PEDOLOGIC INDICATORS OF Phaseolus vulgaris CROPS IN THE COLOMBIAN DRY CARIBBEAN, IN SITU STRATEGY

Abstract

<p><strong>Background. </strong>In Colombia, people have intended to increase food production by using new alternatives in under-used areas, such as the dry Caribbean soils, where practical evaluation methods for cultivated soils are required. <strong>Objective. </strong>To evaluate the association and reliability of <em>in situ</em> methods to measure soil quality indicators, in comparison to laboratory analyses. <strong>Methodology.</strong>The quality of soils where the common bean is cultivated in the periods of pre-planting and post-flowering was determined in six locations at Cesar and La Guajira. Sensory analytic methods for these indicators: structure, effective rooting depth, superficial organic matter, soil cover, soil aeration, erosion control, infiltration rate and biota, were correlated to chemical microbiological variables, measured in the laboratory. <strong>Results.</strong> Deficiencies in crop structure, organic matter, soil cover, biota, and low availability of nitrogen, zinc, and boron were observed in the soil of La Guajira. <strong>Implicaciones</strong>. These results evidence the possibility to be used as low cost and high impact strategies for edaphic monitoring of common bean fields in the dry Caribbean region. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. The <em>in situ</em> techniques evaluated can be integrated to conventional techniques of edaphic characterization as a starting point in the identification of variables that require deterioration mitigation actions.</p>