Index of soil quality in agroecological and conventional farming in potiguar semiarid, Brazil
Journal Title: Revista Verde de Agroecologia e Desenvolvimento Sustentável - Year 2018, Vol 13, Issue 1
Abstract
The inadequate use and management in cropping systems in the semiarid region may decline the soil's ability to sustain the production. The objective of this work was to determine the soil quality index (SQI) in agroecological and conventional irrigated agricultural experimental units (AEU), located in the community of Sombras Grandes, Caraúbas, Rio Grande do Norte. Simple soil samples (0-20cm) were collected from 2009 to 2012. To determine the SQI, it was used 11 quality indicators associated to the soil functions in maintain the productivity capacity over time: bulk density (Bd), total porosity (TP), penetration resistance (PR), water availability in soil (AWS/TP), moisture retention at -33 kPa (MR/TP), pH, phosphorus assimilable (P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (V), soil organic matter (SOM), clay dispersed in water (CDW) and flocculation degree (FD). The SQI in agroecological and conventional irrigated AEU were classified as good (0.80) and bad (0.45), respectively. In conventional AEU there is need for agricultural practices, like injection of organic waste, that improve the FD because it was the indicator that most contributed to reduce the SQI. The SQI reflected the integrated performance of the chemical and physical properties, which can be used in making decisions about the soil use and management.
Authors and Affiliations
Fábio dos Santos Santiago, Suzana Maria Gico Lima Montenegro, Maria Rafaela de Almeida Pinheiro
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP284838
- DOI 10.18378/rvads.v13i1.5333
- Views 110
- Downloads 0
Surface response and organic and phosphate fertilizer for jatropha cultivation
Jatropha curcas is a perennial plant and appreciable concentrations of oil in its seeds. The objective of this work is to evaluate the growth and development of jatropha plants in response to different fertilization reco...
Motivations and limitations on construction of an agroecological transition process in the Cachoeira settlement in the municipality of Itapura, São Paulo, Brazil
Agroecology emerged as a set of scientific and traditional knowledge that aims to make the transition from the conventional agriculture model to sustainable production systems. This new way of thinking about agroecosyste...
Irrigation with saline water and nitrogen in seedlings papaya production "Formosa"
The occurrence of long periods of drought and the annual irregularity of precipitation in the semi-arid region of the Brazilian Northeast make irrigation practice essential to ensure safe agricultural production, however...
Tomato late blight: Severity and losses in different cultivars in organic system
In view of the damage caused by late blight (Phytophthora infestans) on tomato and the difficulties in controlling this disease in organic systems, it was aimed quantify their progress and effects on production on ten t...
Intake and digestibility of diets containing jitirana hay for finishing sheep
Jitirana is found in semiarid region of brazilian northeastern, giving high biomass production and satisfactory nutrient content during the rain season that qualifies as alternative feed for ruminants. Thus, it was evalu...