Soil loss by water erosion in areas under maize and jack beans intercropped and monocultures

Abstract

Adequate soil management can create favorable conditions to reduce erosion and water runoff, consequently increase water soil recharge. Among management systems intercropping is highly used, especially for medium and small farmers. It is a system where two or more crops with different architectures and vegetative cycles are explored simultaneously at the same location. This research investigated the effects of maize intercropped with jack bean on soil losses due to water erosion, estimate C factor of Universal Soil Losses Equation (USLE) and how it can be affected by soil coverage. The results obtained also contribute to database generation, important to model and estimate soil erosion. Total soil loss by erosion caused by natural rain, at Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, were: 4.20, 1.86, 1.38 and 1.14 Mg ha -1 , respectively, for bare soil, maize, jack bean and the intercropping of both species, during evaluated period. Values of C factor of USLE were: 0.039, 0.054 and 0.077 Mg ha Mg -1 ha -1 for maize, jack bean and intercropping between both crops, respectively. Maize presented lower vegetation cover index, followed by jack beans and consortium of the studied species. Intercropping between species showed greater potential on soil erosion control, since its cultivation resulted in lower soil losses than single crops cultivation, and this aspect is really important for small and medium farmers in the studied region. Index terms:Cover plants, C factor, soil sustainability. RESUMOO manejo adequado do solo pode criar condições favoráveis para reduzir a erosão hídrica e escoamento superficial, e, consequentemente, aumentar a recarga de água no solo. Entre os sistemas de manejo, o consórcio de culturas é um sistema de manejo muita utilizado, principalmente por médios e pequenos agricultores. Trata-se de um sistema onde duas ou mais culturas com diferentes ciclos e arquiteturas vegetativas são exploradas concomitantemente, no mesmo local. Portanto, objetivou-se neste trabalho, avaliar os efeitos do consórcio entre a cultura do milho e o feijão-de-porco nas perdas de solo por erosão hídrica, a determinação do fator C da Equação Universal de Perda de Solo (EUPS) e do índice de cobertura para os sistemas de cultivos estudados. Pode-se concluir que as perdas de solo totais por erosão hídrica sob chuva natural, no município de Lavras, MG, foram de 4,20, 1,86, 1,38 e 1,14 Mg ha -1 , respectivamente, para o solo descoberto, milho, feijão-de-porco e o consórcio entre as duas espécies, durante o período avaliado. Os valores de fator C da EUPS calculados para os diferentes sistemas de cultivos foram 0,039, 0,054 e 0,077 Mg ha Mg -1 ha -1 para o milho, feijão-de-porco e o consórcio entre as duas espécies, respectivamente. O plantio do milho solteiro apresentou menor índice de cobertura vegetal, seguido do cultivo de feijão-de-porco solteiro e do consórcio entre as duas espécies vegetais. O consórcio entre as espécies apresentou maior potencial no controle de processos erosivos, uma vez que seu cultivo resulta em menores p...

Effects of nitrogen fertilization on yield components in a corn-palisadegrass intercropping system

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Water Erosion on an Oxisol under Integrated Crop-Forest Systems in a Transitional Area between the Amazon and Cerrado Biomes

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Soil, water, nutrients and soil organic matter losses by water erosion as a function of soil management in the Posses sub-watershed, Extrema, Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…This fact suggests that fertilization in pre-installed systems, even if well managed, can increase nutrient losses. However, as noted by other authors (BEZERRA; CANTALICE, 2006;LIMA et al, 2014), it is expected that more developed are the crops, the more protected will be the soils, and the lesser will be the losses by water erosion.…”

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