Abstract
Abstract The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of corn (Zea mays) in monoculture and intercropped with forage on soil microbiological properties and nitrogen availability under no-tillage in the Cerrado (Brazilian savanna). The experiment was carried out from the 2007/2008 to the 2010/2011 crop season, in a Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico (Typic Haplustox). A randomized complete block design with three replicates was used, with the following treatments: corn in monoculture; corn intercropped with Panicum maximum; corn intercropped with Urochloa humidicola; P. maximum in monoculture; and U. humidicola in monoculture. Soil samples were taken at 0.00-0.05, 0.05-0.10, 0.10-0.20, and 0.20-0.30-m soil depths, in the begining and in the end of the last crop season. The intercropping systems of corn increased soil nitrogen availability, but did not alter total nitrogen and organic carbon contents in the soil, when compared to corn in monoculture. Corn intercropped with P. maximum increased soil microbial biomass nitrogen and microbial nitrogen quotient, in comparison to corn in monoculture, as well soil as microbial biomass carbon in the surface soil layer, when compared to corn intercropped with U. humidicola.
Highlights
The adoption of no-tillage (NT) practices when intercropping forages with cash crops has great potential to improve soil quality through carbon sequestration, water and nutrient cycling, and improvement of soil biological diversity (Lemaire et al, 2014)
The corn/U. humidicola intercropping provided the highest contents of Total organic carbon (TOC) and Total soil nitrogen (TN) in the 0.00–0.05‐m soil layer, whereas U. humidicola in monoculture, the lowest ones (Figure 1)
These results indicate the benefits of integrating this forage with corn, with increases of 13% in TOC and 9% in TN in the uppermost soil layer, when compared to sole U. humidicola
Summary
The adoption of no-tillage (NT) practices when intercropping forages with cash crops has great potential to improve soil quality through carbon sequestration, water and nutrient cycling, and improvement of soil biological diversity (Lemaire et al, 2014). The use of diversified systems in the Cerrado, such as cash crop-forage intercropping, should be encouraged and better understood. Soil organic matter (SOM) is considered a key indicator of soil quality because it is the most important component of soil fertility in highly weathered soils (Lopes et al, 2013). Studies have reported increases in SOM under NT practices with intercropping of forages and cash crops, mainly due to higher inputs of plant residues, which can increase soil nutrient availability and soil C sequestration (Boeni et al, 2014). Increments in soil organic C are commonly related to improvements in chemical and biological properties (Araújo et al, 2007; Lopes et al, 2013)
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