Decomposition and release of nutrients from species of tropical green manure

Abstract

Decomposition processes and mineralization are essential to determine the time to deploy and manage species in consortia or rotations. The aim of this article was study the dynamics of biomass decomposition and release of macronutrients of plant residues of Fabacea. The species used were: jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), dwarf mucuna (Mucuna deeringiana) and sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea). The experiment was conducted in the field in a randomized block design, 4 x 5 factorial, four species of green manure and five times (0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days). In the results, sunn hemp and pigeon pea had lower decomposition and release of C, N, K, and Mg. All species, K and P showed similar half-lives (t1/2). For N, sunn hemp presented the lowest coefficient of mineralization (k), 0.0040 g g-1 dia-1, associated with highest t1/2 (173.3 days), already, jack bean showed the highest k (0.0122 g g-1 dia-1) associated with the lowest t1/2 (56.8 days). In edaphoclimatic conditions, use of the jack bean and the dwarf mucuna is recommended for supply of nutrients in shorter periods of time for subsequent crops. However, sunn hemp and pigeon pea are recommended for greater persistence of mulch on the soil.