Maize Productivity, Mycorrhizal Assessment, Chemical and Microbiological Soil Attributes Influenced by Maize-Forage Grasses Intercropping

Abstract Mycorrhizae are important components of agroecosystems and the diversification of crops stimulates the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the participation of symbiosis in plant growth. This experiment examined mycorrhizal assessment, chemical and microbiological soil attributes in a maize-forage grasses intercropping compared to a maize-monocropping system. A complete randomized block design was used with crop systems installed under no-till management with three replicates, as follow: Maize (Zea mays L.); Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Aruana; Urochloa humidicola (Rendle.) Schweickerdt.; Maize-P. maximum intercropping and Maize-U. humidicola intercropping. In 2015/2016 season, intercropping maize with Panicum maximum Jacq. cv. Aruana or Urochloa humidicola (Rendle.) Schweickerdt. promoted similar effects (Tukey test, p<0.05) to monocropped maize under no-till system on soil chemical and biochemical parameters related to carbon cycling in the soil surface layer, as well as the dynamics of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in tropical soils, managed for a period of more than six years. Similar grain yield was verified among maize crop systems. This result indicates that intercropping maize-tropical forage grasses represents an alternative for monocropped grains, a very common practice that is used in intensive management, being able to guarantee equivalent productivities and to combine grain production with crop-livestock systems. As a result, intercropping promotes the diversification of the property's income source, adding environmental gains, such as more efficient land use by cultivated plants, keeping soil constantly cultivated, storing carbon and contributing to minimize the impact of climate change on agricultural systems and the sustainability of food production.

Qualidade da matéria orgânica e distribuição do fósforo no solo de lavouras orgânicas de café Conilon / Organic matter quality and phosphorus distribution in soils under organic Conilon coffee

O cultivo de café orgânico utiliza fontes não solúveis de fósforo e grande quantidade e variedade de material orgânico em seu manejo. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar as frações que compõem a matéria orgânica e distribuição do fósforo no solo de cafeeiros Coffea canephora da cultivar 'Conilon' cultivados sob diferentes sistemas de manejos de produção orgânica. O solo foi coletado na projeção da copa do cafeeiro, na camada de 0 a 20cm. Determinaram-se as características químicas e granulométricas do solo em procedimentos de rotina e as frações de fósforo e da material orgânica. Na maioria das lavouras, o fósforo orgânico constituiu a maior parte do fósforo lábil, e a fração humina constituiu a maior parte da matéria orgânica. Houve maior presença de fósforo inorgânico nos solos das lavouras com maiores concentrações de fósforo total e lábil. O conteúdo total de Pi + Po nos solos avaliados apresentou valores elevados, variando de 426,9 até 910,4mg dm-3 de solo. A fração humina constituiu a maior parte da matéria orgânica. As frações que compõem a distribuição do fósforo no solo apresentaram discrepâncias entre os sistemas de manejos de produção orgânica.

The organic management in coffee uses insoluble phosphorus sources and a large quantity and variety of organic material. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate organic matter composition and phosphorus distribution on soils from Coffea canephora cv. 'Conilon' crops, under different organic management production systems. Soil under the coffee tree canopy was collected from 0 to 20cm depth. Chemical and soil texture characteristics were determined by routine analysis as well as phosphorus and organic matter constitution. On the average crops organic phosphorus was the main part of the labile phosphorus and carbon humine. There was a higher content of inorganic phosphorus on soils from the crops with the highest concentrations of total and labile phosphorus. The total content of Pi + Po in the evaluated soils showed high and variation from 426.9 to 910.4mg dm-3 of soil. The humin fraction formed the bulk of organic matter. The fractions that make up the phosphorus distribution in the soil showed discrepanncies between the organic management production systems.