Soil attributes and root growth of sugar cane with different row spacings and controlled traffic

Author(s)

Diego Alexander Aguilera Esteban

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola
• Defense date: 2018-02-23

Examining board members

Zigomar Menezes de Souza; Isabella Clerici de Maria; Cassio Antonio Tormena

• Advisor: Zigomar Menezes de Souza

Abstract

Mechanized sugar cane production system, especially green cane harvesting, generates intense traffic over the soil, leads to soil compaction and consequent alteration of its physical attributes, reflecting on the root growth and crop productivity. With the need to minimize compaction effects, a management system with controlled traffic assisted with automatic steering emerges, in which machine wheel loads are confined into permanent traffic lines in order to avoid traffic at most part of the field. This study aimed to evaluate changes in the soil physical and mechanical attributes, and their effects on root system growth and sugar cane productivity, planted with different row spacings and controlled traffic management systems, after the third and fourth mechanical harvest. The research was carried out on an Oxisol at the Santa Fé Sugar Mill [Usina Santa Fé], in the city of Nova Europa, state of São Paulo. The experiment was implemented with a randomized block design, with four replications and three treatments: T1 - sugar cane planted with single row spacing (1.5 m) and harvested without controlled traffic; T2 - sugar cane planted with single row spacing (1.5 m) and harvested with controlled traffic; and T3 - sugar cane planted with double combined row spacing (1.50 x 0.90 m) and harvested with controlled traffic. Soil samples were collected at the plant row, seedbed and inter-row center, at the layers 0.00-0.10, 0.10-0.20, 0.20-0.30, 0.30-0.40, 0.40-0.50, 0.50-0.70 and 0.70-1.00 m. The physical attributes of bulk density, soil penetration resistance, soil porosity, aggregate stability and tensile strength of aggregates, as well as the crop yield, were evaluated in the two years of the study. Soil water retention, total organic carbon, load-bearing capacity and root system were evaluated only after the third harvest. The load-bearing capacity was assessed at the inter-row center and seedbed, at the superficial layer of 0.00-0.10 m and at the maximum penetration resistance layer of 0.20-0.30 m. The management systems with controlled traffic preserved the soil physical quality at the seedbed and plant row (lower bulk density and higher macroporosity), and increased soil compaction at the inter-row center. Preconsolidation pressure in the T2 and T3 conditions was higher at the inter-row center, while in T1, it was higher at the seedbed. Controlled traffic promoted higher root system growth, with 17.9% increase of dry matter in T2 and 18.5% in T3 in relation to the management system without controlled traffic. The adoption of controlled traffic resulted in crop yield increases of 9 and 12% in T2, and 21 and 18% in T3 at the third and fourth harvest, respectively, in relation to management without controlled traffic (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/14751-6 - Soil attributes and root system development of sugarcane in simple and double row spacing with traffic control
• Grantee: Diego Alexander Aguilera Esteban
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master