Efeito de sucessões de culturas na qualidade do solo em um sistema plantio direto

Abstract

Soil physical degradation, like compaction, reduces water movement and root development. Soil structure is considered one of most importance to agriculture, because other fundamental properties are closed related to it in soil-plant relationship. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of crop sequences on physical attributes of soil. The research was realized in 2004/05 and 2005/06 growing seasons, in a Typic Clayey Rhodic Hopludox, under 8 years of no-tillage system, at Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados Campus. The experiment was a randomized complete block design, with three replications. Treatments were constituted by cover crops: sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea L.), hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), mixture of sunnhemp + black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb), and mixture of black oat + hairy vetch + oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L. Var. oliferus Metzg). Differences were not observed in soil density, in porosity and in aggregation rate when soil cultivated with sunflower, hairy vetch, sunnhemp, or the mixtures. Differences were observed in soil physical properties between 0-5 cm layer and 5-10cm – 10-20cm layers, but no differences between 5-10 cm and 10-20cm layers. Soil carbon trend to higher contents in crops with high production of surface residues, although carbon contents differences were insufficient to modify aggregation. Corn yield was unattached from previous crops, but in the year, where rain was better distributed, it was higher