Absorção de nutrientes e alterações químicas em latossolos cultivados com plantas de cobertura em rotação com soja e milho

Abstract

The effects on soil chemical properties brought about by cover crops vary considerably. This study was conducted to evaluate nutrient uptake by five cover crops used for grain, seed and forage production at different seed densities per hectare, as well as uptake by spontaneous vegetation, and their effect on the chemical properties of two Oxisols when grown in rotation with soybean and corn. The experiments were set up in Votuporanga, SP, Brazil and Selvíria, MS, Brazil in March 2008 after conventional soil tillage. A randomized complete block experimental design was used with four replications with the following cover crops at different seed densities: Sorghum bicolor at 6, 7 and 8 kg ha-1; Pennisetum americanum at 10, 15 and 20 kg ha-1; Sorghum sudanense at 12, 15 and 18 kg ha-1; hybrid of Sorghum bicolor with Sorghum sudanense at 8, 9 and 10 kg ha-1; and Urochloa ruziziensis at 8, 12 and 16 kg ha-1. We also used a spontaneous vegetation control. After management of the cover crops, in the first year of study, soybean was sown in no-tillage system and, in the second year, corn was sown, also in a no-tillage system. We evaluated the dry matter yield of different cover crops, nutrient uptake by the cover crops, and the chemical changes in the soil. It was found that in clayey soils with high aluminum content, as in Selvíria, sudan grass at a seed density of 18 kg ha-1, and sorghum at a seed density of 6 kg ha-1, in combination with liming, contributed to reduction of aluminum content and high potential acidity and an increase in base saturation. The different seed densities of each cover crop did not affect the dry matter yield of the cover crop itself, but affected nitrogen uptake of the hybrid Sorghum bicolor with Sorghum sudanense at a seed density of 10 kg ha-1, with lower uptake than at a seed density of 8 kg ha-1. Seed density also affected the organic matter content in the soil with sudan grass, with the seed density of 15 kg ha-1 providing more organic matter content than a seed density of 18 kg ha-1.