Pesquisa Agropecuária Tropical (Dec 2015)

Influence of soil bulk density on shoot and root traits of crotalaria

  • Leandro Pereira Pacheco,
  • Andressa Selestina Dalla Côrt São Miguel,
  • Edna Maria Bonfim-Silva,
  • Edicarlos Damacena de Souza,
  • Francine Damian da Silva

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-40632015v4538107
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 45, no. 4
pp. 464 – 472

Abstract

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The selection of cover crop species with high potential for root growth in dense layers of soil can help in the management of agricultural systems through biological soil unpacking. This study aimed at evaluating the performance of crotalaria species (Crotalaria juncea, C. spectabilis and C. ochroleuca) as unpacking agents, in a dystrophic Oxisol under different bulk densities (1.0 Mg m-3, 1.2 Mg m-3, 1.4 Mg m-3, 1.6 Mg m-3 and 1.8 Mg m-3). All species showed reduction in the growth of shoots and roots, when cultivated in soil with bulk density higher than 1.4 Mg m-3. Crotalaria juncea showed the best results for shoot and root biomass production with bulk density up to 1.4 Mg m-3. The root growth of plants is higher in layers above and below the compacted layer.

Keywords