Abstract
Conventional tillage and intensive machinery traffic are the major causes of physical soil degradation in sugarcane fields. This study evaluates the impact of adopting conservation management practices during sugarcane planting on soil physical properties and stalk yield of sugarcane in the municipality of Ibitinga, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental design (split-block) included four cover crops and three soil tillage systems, with three repetitions. For comparison purposes, a control treatment was also included (without cover crop and under [...]
Highlights
Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer, accounting for 41 % of global production in 2017 (FAO, 2019)
The results showed that cultivation of sunn hemp associated with deep subsoiling induced high stalk yield of sugarcane in both production cycles, cane plant (116 Mg ha-1) and first ratoon (114 Mg ha-1), with a net gain of 11 and 9 Mg ha-1 compared with the control treatment, respectively
The use of sunn hemp and millet, associated with subsoiling during sugarcane planting, are promising management strategies to sustain better soil’s physical quality when compared to traditional management, conventional soil tillage without cover crops and/or cash crop, as peanuts, that increase the risks of soil compaction and physical degradation
Summary
Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer, accounting for 41 % of global production in 2017 (FAO, 2019). Since early 2000, mechanized green harvesting system has been gradually adopted, reaching 98 % of current sugarcane areas in mid-southern Brazil (Conab, 2019a). Despite all the efforts in adopting mechanized sustainable harvest systems, soil physical degradation induced by intensive machine traffic is one of the leading causes that limit sugarcane yields (Filoso et al, 2015; Souza et al, 2015; Cherubin et al, 2016; White and Johnson, 2018; Esteban et al, 2019; Guimarães Júnnyor et al, 2019a) and threats the sustainability of the production system (Filoso et al, 2015; Bordonal et al, 2018)
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