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Site Specific Management Of An Oxisol Cultivated With Corn For Application Of Lime And Gypsum
1A. Coelho, 2T. F. Cunha
1. Embrapa Maize and Sorghum Research Institute
2. Campo and Environmental Analyses

Due to the necessity to improve soil fertility diagnostic, the researchers have been searched for more efficient technologies on agronomic, economic and environmental aspects. One of these technologies is the use of the concept of site-specific for soil fertility management. This research was conducted in a farm field (100 ha) located in Corinto, Minas Gerais state. The soil is classified as clayey Oxisol, cropped with corn (Zea mays L.) and irrigated with a center-pivot sprinkler irrigation system. Grid cell of 1 ha was used for collecting soil samples from 0 to 20 cm and 20 to 40 cm depths. Data of pH, Al3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, CEC, base saturation (BS), Al3+ saturation in the CEC at soil pH (effective CEC) and organic matter were submitted to geostatistical analysis and interpolated by point-kriging using the modeled semi-variograms. Based on the maps of BS and Al3+ saturation, it was possible to define zones of management for application of lime and gypsum. The threshold used to the definition of the rates of lime was 60 % of BS in the top of 20 cm. The criteria based on values of Ca (<0.5 cmolc dm-3) and Al3+ saturation (>25 %) in the subsoil (20 to 40 cm) were used for gypsum application. With these informations, maps of application of lime and gypsum at variable rate were generated. The rates of lime range from 0 to 3 t ha-1 and for gypsum of 0 and 1 t ha-1. The costs of soil sampling with GPS, soil chemical analyses, field mapping with GIS and application of lime and gypsum, were evaluated. Allocating the cost of site-specific soil acidity management, over a useful lifetime of four years, the cost of the technological package, US$ 18.40 per hectare, become economically feasible.

 

Keyword: soil acidity, spatial variability, variable rate, economic aspects, Zea mays L.