Abstract

SERRI, Dannae Lilia et al. Wheat incorporation in agricultural crop rotation: a tool to enhance the functioning of the agroecosystem. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2018, vol.36, n.1, pp.74-87. ISSN 1850-2067.

Argentina is one of the main worldwide grains producers and exporters. In particular, the Pampas region is the area with the highest agricultural activity, focusing its production on soybean cultivation, followed by maize and wheat in a smaller proportion. In recent years, continuous cropping based systems have had a negative impact on soil properties. Historically, conservation practices such as crop rotation and zero tillage have been proposed as an alternative to monoculture and crop residue removal. In this way, the diversification of the system (including grasses and/or winter crops) is one of the most important and valid tools for enhancing the functioning of agroecosystems. The purpose of this work was to identify the agricultural sequences that contribute to increase the microbial activity of the soil, in relation with soil chemical variables. The study was carried out in a long-term trial under zero system. The treatments consisted of four agricultural crop sequences: soybean-soybean (S-S), soybean-wheat / soybean (S-T/S), maize-soybean (M-S) and maize-wheat /soybean (M-T/S). Biological parameters, such as microbial respiration and enzymatic activities, and chemical parameters such as organic matter content and macronutrients were determined from soil samples. Joint parameter analysis resulted in a differentiation between sequences that included the winter crop (S-T/S and M-T/S) from the sequences based only on summer crops (S-S and M-S). In this way, the microbial functions along with organic matter and soil nutrients, demonstrated the importance of the inclusion of wheat as winter crop in the agricultural rotation.

Keywords : Microbial and chemical parameters; agricultural management; sustainability.

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