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Nutrient recycling and physical indicators of an alley cropping system in a sandy loam soil in the pre-Amazon region of Brazil

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Abstract

The sustainable management of soils has proved a key challenge for the smallholder agriculture in southeastern Amazonia, Brazil. We assessed the capacity of an alley cropping system to sustain corn productivity. The experiment included six treatments: Clitoria + Pigeon Pea; Leucaena + Pigeon Pea; Acacia + Pigeon Pea; Clitoria + Leucaena; Leucaena + Acacia and Control treatment (no legumes). We determined chemical and physical indicators of soil quality. Leucaena had the highest macronutrient concentrations (40.17 g N kg−1), except for P. All legumes had high Ca (13.82–17.84 g kg−1) and very low P (0.51–2.83 g kg−1) and Mg (1.73–2.92 g kg−1) concentrations. Acacia had the lowest N, P, K and Mg concentrations. Pre-planting soil analysis indicated that soil quality indicators were below the critical levels needed for a productive agricultural system, especially for phosphorus, sum of bases and base saturation. Physical indicators of quality, such as bulk density (1.40–1.30 Mg m−3), total porosity (0.46–0.50 m m−3) and soil aeration capacity (0.10–0.17 m m−3), were substantially improved as a result of the surface application of residues. There was a cumulative effect of residue application on corn crop productivity. Because of its capacity to recycle nutrients and improve soil quality over the period of 3 years, alley cropping in association with no-tillage, can be an efficient strategy for maintaining productivity in the low-fertility soils of the humid tropics.

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Acknowledgments

We especially thank the Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Maranhão (FAPEMA) in collaboration with Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), for their financial support, and two anonymous reviewers and the editor for helpful comments on the manuscript. We are grateful to Adenir Vieira Teodoro for statistic assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, BR 222, Km 04, 65500-000, Chapadinha, Maranhão, Brazil

    Alana das Chagas Ferreira Aguiar

  2. Departamento de Produção Vegetal, Fazenda Lageado, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Caixa Postal 237, 18610-307, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil

    Silvio José Bicudo

  3. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agroecologia, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Caixa Postal 3004, 65000-000, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil

    João Reis Salgado Costa Sobrinho, Alba Leonor Silva Martins, Kátia Pereira Coelho & Emanoel Gomes de Moura

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  1. Alana das Chagas Ferreira Aguiar
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  2. Silvio José Bicudo
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  3. João Reis Salgado Costa Sobrinho
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  4. Alba Leonor Silva Martins
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  5. Kátia Pereira Coelho
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  6. Emanoel Gomes de Moura
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Correspondence to Emanoel Gomes de Moura.

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das Chagas Ferreira Aguiar, A., Bicudo, S.J., Costa Sobrinho, J.R.S. et al. Nutrient recycling and physical indicators of an alley cropping system in a sandy loam soil in the pre-Amazon region of Brazil. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 86, 189–198 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-009-9283-6

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