Chemical composition of cover plants and its effect on maize yield in no-tillage systems in the Brazilian savanna
A. M. de Carvalho A , M. C. Coelho B , R. A. Dantas B , O. P. Fonseca B , R. Guimarães Júnior A and C. C. Figueiredo B CA Embrapa, Cerrados Agricultural Research Center, 73310970 Planaltina, DF, Brazil.
B University of Brasília, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, 70910-900 Brasília, DF, Brazil.
C Corresponding author. Email: cicerocf@unb.br
Crop and Pasture Science 63(12) 1075-1081 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP12272
Submitted: 25 July 2012 Accepted: 9 December 2012 Published: 8 February 2013
Abstract
The use of cover plants is an important agricultural practice in no-tillage systems. Soil cover and nutrient recycling depend on the dynamics of plant residue decomposition. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the chemical composition and decomposition rates of cover plants on maize yield in no-tillage systems in the savannah, central Brazil. Levels of hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin, along with decomposition rates of the following plant species were determined at flowering and maturation: Urochloa ruziziensis, Cajanus cajan, Canavalia brasiliensis, Crotalaria juncea, Mucuna aterrima, Pennisetum glaucum, Raphanus sativus, Sorghum bicolor, and Triticum aestivum. Spontaneous vegetation growth in the fallow was used as a control. The highest dry matter yields were obtained from Sorghum bicolor, followed by P. glaucum, when harvested at maturation. Canavalia brasiliensis and U. ruziziensis, the species with lowest lignin levels, presented faster decomposition and lower half-life values compared with the residues of C. cajan and S. bicolor. Cover plants with the lowest lignin concentrations, and thus the fastest residue decomposition rates, such as C. brasiliensis, U. ruziziensis, and P. glaucum, resulted in higher maize yields. Urochloa ruziziensis and C. brasiliensis contributed to nutrient recycling due to their faster decomposition, while C. cajan aids in the formation of soil cover due to slower decomposition of its residues.
Additional keywords: decomposition, lignin, nutrient cycling, organic matter.
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