Physical changes in Oxisols cultivated with cover crops in rotation with soybean and

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different covers, grown in rotation with soybean and corn on the physical attributes of two Oxisols. The experiments were installed in Votuporanga, SP, Brazil and Selvíria, MS, Brazil in March 2008, after conventional tillage. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications, using the following cover crops at different amounts of seeds: Sorghum bicolor, Pennisetum americanum, S. sudanense, hybrid of S. bicolor with S. sudanense, Urochloa ruziziensis and a control with spontaneous vegetation. We evaluated the dry matter yield of different covers, and macroporosity, microporosity, total porosity and bulk density, in the layers of 0-0.05, 0.05-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m. It concludes that, different covers plants and seed amounts used for grains, seeds and forage after two years did not cause effects on some soil physical properties of the two Oxisols.