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Agronomy
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Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and...
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Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Innovative Cropping Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 10024

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cledimar Rogerio Lourenzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, SC, Brazil
Interests: soil organic matter; cover crops; soil management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Arcângelo Loss

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Rural Engineering, Center of Agrarian Sciences, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88034-000 Florianopolis, Brazil
Interests: soil organic matter; animal manure; cover crops; soil aggregation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Paulo Ademar Avelar Ferreira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Coordenadoria Acadêmica, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Cachoeira do Sul, Santa Maria 96503-205, Brasil
Interests: soil microbiology and biochemistry; soil fertility; plant physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The intensive use of soil for agricultural crops has caused the degradation of this natural resource all over the world, especially when using monocultures associated with high doses of industrialized fertilizers. These practices affect the quality of soil, especially due to the reduction in the levels of organic matter, and, consequently, the water retention capacity of soil, affecting the development of crops. Thus, the use of cover crops and organic fertilization, in a no-tillage system for a long time, means a greater contribution of carbon to soil, which increases soil's water retention capacity and, consequently, its physical, chemical, and biological quality.

In this Special Issue we aim to exchange knowledge on any aspects related to soil water in research carried out using cover crops (such as Poaceae and Fabaceae) and/or organic fertilization (such as swine, cattle, and poultry manure, as well as others).

Dr. Cledimar Rogerio Lourenzi
Dr. Arcângelo Loss
Dr. Paulo Ademar Avelar Ferreira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • animal wastes
  • organic compost
  • cover plants
  • no-tillage system
  • soil water retention
  • soil organic carbon
  • soil aggregates

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 849 KiB  
Article
Phosphorus Fractionations and Availability in Areas under Different Management Systems in the Cerrado
by José Luiz Rodrigues Torres, Danyllo Denner de Almeida Costa, Marcos Gervasio Pereira, Luiz Victorio França Guardieiro, Arcângelo Loss, Cledimar Rogério Lourenzi, Antônio Paz Gonzalez, Mychelle Carvalho and Dinamar Márcia da Silva Vieira
Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 966; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13040966 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1057
Abstract
The input of organic matter in the soil by the no-tillage system (NTS) increases as the system becomes established, raising the levels of organic phosphorus (P) and reducing the P soil adsorption. This study evaluated the availability of organic and inorganic P in [...] Read more.
The input of organic matter in the soil by the no-tillage system (NTS) increases as the system becomes established, raising the levels of organic phosphorus (P) and reducing the P soil adsorption. This study evaluated the availability of organic and inorganic P in areas under different management systems and stages of adoption in the Cerrado. The data were analyzed as a completely randomized design, corresponding to: (1) an NTS after 5 years of its implantation (NTS5); (2) an NTS after 17 years of its implantation (NTS17); (3) a conventional tillage system more than 20 years old (CTS); (4) Native Cerrado (NC). There were five repetitions for all treatments. Depths of 0–5 and 5–10 cm were evaluated for the available P (P-avail), remaining P (P-rem), organic P (oP), and inorganic P (iP) forms extracted with Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) (P-avail), Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) (moderately labile), and Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (moderately resistant). The P from the sequential extractions accumulated at a depth of 0–5 cm, mostly in the organic form in the NTS17 and NC areas, demonstrating the contribution of the NTS to the conversion of the P reserve in the soil. The CTS treatment greatly accumulated P, especially in the inorganic form, indicating the non-conservationist characteristic of this system. The oP and iP contents in the soil were not affected by age of the NTS, which was similar to the NC. Our results show that the continuous input of organic matter deposited on the soil surface in the NTS17 increased the levels of organic and inorganic P, consequently providing greater availability of P in the soil for cultivated crops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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10 pages, 2038 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen Sources in Young Peach Trees in the Presence and Absence of Paspalum notatum Co-Cultivation
by Betania Vahl de Paula, Danilo Eduardo Rozane, Eduardo Maciel Haitzmann dos Santos, Beatriz Baticini Vitto, Jacson Hindersmann, Luis Eduardo Correa Antunes, Gilberto Nava, Arcângelo Loss, George Wellington Bastos de Melo, Fernando Teixeira Nicoloso and Gustavo Brunetto
Agronomy 2022, 12(11), 2669; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12112669 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1330
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) sources are applied to soils cultivated with peach trees. But, soil cover crops, as Paspalum notatum, a Pampa biome native species, commonly present in orchards, can absorb part of N, decreasing the amount used by peach trees. The study aimed [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) sources are applied to soils cultivated with peach trees. But, soil cover crops, as Paspalum notatum, a Pampa biome native species, commonly present in orchards, can absorb part of N, decreasing the amount used by peach trees. The study aimed to evaluate N absorption and physiological parameters of young peach trees cultivated in soil with the presence and absence of Paspalum notatum. The experiment was carried out for 180 days in a greenhouse, where N sources were applied to peach trees in the presence or absence of Paspalum notatum. Urea and organic compost were used. Dry matter, tissue N and physiological parameters were evaluated in peach trees. Dry matter and tissue N were evaluated in Paspalum notatum. Nitrogen in soil was evaluated. The N uptake by the peach trees with urea application, on average, was 32% higher than the N uptake by the peach trees in the control treatment or with organic compost, regardless of the presence or absence of Paspalum notatum. Cultivation with Paspalum notatum decreased N uptake by peach trees and, consequently, peach trees photosynthetic pigment content, and stimulated senescence anticipation in about 30 days. However, the total dry matter of peach trees cultivated with Paspalum notatum in any of the treatments applied was not modified. These results may guide new ways of co-cultivating cover crops and young peach trees. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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12 pages, 654 KiB  
Article
Mechanical and Biological Soil Decompaction for No-Tillage Maize Production
by José Luiz Rodrigues Torres, André Luís Benaventana Leal Júnior, Antônio Carlos Barreto, Fabio Janoni Carvalho, Renato Lara de Assis, Arcângelo Loss, Ernane Miranda Lemes and Dinamar Márcia da Silva Vieira
Agronomy 2022, 12(10), 2310; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102310 - 26 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1304
Abstract
Soil structural quality in areas under a no-tillage system is altered after successive crops, where compaction is a recurrent problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different forms of soil decompaction on maize grain production. A randomized split-plot [...] Read more.
Soil structural quality in areas under a no-tillage system is altered after successive crops, where compaction is a recurrent problem. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different forms of soil decompaction on maize grain production. A randomized split-plot block design with four replications was used, in a 5 × 3 × 2 factorial arrangement, consisting of five forms of mechanical soil decompaction: ripping to a depth of 0.3 m, ripping to a depth of 0.5 m, subsoiling to a depth of 0.3 m, and subsoiling to a depth of 0.5 m, and no-tillage; three crop seasons: 2014/2015, 2015/2016, and 2016/2017; and two cover crops: sunn hemp and pearl millet. The soil resistance to root penetration (RP, 0.0–0.40 m), density (0.0–0.40 m), moisture (0.0–0.40 m), fresh (FB), and dry (DB) above-ground biomass of cover crops, and maize yield were evaluated. The subsoiling to a depth of 0.3 or 0.5 m results in higher production of sunn hemp biomass but has no effect on millet. Mechanical and biological soil decompaction improved maize grain yield throughout the seasons by at least 28% above the average yield in the study area region. The RP of up to 3.3 MPa did not negatively affect cover crop biomass production and maize grain. The association between the mechanical and biological decompaction method using cover crops provided greater resilience to the preparation carried out up to three years after the application of the treatments, resulting in greater corn grain productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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16 pages, 840 KiB  
Article
Changes in Dry Matter and Carbon, Nitrogen, and Sulfur Stocks after Applications of Increasing Doses of Pig Slurry to Soils with Tifton-85 for Six Years in Southern Brazil
by Cristiano Santos, Arcângelo Loss, Marisa de Cássia Piccolo, Eduardo Girotto, Marcos Paulo Ludwig, Julia Decarli, José Luiz Rodrigues Torres, Cledimar Rogério Lourenzi and Gustavo Brunetto
Agronomy 2022, 12(9), 2058; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12092058 - 29 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1488
Abstract
Pig slurry (PS) has been used as soil fertilizer due to its nutrient and organic matter contents, which may improve soil nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur stocks. The objective of this work was to evaluate the best PS dose that favors the increase in [...] Read more.
Pig slurry (PS) has been used as soil fertilizer due to its nutrient and organic matter contents, which may improve soil nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur stocks. The objective of this work was to evaluate the best PS dose that favors the increase in dry matter production and carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) contents and stocks after applications of PS to soils with Tifton-85 for six years. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications, in a hay-producing area under a clayey Typic Hapludox in southern Brazil. The treatments consisted of annual applications of organic and mineral fertilizers at rates based on their N contents, using PS (100, 200, 300, and 400 kg ha−1) and urea (200 kg ha−1), and a control without N application. Samples of the soil in 0–5, 5–10, and 10–30 cm layers were collected in March 2019 and evaluated for soil bulk density and N, C, and S contents and stocks. The Tifton-85 dry matter production was evaluated using samples from three cuts carried out between 2012/2013 and 2017/2018 agricultural years. The applications of increasing doses of PS in Tifton-85 pastures over six years increase linearly the dry matter and soil organic C, N, and S stocks in the 0–30 cm layer. The PS rate equivalent to 100 or 200 kg ha−1 of N is recommended for increasing soil C, N, and S stocks, since it resulted in C, N, and S stocks equal to or higher than the control and mineral (urea) treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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15 pages, 1665 KiB  
Article
Physical Attributes of an Irrigated Oxisol after Brassicas Crops under No-Tillage System
by José Luiz Rodrigues Torres, José Carlos Mazetto Júnior, Bruna de Souza Silveira, Arcângelo Loss, Gilsonley Lopes dos Santos, Renato Lara de Assis, Ernane Miranda Lemes and Dinamar Márcia da Silva Vieira
Agronomy 2022, 12(8), 1825; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12081825 - 31 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1448
Abstract
In no-tillage areas, cover crops are a continuous supply of organic matter and other positive improvements to the soil’s structural quality. We evaluated soil physical attributes in area cultivated with brassica crops on residues of cover crops cultivated under no-tillage. Six cover crops [...] Read more.
In no-tillage areas, cover crops are a continuous supply of organic matter and other positive improvements to the soil’s structural quality. We evaluated soil physical attributes in area cultivated with brassica crops on residues of cover crops cultivated under no-tillage. Six cover crops coverages [1-Brachiaria (B), 2-Sunn hemp (S), 3-Pearl millet (M), 4-S + B; 5-B + M; 6-S + M] and a native area (Cerrado biome), were evaluated for soil resistance to penetration (RP), soil density (SD), soil macroporosity, microporosity, volumetric moisture (VM), weighted mean diameter, geometric mean diameter, and aggregate stability index. RP and VM differed among treatments; no compacted soil layer was observed at up to 0.4 m soil depth; Low RP and SD were observed for Brachiaria and Pearl millet (Poaceae) compared to Sunn hemp (Fabaceae) in deeper soil layers; The principal components and cluster analysis indicated B + M as the most promising coverage for deep soil structuring. The soil physical quality indicators showed that millet in isolated cultivation or intercropped with another cover was the culture that presented the best results for most of the evaluated characteristics. The best indices of soil aggregation were observed where the species of the Poaceae Family were being cultivated in isolation or intercropped with each other. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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19 pages, 2820 KiB  
Article
Soil Water Dynamics and Cotton Production Following Cover Crop Use in a Semi-Arid Ecoregion
by Joseph Alan Burke, Katie Lynn Lewis, Paul Bradley DeLaune, Christopher Joseph Cobos and Jack Wayne Keeling
Agronomy 2022, 12(6), 1306; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12061306 - 29 May 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2698
Abstract
Conservation management practices such as no-tillage and cover crops can decrease soil’s susceptibility to wind erosion, but adoption of these practices has been limited on the Texas High Plains (THP) where producers are concerned with cover crop water usage. The objective of this [...] Read more.
Conservation management practices such as no-tillage and cover crops can decrease soil’s susceptibility to wind erosion, but adoption of these practices has been limited on the Texas High Plains (THP) where producers are concerned with cover crop water usage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of no-tillage and cover crops on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lint yield and soil water content in a deficit irrigated cropping system. Soil water was observed bi-weekly in long-term, continuous cotton systems established in 1998 that included (1) conventional tillage, winter fallow, (2) no-tillage with rye (Secale cereale L.) cover, and (3) no-tillage with mixed species cover located in Lamesa, TX, USA. Results include observations from 2018–2020 (years 21–23 of the study period). The adoption of conservation practices did not significantly reduce cotton lint yield compared to conventionally tilled, winter fallow cotton. Soil water was initially depleted with cover crops but was greater throughout the growing season following cover crop termination. Throughout the soil profile, water depletion and recharge were more dynamic with conservation practices compared to the conventionally tilled control. There were no differences in cotton water use efficiency between treatments. Results from this study indicate cover crop water usage is likely not the cause of cotton lint yield decline in this deficit irrigated semi-arid production system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Water Improvement with Long-Term Use of Cover Crops and Organic Fertilizer)
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