Abstract
Mechanical harvesting has increasingly been used in sugarcane production units, and it has often resulted in reduced structural quality of the soil due to soil compaction caused by machine traffic. Thus, sugarcane ratoon crops have often been chiseled to overcome such a problem. The aim of the current study is to assess some physical properties of a Latossolo Vermelho Distroferrico (Rhodic Hapludox) that was chiseled after the third harvest in a sugarcane ratoon crop. The study was conducted in a commercial crop area throughout the 2011/2012 crop year. A randomized block experimental design was used, with five replications. The treatments consisted of five chiseling operations in sugarcane ratoon crops, namely: T1 - single-shank ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.15 m; T2 - single-shank ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m; T3 - two-bar ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.15 m, T4 - two-bar ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m; and T5 - control group, with no chiseling. Overall, soil chiseling is effective for improving the physical quality of the soil to a depth of 0.15 m, regardless of the equipment and the depth. Two-bar-ripper-based soil chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m provides increased sugarcane yield.
Highlights
The large number of mechanized operations in sugarcane plantations results in soil compaction, as well as in damage to physical quality of the soil (Souza et al, 2012)
Increased use of large-sized machinery during harvest is one of the aspects that may limit sugarcane yield in the following cycle since it can lead to critical pressures and generate soil compaction under inadequate moisture conditions (Oliveira et al, 2011)
Using soil chiseling between sugarcane ratoon crop rows soon after harvest to reduce problems caused by soil compaction throughout the crop cycle has become common in sugarcane production units
Summary
The large number of mechanized operations in sugarcane plantations results in soil compaction, as well as in damage to physical quality of the soil (Souza et al, 2012). Soil chiseling is often practiced in such sites, little is known about its real benefits to soil physical quality (Paulino et al, 2004; Souza et al, 2005). Assessing and monitoring the physical quality of the soil throughout successive sugarcane crop-growing seasons - which often extend for at least five years - is essential for defining management systems able to reduce physical degradation of the soil (Cavalieri et al, 2011). Assessment of soil physical quality must integrate different properties in a small number of parameters that express the physical environment plants are living in (Silva et al, 1994)
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