Abstract

BARBOZA DE SOUZA, Elder et al. Compaction indexes in the comparison of soil use systems with different granulometric compositions. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2019, vol.37, n.1, pp.173-179. ISSN 1850-2067.

The growth of fruit cultivation in the semiarid region can lead to changes in the soil physical quality. In this way, it is fundamental to study the physical attributes in different land uses. However, the use of attributes such as soil bulk density (Bd), total porosity (TP), macro (Ma) and microporosity (Mi) may not be efficient to compare agricultural management systems, since they vary according to the soil granulometry. Therefore, it was aimed to evaluate changes in soil physical attributes with irrigated mango and guava cultivation in relation to soil under caatinga (native vegetation), using soil compaction indexes. Disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected at two layers (0.00-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m), and ten georeferenced points were established in each management system in the semiarid region, Brazil. Bd and PT were calculated and Ma, Mi, relative bulk density (RBD) and soil compaction risk (SCR) based on Bd and soil texture were calculated. The means were compared in pairs of soil management system using t-test. The soil physical quality showed the following order Mangueira> Caatinga> Goiabeira at the layer of 0-0.10 m depth, whereas at the layer of 0.10-0.20 m depth the cultivated areas negatively affected the soil physical quality. The use of RBD and SCR indexes in the comparison of soil use systems with different soil texture proved to be efficient in the evaluation of changes in soil physical quality.

Keywords : Bulk density; macroporosity; Fruit growing.