Spatial variability of sunn hemp under residual effect of nitrogen and water salinity

Abstract

This work had as objectives to use the Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) to evaluate the residual effect in the soil of levels of water salinity and nitrogen doses, and the occurrence of spatial dependence within the experimental area. In previous years, the experimental area received six consecutive trials, which tested different levels of nitrogen and water salinity on different crops. The same experimental design was applied to this trial, that is, a randomized block design with split-plots (5 × 3), corresponding to the residual effect of water salinity and nitrogen, and four replications. The variables determined were: the plant height on six dates after the sowing, and the dry mass of the shoot, root and the whole plant. The data were firstly subjected to the variance analysis of the residual effects and to the study of spatial variability through geostatistics. The variance analysis did not show significant residual effects of the levels of salinity and nitrogen doses in the soil on the height and dry mass of Sunn Hemp. It was observed a spatial dependence, from moderate to high, in all dates, for height and dry mass of Sunn Hemp.