Modification of sandy soil properties by application of mining stripping material

• Grant number: 22/15186-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos de Azevedo
• Grantee: Raissa Razera
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/12915-5 - Modification of Sandy Soil Properties through Application of Mining Overburden, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

Sandy soils are particularly ecologically and agronomically due, in large part, to the scarcity of clay, which results in their poor water and nutrient storage capacity. With the popularization of the use of silicate agrominerals in Brazil, the application of clayey geological materials to increase the clay content in sandy soils may become feasible. Although the 1% increase in the clay content in the 0-20 cm layer of the soil requires 26 tons of clay per hectare, the minimum clay increment from which the pedosystem changes its operating regime is still unknown. In the State of São Paulo, fines from basalt crushing have great potential for agricultural use. Frequently, exploratory basaltic bodies are intruded in Juro-Cretaceous or older sedimentary strata, in the São Paulo Peripheral Depression. These strata have clay varieties of the 2:1 type, which often contain content (K) in their interlayers. The sedimentary materials are removed and accumulated in piles (decape) in order to allow access to the basaltic bodies for mining. The potential of these sedimentary materials, with or without a combination with fines from basalt crushing, has not yet been evaluated in improving the edaphic conditions of sandy soils, in their increase in nutrient retention, water storage and K supply. The objective of this project is to carry out an exploratory investigation of the potential of the material from the Itararé Formation in the chemical, physical, mineralogical and microbiological modification of a Neossolo Quartzarênico. If developed, this technology has a wide impact potential, particularly in the 6.5 million hectares of sandy soils in the Western Plateau of São Paulo, both from socioeconomic research of family farmers to the improvement of conditions for growing sugarcane, which is expanding in this region.