Soybean yield and nutrition after tropical forage grasses

Author(s)

Costa, Nidia Raquel ^[1] ; Andreotti, Marcelo ^[2] ; Crusciol, Carlos Alexandre Costa ^[1] ; Pariz, Cristiano Magalhaes ^[3] ; Bossolani, Joao William ^[1] ; Pascoaloto, Isabo Melina ^[1] ; da Rocha Lima, Cesar Gustavo ^[4] ; dos Santos Batista Bonini, Carolina ^[5] ; de Castilhos, Andre Michel ^[3] ; Calonego, Juliano Carlos ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] UNESP, Dept Crop Sci, Coll Agr Sci, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[2] UNESP, Coll Engn, Dept Soil Sci, Ilha Solteira, SP - Brazil

^[3] UNESP, Dept Anim Nutr & Breeding, Sch Vet Med & Anim Sci, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[4] UNESP, Coll Engn, Dept Civil Engn, Ilha Solteira, SP - Brazil

^[5] UNESP, Coll Agron & Technol Sci, Dracena, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NUTRIENT CYCLING IN AGROECOSYSTEMS; v. 121, n. 1 JUL 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

In tropical agroecosystems, intercropping crops and including perennial forages can increase crop system diversity and sustainability. However, adequate management of cash crops in crop rotation under no-till requires an understanding of the release of nutrients by surface mulch. This study evaluated the effects of two sowing times and nitrogen (N) management of palisade grass {[}Urochloa brizantha (A. Rich.) Stapf Marandu] and guinea grass {[}Megathyrsus maximus (Jacq.) B.K. Simon \& S.W.L. Jacobs Tanzania] on forage production, nutrient accumulation, and decomposition rates; soybean {[}Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yield; and soil chemical properties over three growing seasons. Palisade and guinea grasses were sown for intercropping with sorghum {[}Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] in the growing season or after sorghum silage harvest (hereafter succession) and subjected to N fertilization management (urea - 0 and 70 kg N ha(-1) cut(-1), totalling 210 kg N ha(-1) per season) during the off-season. Nitrogen fertilization increased nutrient accumulation in surface mulch in all cropping systems. Regardless of cropping system, N rates, or growing season, palisade and guinea grass provided an adequate plant biomass production, soil cover throughout the year, soybean nutrient use efficiency, and soil quality. Soybean was positively influenced by N fertilization of grasses sown in succession to sorghum. Guinea grass had the greatest effect on soybean grain yield, with an improvement of 0.8 Mg ha(-1). Sowing grasses in succession to sorghum positively affected soil pH, Ca, Mg, and base saturation. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/01057-0 - TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN CROP-LIVESTOCK SYSTEM AIMING FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE NO-TILLAGE
• Grantee: Nídia Raquel Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate