Chemical and physical characteristics of soil in different sustainable production systems

Abstract

In this chapter we will show the results of the survey of chemical and physical characteristics of the soil in different sustainable production systems. On our first study we evaluated the effect of different cover crops, grown in rotation with soybean and corn, on two Oxisols with different physical and chemical characteristics, one in Votuporanga, SP, Brazil and the other in Selvíria, MS, Brazil. We used different amounts of seeds of the following cover crops: Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum americanum, Sorghum sudanense, hybrid of S. bicolor with S. sudanense, Urochloa ruziziensis and a control treatment with spontaneous vegetation. On the second study, we evaluated the soil resistance to penetration in five production systems: two agrosilvopastoral systems; agro-pastoral; no-tillage and native forest (Cerrado) and in an Ultisol in Votuporanga, SP. On the third study we evaluated chemical and physical characteristics in an Ultisol at Simonsen district, Votuporanga, SP, in an area with agrosilvopastoral system and deployed with three soil management: Full (conventional tillage, liming and application of plaster, phosphate and potassium); intermediate (no-tillage, liming and application of plaster) and basic (no-tillage and liming).