Green Fertilization With Residues of Leguminous Trees for Cultivating Maize in Degraded Soil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the addition of parts of leguminous trees on the growth and nutrition of maize (Zea mays L.), as well as on the chemical attributes of a degraded soil, 65 days after applying the residues. The experiment was conducted in pots, in a randomized block design with ten treatments and four replicates. The evaluated treatments were: T1 - No residues of leguminous trees, T2 - Leaves of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, T3 - Branches of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, T4 - Leaves + branches of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, T5 - Leaves of Mimosa hostilis, T6 - Branches of Mimosa hostilis, T7 - Leaves + branches of Mimosa hostilis, T8 - Leaves of Gliricidia sepium, T9 - Branches of Gliricidia sepium and T10 - Leaves + branches of Gliricidia sepium. Pots were filled with soil from a degraded area and residues were added in the form of green mass after sowing the maize. Residues of leguminous trees positively influenced maize growth at 65 days after application and favored the accumulation of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the shoots. Green fertilizers improved soil chemical attributes at 65 days after application, especially nitrate-N (NO3 --N), ammonium-N (NH4 +-N), total inorganic N (NO3 --N + NH4 +-N) and K, demonstrating that these species are good options for recovering degraded areas in the semi-arid region of Ceará.

Tree legumes with fertilizer potential: a multivariate approach

“…The techniques used showed coherent results, as a whole, making it possible to identify which residues of the studied legume species have the greatest potential for use as fertilizer, unlike the result observed by Oliveira et al (2018), who adopted univariate techniques for analyzing data of a similar study and did not find responses that allowed them to indicate the best species or part of the plant for this purpose.…”

“…The residues of Jurema leaves led to higher values of Ca, IN and TOC in soil, leaf contents of K and Ca, and total dry mass (Figure 2). In this case, Jurema leaves, besides having a relatively low C/N ratio (Table 2), also have a larger contact surface (tiny leaflets), which facilitates their decomposition and, consequently, the availability of nutrients (OLIVEIRA et al, 2018). It is also observed that the residues of Jurema leaves influenced higher values of potential acidity and lower values of pH.…”

“…The species of the Fabaceae family (legumes) are the most used as green manure because they form symbiotic associations with atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacteria and have a low C/N ratio, favoring the decomposition and release of nutrients in a relatively short time (CHAER et al, 2011;CORREA et al, 2014;OLIVEIRA et al, 2018). The classic pattern for the decomposition of green manure in the soil has higher rates in the first month, which is attributed to the physical process of removal of the watersoluble fraction by rain or irrigation and to the biological decomposition process, even when the residues remain on the soil surface (AITA; GIACOMINI; CERETTA, 2014).…”

“…Although green manuring is an ancient management practice, there are still few studies showing the fertilizer potential of tree legume species in the northeastern semiarid region that can support the indication of those that most favor the improvement of soil chemical attributes and the development and nutrition of agricultural crops (OLIVEIRA et al, 2018;PRIMO et al, 2018), especially with multivariate data analysis. Multivariate analysis is a set of statistical procedures that allow simultaneously evaluating several variables of a sample or population.…”