Hydrophysical quality of an oxisol and sugarcane yield in chisel plow-based sugarcane ratoon management

Abstract

Mechanical harvesting has increasingly been used in sugarcane production units, and it has often resulted in reduced structural quality of the soil due to soil compaction caused by machine traffic. Thus, sugarcane ratoon crops have often been chiseled to overcome such a problem. The aim of the current study is to assess some physical properties of a Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico (Rhodic Hapludox) that was chiseled after the third harvest in a sugarcane ratoon crop. The study was conducted in a commercial crop area throughout the 2011/2012 crop year. A randomized block experimental design was used, with five replications. The treatments consisted of five chiseling operations in sugarcane ratoon crops, namely: T1 - single-shank ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.15 m; T2 - single-shank ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m; T3 - two-bar ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.15 m, T4 - two-bar ripper with chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m; and T5 - control group, with no chiseling. Overall, soil chiseling is effective for improving the physical quality of the soil to a depth of 0.15 m, regardless of the equipment and the depth. Two-bar-ripper-based soil chiseling to a depth of 0.30 m provides increased sugarcane yield.