Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between physical attributes of a Yellow Oxisol and the shoot dry matter production in grasses from the Brachiaria genus in the Brejo region, in Paraíba. The experiment has been conducted since 2005 in an experimental area of the Center of Agricultural Sciences of the Federal University of Paraíba, Areia-PB (6°58’12’’ S; 35°41’15’’ W and 573 m altitude). The experimental design adopted was that of randomized complete blocks (RCB) with 4 treatments and 4 replications. T1- Brachiaria decumbens Stapf.; T2- Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst) Stapf.; T3- Brachiaria humidicola (Rendle) Schwnickerdt Vr.; T4- Brachiaria brizantha MG5 cv. Vitória. The soil in the experimental area was characterized as Dystrophic Yellow Oxisol with clay-sandy texture. Soil samples with disturbed and undisturbed structure were collected within the 0.0-0.10 m layer. The shoot dry matter of grasses was collected in october of 2018. The analyzed variables were: bulk density (BD), compaction degree (CD), total porosity (TP), macroporosity (Ma), microporosity (Mi), field capacity (θFC), permanent wilting point (θPWP), available water content (θAWC), soil aeration capacity (SAC), mean weighted diameter of wet and dry aggregates (Wet and Dry MWD), aggregate stability index (ASI) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kθ). The Student’s t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis (p <0.05) were performed. It was concluded that dry matter production was positively influenced by θFC and θPWP. And the increase of the average values of BD, CD, Wet and Dry MWD favored the increase of shoot dry matter production by grasses.
Highlights
Cattle is one of the main sources of profit for Brazil, considered a job and revenue promoter, for its strong participation in the national and international economic scenario
The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between physical attributes of a Yellow Oxisol and the shoot dry matter production in grasses from the Brachiaria genus in the Brejo region, in Paraíba
Soil compaction in one of the most common and least desired among physical processes within a pasture, because it involves mechanisms that lead to negative alterations in soil structure, with higher density and compaction degree, reduction of total porosity and rate of water infiltration (Lima et al, 2013)
Summary
Cattle is one of the main sources of profit for Brazil, considered a job and revenue promoter, for its strong participation in the national and international economic scenario. There are 221.1 million animals spread in 190 million hectares of pastures, both natural and cultivated (ABIEC, 2018). It is an activity with low production costs as it demands no big investments and is possible to be executed with low use of agricultural implements, when compared to other activities, such as agriculture (Ferreira; Ferreira Neto, 2018). The reduced usage of agricultural implements in the pastures involves issues that can greatly impact the animal production, especially when combined with the increasing soil degradation, leading to losses that significantly reduce the productivity of such activity (Dias Filho, 2014), apart from compromising the environmental sustainability (Silva et al, 2017a; Nascimento et al, 2019). The impact in the soil may compromise the growth of grasses, as a result of a mechanical barrier caused by compacted layers, resulting in a smaller portion of soil being explored by the roots and less water and nutrients absortion by the plants (Richart et al, 2005)
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