustainable agriculture as the legumes may fix N and have deep and extensive root system, allowing greater extraction and recycling of plant nutrients. Several legume species may be used as green manure and each one presents different properties which may affect differently the soil properties. It is widely known that green manure and others crop residues improve the soil chemical and biological properties (Biederbeck et al, 2005; Liu et al, 2006; Shah et al, 2010; Ye et al, 2014; Adediran et al, 2004; Ziblim et al, 2013), there is the need to compare the different legume species in the improvement of soil biological and chemical properties in the short-term as usually these soil properties may respond quickly to soil management according to chemical characteristics of organic residue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of four legumes species used as green manure on soil biological and chemical properties in short-term. Ordination was performed using the PC-ORD v. 6.0 program
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