Nutrient recycling and physical indicators of an alley cropping system in a sandy loam soil in the pre-Amazon region of Brazil
Carregando...
Arquivos
Fonte externa
Fonte externa
Data
Orientador
Coorientador
Pós-graduação
Curso de graduação
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título de Volume
Editor
Springer
Tipo
Artigo
Direito de acesso
Acesso restrito
Arquivos
Fonte externa
Fonte externa
Resumo
The sustainable management of soils has proved a key challenge for the smallholder agriculture in southeastern Amazonia, Brazil. We assessed the capacity of an alley cropping system to sustain corn productivity. The experiment included six treatments: Clitoria + Pigeon Pea; Leucaena + Pigeon Pea; Acacia + Pigeon Pea; Clitoria + Leucaena; Leucaena + Acacia and Control treatment (no legumes). We determined chemical and physical indicators of soil quality. Leucaena had the highest macronutrient concentrations (40.17 g N kg(-1)), except for P. All legumes had high Ca (13.82-17.84 g kg(-1)) and very low P (0.51-2.83 g kg(-1)) and Mg (1.73-2.92 g kg(-1)) concentrations. Acacia had the lowest N, P, K and Mg concentrations. Pre-planting soil analysis indicated that soil quality indicators were below the critical levels needed for a productive agricultural system, especially for phosphorus, sum of bases and base saturation. Physical indicators of quality, such as bulk density (1.40-1.30 Mg m(-3)), total porosity (0.46-0.50 m m(-3)) and soil aeration capacity (0.10-0.17 m m(-3)), were substantially improved as a result of the surface application of residues. There was a cumulative effect of residue application on corn crop productivity. Because of its capacity to recycle nutrients and improve soil quality over the period of 3 years, alley cropping in association with no-tillage, can be an efficient strategy for maintaining productivity in the low-fertility soils of the humid tropics.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Humid tropics, Legumes, No-tillage, Nutrients, Residue quality
Idioma
Inglês
Citação
Nutrient Cycling In Agroecosystems. Dordrecht: Springer, v. 86, n. 2, p. 189-198, 2010.
