Variability of physical properties of soil and rice grown under cover crops in crop-livestock integrated system

摘要

The production systems of upland rice culture in Mato Grosso are not consolidated yet while the effects of soil physical properties and their correlation with rice yield in crop-livestock integrated systems are not defined as well. Therefore, this study determined the spatial variability of physical properties of soil and rice cultivated in no-tillage system under different cover crops, using principal components analysis and geostatistics. The experiment was conducted in Santa Carmen, northern Mato Grosso. A regular grid with 100 sample points distributed in an area of 26,400 m 2 was installed. Soil and rice samples were collected to determine rice variables and soil physical properties. The average rice yield was 1.70 Mga??ha a??1 , ranging from 0.70 to 3.12 Mga??ha a??1 . The highest yields were observed in consortium with cowpea and brachiaria and were associated with lower incidence of grain spots, despite higher soil density and penetration resistance. The consortium with brachiaria, crotalaria, and sudangrass had lower yields, which was associated with higher incidence of grain spots, despite higher soil macroporosity and total porosity.