Plant extract from sugarcane and attenuation of toxic aluminum in root development of sugarcane

• Grant number: 12/24174-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Jose Carlos Casagrande
• Grantee: Jacqueline Aparecida Malvestiti
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

About 70% of the area cultivated with sugarcane in Brazil are on acid soils, characterized by having severe limitations in terms of fertility, low CEC and base saturation (V%) and high aluminum saturation (m%) thus restricting the expansion of the root system, whose development in depth is the key to increased productivity. The mechanized harvesting system without the use of fire occupies large areas, under the most varied conditions of soil, climate and management techniques. In this harvesting system, is deposited on the soil 10-20 t/ha/year of straw sugarcane. Organic acids from decomposition are able to interact with elements in the soil solution, reducing levels of toxic aluminum promoting greater movement of cations in the soil profile. This research project aims to investigate the main edaphic factors affecting the expansion of the root system of sugarcane, especially the influence of the addition of plant extract in the complexation of phytotoxic aluminum and chemical speciation of the element in the soil solution. The experiment will be carried out in conditions of a green house and laboratory, with the following specific objectives: (a) analyze the organic acids present in the straw of sugarcane, (b) test doses of vegetable sugarcane extract for complexation of toxic aluminum, (c) estimate the root depth development of varieties of different cycles under high Al saturation, (d) evaluate the effect of plant extract on the complexation of Al (e) measure effects of aluminum saturation (m%) in biomass accumulation in shoots of sugarcane varieties, and (f) determine the levels of Al in the shoot and root systems of sugarcane varieties.