Chemical attributes and microbial activity of soil cultivated with cassava under different cover crops

ABSTRACT Conservationist systems of crop management increases the amount of substrate, alters fertility and increases soil biological activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of soil management systems on the chemical attributes and microbial activity of soil under cassava...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fernando S. Araújo, Josué R. Barroso, Lucas de O. Freitas, Mauro S. Teodoro, Zigomar M. de Souza, Jose L. R. Torres
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Campina Grande
Series:Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1415-43662019000800614&lng=en&tlng=en
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Conservationist systems of crop management increases the amount of substrate, alters fertility and increases soil biological activity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of soil management systems on the chemical attributes and microbial activity of soil under cassava crop. The experiment was set as completely randomized design in a factorial scheme of 2 x 3 x 2, being two systems of cultivation (minimum with only mown; minimum with mown and incorporation), three types of soil coverage (fallow; Crotalaria juncea L.; Canavalia ensiformis L.) and two soil depths (0-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m), with four repetitions. The production of dry mass from cover crops, the soil chemical attributes and the soil microbial activity were evaluated. There were no differences between management systems, and the C. juncea cover crop presented superior dry mass production among the soil coverages. The concentrations of soil Ca and K were greater in the fallow coverage and C. juncea areas in the 0-0.10 m soil layer; however, these nutrients differ in the soil layer below (0.10-0.20 m). There were no differences for the basal respiration of soil microorganisms in both soil depths or among soil coverage, but the carbon from microbial biomass was superior in the most superficial soil layer where more substrate is available to soil microorganisms.
ISSN:1807-1929