ABSTRACT Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is a species with promising potential for commercial production; therefore, studies involving practices of conducting culture in the initial stage are essential. The present study aimed to evaluate different shading levels and substrate compositions in the seedling production of tamarind. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 4×4 factorial scheme, four levels of shading (0%, 18%, 30%, and 50%) and four substrates (pine bark-based substrate pure and mixed with 50% vermiculite, and sphagnum peat-based substrate pure and mixed with 50% vermiculite), with four replicates of four seedlings. Growth and biometric relationships were evaluated at 40 and 98 d after transplantation (DAT). The results reported that seedlings formed on the sphagnum peat-based substrate on pure or associated with vermiculite at 98 DAT had a height greater than 35 cm and a total 8.5 g DM. In contrast, seedlings produced in pine bark-based substrate did not reach 20 cm in height and had less than 3 g total DM. The condition of 30% and 50% shading promoted greater growth in height, reaching an average height greater than 40 cm, while in the full sun environment, seedlings showed an average of less than 35 cm; however, for the other variables, full sun environment did not differ from 30% shading, producing good quality seedlings. Thus, the cultivation of seedlings in an environment with 0% or 30% shading, associated with the sphagnum peat-based substrate pure or mixed with 50% vermiculite promoted the production of tamarind seedlings with vigorous growth. In the best environments, the best substrates increased, on average, 41.3% number of leaves, 80.5% shoot dry mass, 56.8% root dry mass, and 71.0% total dry mass. In the best substrates, the best environments increased, on average, 18.0% number of leaves, 20.7% shoot dry mass, 8.7% root dry mass, and 14.3% total dry mass.

ABSTRACT Conventional tillage and intensive machinery traffic are the major causes of physical soil degradation in sugarcane fields. This study evaluates the impact of adopting conservation management practices during sugarcane planting on soil physical properties and stalk yield of sugarcane in the municipality of Ibitinga, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The experimental design (split-block) included four cover crops and three soil tillage systems, with three repetitions. For comparison purposes, a control treatment was also included (without cover crop and under conventional tillage). Sampling for soil physical analysis was performed in three layers that coincide with soil horizons A (0.00-0.20 m), AB (0.20-0.30 m), and Bt (0.30-0.70 m), during cane-plant and first sugarcane ratoon cycles. The results showed that cultivation of sunn hemp associated with deep subsoiling induced high stalk yield of sugarcane in both production cycles, cane plant (116 Mg ha -1 ) and first ratoon (114 Mg ha -1 ), with a net gain of 11 and 9 Mg ha -1 compared with the control treatment, respectively. However, these results were not sufficient to induce significant differences in sugarcane yield. Nonetheless, the use of sunn hemp and millet, associated with subsoiling (at 0.40 or 0.70 m depth) during sugarcane planting, are promising management strategies to sustain better soil’s physical quality when compared to traditional management, conventional soil tillage without cover crops and/or cash crop, as peanuts, that increase the risks of soil compaction and physical degradation.

ABSTRACT: Mechanical sugarcane harvesting increases soil compaction due to the intense traffic of agricultural machinery, reducing longevity of sugarcane crops. In order to mitigate the harmful effects caused by agricultural traffic on the soil structure in sugarcane fields, this study evaluated impacts of mechanical sugarcane harvesting on traffic lane under two soil tillage systems based on load bearing capacity models. The experiment was carried out in the region of Piracicaba, state of São Paulo, Brazil, on a Rhodic Nitisol, under conventional tillage (CT) and deep strip-tillage (DST). For CT soil tillage was applied to the entire area with a heavy disk harrow, at operating depths from 0.20 to 0.30 m followed by a leveling harrow at a depth of 0.15 m. For DST, soil tillage was performed in part of the area at a depth of 0.80 m, forming strip beds for sugarcane planting, while the traffic lanes were not disturbed. Undisturbed soil samples from traffic lanes were used in the uniaxial compression test to quantify preconsolidation pressure and to model the soil load bearing capacity. The surface layer (0.00-0.10 m) was most susceptible to compaction, regardless of the tillage system (CT or DST) used. In the DST, the traffic lane maintained the previous soil stress history and presented higher load bearing capacity (LBC) than the traffic lane in the CT. As in CT the soil was tilled, the stress history was discontinued. This larger LBC in DTS minimized the impacts of the sugarcane harvest. Under CT, additional soil compaction due to mechanical sugarcane harvesting in the traffic lane was observed after the second sugarcane harvest. There was a reduction in load bearing capacity from 165 kPa to 68 kPa under CT and from 230 kPa to 108 kPa under DST, from the first to the second harvest at surface layer. Water content at mechanical harvesting was the most relevant factor to maximize impacts on the soil structure in traffic lanes, for both tillage systems.

RESUMO Entre as matérias-primas renováveis destinadas à produção de etanol, distinção vem sendo dada ao sorgo sacarino, destacando-se o fato de ser uma cultura totalmente mecanizável. Entretanto, o uso intensivo de máquinas agrícolas provoca degradação estrutural do solo, principalmente quando realizada em condições inadequadas de umidade. Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade física de um Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico sob compactação e componentes do rendimento de sorgo sacarino para épocas de semeadura em safrinha no Cerrado brasileiro. O experimento foi instalado no delineamento de blocos ao acaso, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas, com quatro repetições. Nas parcelas, foram avaliados cinco níveis de compactação obtidos pelo tráfego de um trator agrícola nas seguintes intensidades de tráfego: 0 (ausência de compactação adicional), 1, 2, 7 e 15 passadas no mesmo lugar. As subparcelas foram constituídas por três épocas de semeadura do sorgo sacarino na safrinha de 2013 (20/01, 17/02 e 16/03). Foi avaliada a qualidade física do solo, por meio do intervalo hídrico ótimo (IHO), a limitação hídrica, além das variáveis produtivas e tecnológicas da cultura. O monitoramento do conteúdo de água no solo indicou redução da frequência de conteúdos de água no solo dentro dos limites do IHO (Fdentro) com o aumento da intensidade de tráfego agrícola (T0 = T1 = T2>T7>T15), tendo a produtividade associação direta com a disponibilidade hídrica do solo. Por sua vez, a semeadura feita em janeiro apresentou maior qualidade industrial, porém com redução da produtividade de colmos a partir da densidade do solo de 1,26 Mg m-3, com produtividade máxima de 50 Mg ha-1 nessa época de cultivo. O cultivo do sorgo sacarino na safrinha é uma alternativa promissora; no entanto, necessita de cautela quanto ao cultivo em condições de riscos climáticos acentuados por causa da baixa produtividade de colmos.

ABSTRACT Increasing attention has recently been given to sweet sorghum as a renewable raw material for ethanol production, mainly because its cultivation can be fully mechanized. However, the intensive use of agricultural machinery causes soil structural degradation, especially when performed under inadequate conditions of soil moisture. The aims of this study were to evaluate the physical quality of aLatossolo Vermelho Distroférrico (Oxisol) under compaction and its components on sweet sorghum yield forsecond cropsowing in the Brazilian Cerrado (Brazilian tropical savanna). The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, in a split plot arrangement, with four replications. Five levels of soil compaction were tested from the passing of a tractor at the following traffic intensities: 0 (absence of additional compaction), 1, 2, 7, and 15 passes over the same spot. The subplots consisted of three different sowing times of sweet sorghum during the off-season of 2013 (20/01, 17/02, and 16/03). Soil physical quality was measured through the least limiting water range (LLWR) and soil water limitation; crop yield and technological parameters were also measured. Monitoring of soil water contents indicated a reduction in the frequency of water content in the soil within the limits of the LLWR (Fwithin) as agricultural traffic increased (T0 = T1 = T2>T7>T15), and crop yield is directly associated with soil water content. The crop sown in January had higher industrial quality; however, there was stalk yield reduction when bulk density was greater than 1.26 Mg m-3, with a maximum yield of 50 Mg ha-1 in this sowing time. Cultivation of sweet sorghum as a second crop is a promising alternative, but care should be taken in cultivation under conditions of pronounced climatic risks, due to low stalk yield.

Sistemas de produção agrícola que contemplam produção de palhada para o plantio direto e que atuam na melhoria estrutural do solo podem ser considerados medidas-chave para a atividade agrícola na região do Cerrado, sem a contrapartida da degradação ambiental. Nesse sentido, este trabalho objetivou avaliar os atributos químicos e físico-hídricos de um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico do município de Rio Verde, Goiás, sob diferentes sistemas de manejo do solo na entressafra da cultura da soja, após cinco anos da sua implantação. Foram avaliados: Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu como planta de cobertura na entressafra; Safrinha de milho consorciada com Brachiaria ruziziensis; Safrinha de grãos solteira em sistema plantio direto; Solo sob pousio, após a colheita da soja; e Mata (Vegetação Natural), situada ao lado. Foram feitas amostragens de solo até 40 cm de profundidade, utilizadas na avaliação dos atributos químicos e no diagnóstico estrutural dele. Os resultados demonstraram que conversão de áreas de vegetação nativa em campos de agricultura alterou os atributos químicos e físico-hídricos do solo em todas as profundidades avaliadas, principalmente até 10 cm, em razão da ação do sistema radicular sob a estrutura do solo. O cultivo de B. brizantha como planta de cobertura no período de entressafra das culturas de verão aumentou a disponibilidade hídrica do solo, assumindo relevância para a atividade agrícola na região em estudo.

Agricultural production systems that include the production of mulch for no-tillage farming and structural improvement of the soil can be considered key measures for agricultural activity in the Cerrado region without causing environmental degradation. In this respect, our work aimed to evaluate the chemical and physical-hydric properties of a dystrophic Red Latosol (Oxisol) in the municipality of Rio Verde, Goias, Brazil, under different soil management systems in the between-crop season of soybean cultivation five years after first planting. The following conditions were evaluated: Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu as a cover crop during the between-crop season; Second crop of maize intercropped with Brachiaria ruziziensis; Second crop of grain alone in a no-tillage system; Fallow soil after the soybean harvest; and Forest (natural vegetation) located in an adjacent area. Soil samples up to a depth of 40 cm were taken and used in the assessment of chemical properties and soil structure diagnostics. The results demonstrated that the conversion of native vegetation areas into agricultural fields altered the chemical and physical-hydric properties of the soil at all the depths evaluated, especially up to 10 cm, due to the activity of root systems in the soil structure. Cultivation of B. brizantha as a cover crop during the summer between-crop season increased soil water availability, which is important for agricultural activities in the region under study.