Compressibility and water availability in Albaqualf soils under different deployment times in no-tillage

Abstract

The southern Brazilian lowlands have been historically used for flooded rice cultivation. Over time, heavy machinery and intensive tillage practices have resulted in soil structure disruption, soil compaction, higher production costs and lower agricultural profitability. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different deployment times of no-tillage (NT). Soil properties including bulk density (BD), compression index (CI), preconsolidation pressure (sp), bulk density at preconsolidation pressure (BDsp), degree of compactness (DC), soil water retention curve (SWRC), plant available water (PAW) and total organic carbon (TOC) content were evaluated using a 30-yr non-cultivated field (NC), adjacent to the experimental plots as a control. The BD, sp, BDsp and DC decreased in response to NT adoption time while the soil water holding capacity increased, allowing for higher PAW. Results from this study demonstrated the positive effects of NT on the overall quality of soils.

No-tillage for flooded rice in Brazilian subtropical paddy fields: history, challenges, advances and perspectives

“…These studies were probably carried out in short-term NT and the areas under CT were previously native fields, fallow areas for a long period (around seven years), or recently converted to flooded rice cultivation, without considerable previous historic of mechanization, which is the main responsible for soil physical degradation. The positive effects of NT on physical properties have been reported in long-term experiments, requiring at least five years for the detection of improvements (Reis et al, 2016(Reis et al, , 2018 and up to 14 years to convert these benefits into yield increase in comparison to the CT for flooded rice cultivation (Denardin et al, 2019).…”

“…These biopores contribute more to aeration and drainage than the pores formed by soil disturbance, which have limited connectivity among each other (Zhang et al, 2019). However, some studies which indicate beneficial effects promoted by NT in properties such as soil bulk density, mechanical resistance to penetration and porosity did not report the impacts of this system on crop yields, generating uncertainties regarding the economic feasibility of NT in lowlands (Bamberg et al, 2009;Reis et al, 2018;Tuchtenhagen et al, 2018;Ribeiro et al, 2021).…”

Avicultura de postura em Pernambuco: Uma análise pela cadeia de valor

“…Para a determinação das Curvas de retenção de água no solo (CRA), os pontos nas condições de saturação, 10 e 60 cm H2O foram quantificados em mesa de tensão, enquanto os pontos mais secos foram obtidos em amostras com estrutura não preservada (porção de terra fina seca ao ar) utilizando o equipamento Dewpoint Potential Meter (WP4c) (Klute, 1986;Reis 2018).…”

“…O umedecimento das amostras com estrutura não preservada para a leitura do Potencial matricial (Ψm) utilizando o WP4c foi determinado previamente pela obtenção dos conteúdos de água através da relação volume de água destilada (0,00; 0,01; 0,02; 0,03; 0,04; 0,05; 0,06; 0,07 e 0,08 mL) x 5 g de solo, obtendo-se os conteúdos 0,00; 0,05; 0,10; 0,15; 0,20; 0,25; 0,30 e 0,35 mL de água destilada adicionados a cada 5 g de solo. Como cada amostra de solo foi inserida em um recipiente metálico de amostragem (40 mm de diâmetro e 11,5 mm de altura), a massa de solo (5 g) foi definida de tal forma que o nível de solo fosse mantido abaixo da metade deste recipiente, evitando erro de leitura (Reis 2018).…”