Spatial dependence of attributes of rainfed maize under distinct soil cover conditions

Abstract

Maize crop under rainfed conditions is widely grown in the Brazilian Northeast on community farms for human and animal consumption. The application of mulch could be adopted to enhance rainwater harvesting and soil moisture levels, although such practice is rarely applied in rainfed cultivation. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of maize productivity, based on soil physical attributes and plant growth and yield, under a rainfed regime in the presence and absence of mulch in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The study was conducted from May to September 2016 in Pesqueira - PE (locality of the Semiarid of Pernambuco State, Northeast, Brazil), during which the development and production of maize in experimental plots were evaluated, and maize was grown using the traditional cropping system with and without mulching. Two grids with 40 points in a 4 × 10 m mesh were established, with spacing of 1 m for soil sampling and maize biometric evaluation. For statistical analysis, 30 samples were randomly selected from each plot. Maize cultivated in the presence of mulch showed higher development, with symmetrical distribution for all variables except for soil moisture and stem diameter. Sand content, soil moisture, height of the first cob, number of leaves, leaf length, plant height, and cob weight presented moderate to strong spatial scale dependence for the two cropping conditions, with higher spatial dependence consistently observed for the development parameters in the covered area.

Spatio Temporal Soil Moisture Dynamics and Runoff under Different Soil Cover Conditions in a Semiarid Representative Basin in Brazil

“…Silva Júnior et al (2016) also monitored the same experimental basin, and observed that areas with Caatinga cover presented higher soil moisture than bare soil or pasture regions. Moreover, de Borges et al 2014and Carvalho et al (2019) verified that mulching significantly increased soil moisture, highlighting the potential of such technique in increasing soil water availability in the semiarid.…”

Soil and crop spatial variability in maize irrigated with domestic effluent

“…Crop heigh (CH), crop stalk diameter (CSD) and number of leaves (NL) showed lower coefficients of variation in the SS treatment, but all were classified as of intermediate variability. [11] found low variability for plant height and number of leaves under bare soil conditions compared to natural mulch cover treatment, under rainfed conditions in the same growing period, in the Pernambuco State semi-arid region. K contents were classified as of high variability in the SS treatment and the Na content was classified as of high variability in the WS treatment.…”

“…Thus, proper management in agricultural production requires knowledge about the uniformity of crop yield and soil attributes, and their spatial variability, thus enabling the adoption of specific management zones [9]. Geostatistical analysis has been an adequate technique for the analysis of spatial dependencies [10], allowing the identification of variables that show spatial correlation under different management conditions [11].…”

Reuso hidroagrícola: uma solução para convivência com a escassez hídrica no Sertão e Agreste pernambucano

“…Todos os parâmetros da cultura foram classificados com médio CV. Carvalho et al (2019) encontraram menores valores de CV para altura da planta e número de folhas de milho da variedade São José nas condições de solo descoberto em relação à parcela com solo com cobertura natural, em condições de cultivo de sequeiro, no mesmo período do cultivo no Agreste pernambucano. Adicionalmente, encontraram valor superior para AP (175 cm), e semelhante para DC (18,1 mm) e NF (11,8 unidades), em relação à área com CL.…”

“…O mapa de isolinhas apresenta maior variabilidade da produção em PC, porém uma melhor homogeneidade da umidade na área com cobertura morta. Carvalho et al (2019) ressaltam a importância do uso da cobertura morta para permanência da umidade do solo em condições climáticas de alta demanda atmosférica e para homogeneizar a sua distribuição espacial.…”