Abstract
The intensive use of land alters the distribution of the pore size which imparts consequences on the soil physical quality. The Least Limiting Water Range (LLWR) allows for the visualization of the effects of management systems upon either the improvement or the degradation of the soil physical quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Red Latosol (Oxisol) submited to cover crops in the period prior to the maize crop in a no-tillage and conventional tillage system, using porosity, soil bulk density and the LLWR as attributes. The treatments were: conventional tillage (CT) and a no-tillage system with the following cover crops: sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) (NS), pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke) (NP) and lablab (Dolichos lablab L.) (NL). The experimental design was randomized blocks in subdivided plots with six replications, with the plots being constituted by the treatments and the subplots by the layers analyzed. The no-tillage systems showed higher total porosity and soil organic matter at the 0-0.5 m layer for the CT. The CT did not differ from the NL or NS in relation to macroporosity. The NP showed the greater porosity, while CT and NS presented lower soil bulk density. No < 10 % airing porosity was found for the treatments evaluated, and value for water content where soil aeration is critical (θPA) was found above estimated water content at field capacity (θFC) for all densities. Critical soil bulk density was of 1.36 and 1.43 Mg m-3 for NP and CT, respectively. The LLWR in the no-tillage systems was limited in the upper part by the θFC, and in the bottom part, by the water content from which soil resistance to penetration is limiting (θPR). By means of LLWR it was observed that the soil presented good physical quality.
Highlights
The adoption of adequate systems for the use and management of agricultural soils is essential for their conservation, contributing to an increase in crop yield, as well as preserving the environment.Among the management systems used in the cultivation of annual crops, the no-tillage system grows year by year and has been consolidated as a model for economically sustainable agriculture
According to Sousa Neto et al (2008), less soil turnover in the no-tillage system reduced soil contact with the plant residues, diminishing the speed of decomposition when compared to the conventional tillage (CT), in which there is soil turnover, fragmentation, incorporation and exposure of plant remains to more intense activity of the microorganisms that act in their decomposition
Soil cultivation in the no-tillage system presented a greater value of total porosity and organic matter content in the layer from 0–0.05 m in relation to conventional tillage
Summary
The adoption of adequate systems for the use and management of agricultural soils is essential for their conservation, contributing to an increase in crop yield, as well as preserving the environment.Among the management systems used in the cultivation of annual crops, the no-tillage system grows year by year and has been consolidated as a model for economically sustainable agriculture. The adoption of adequate systems for the use and management of agricultural soils is essential for their conservation, contributing to an increase in crop yield, as well as preserving the environment. According to Andrioli (2004), one of the alternatives is the planting of cover crops at the beginning of spring, taking advantage of the first rains and part of the summer, prior to the planting of the commercial crops. In addition to these benefits, cover crops grown in the pre-cropping time can provide N and make for an increase in the maize yield, as seen by Bertin et al (2005). There is the need to refine studies regarding the use of cover crops in the pre-cropping period under the conditions of a tropical climate with a hot and rainy summer and dry winter
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