Soil physical attributes and productivity of sugarcane under different cropping systems in the savannah goiano

Abstract

The cultivation systems of sugarcane can cause changes to the soil's physical properties and root development, which in turn, can affect the productivity of the crop. The main objective of this study was to evaluate different soil management systems and their influence on the physical attributes of soil, plant root system development and the productivity of plant cane in re-established area. The experimental design was randomized blocks in 6 x 3 factorial scheme with 4 repetitions. The soil treatments were: T1 = Desiccation + moldboard plowing + light harrow (DPH); T2 = Subsoiler + light harrow (SH); T3 = Desiccation + no-tillage (DNT); T4 = Desiccation + subsoiler (DS); T5 = stubble thrasher + subsoiler (StS) and T6 = stubble thrasher + mid harrow + moldboard plow + light harrow (StHPH), each evaluated at three depths (0.0-0.20; 0.20-0.40 and 0.40-0.60 m). The effects of these treatments were evaluated by analyzing physical properties of soil, root development of the plants and productivity of the crop. All evaluated tillage systems improved penetration resistance, but only to the depth of 0.20 m. The best rates of root development occurred with the T1 treatment. Root development was significantly lower with higher penetration resistance values in all evaluated systems. Sugarcane productivity was significantly higher in systems with greater soil disturbance.