Successive sewage sludge fertilization: Recycling for sustainable agriculture.

Sewage sludge (SS) is widely used in agriculture in several countries around the world. However, the impact of successive applications of SS on soil and the risks of nutrient leaching are often neglected. In this study, corn was grown on a constructed wetland for four crop cycles (two years), in which the wetland was subjected to successive SS applications. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the successive applications of SS affect the availability and leaching of nutrients in the soil profile, after two years of cultivation. Experiments were performed using a randomized block design with repeated measurements in time, that is, soil was sampled in each harvest. Six treatments were tested: four fertilizations based on sewage sludge, resulting from biological and anaerobic treatment, calculated to provide 25 (SS25), 50 (SS50), 75 (SS75), and 100% (SS100), of the N required for corn production (140 kg ha-1); a mineral fertilization (NPK) (140 kg ha-1 N, 70 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 40 kg ha-1 of K2O) and a control (without fertilization). The results showed that four consecutive applications of SS100 for two years caused significant accumulation of nutrients and organic matter in the superficial layers of the soil. The electrical conductivity and the concentration of NO3- in the soil solution were higher than those permitted by Brazilian legislation. The adoption of domestic SS in Brazilian agriculture can be a viable alternative in the search for an environment-friendly and economically feasible method for SS disposal.

Relação da compactação do solo com a cultura do amendoim / Relationship of soil compaction with peanut crop

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o intervalo hídrico ótimo e sua relação com odesenvolvimento e a produtividade de duas cultivares de amendoim (IAC Tatu ST e IAC 886) em função da compactação, em um Latossolo Vermelho de textura média. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por cinco níveis de compactação, realizados com o tráfego de tratores, com o solo no conteúdo de água retida na capacidade de campo (0,01 MPa). O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Foram coletadas amostras indeformadasnas camadas de 0,02?0,05, 0,08?0,11 e 0,15?0,18 m, para determinação da resistência do solo à penetração (RP), porosidade, retenção de água, densidade do solo (Ds) e do intervalo hídrico ótimo (IHO). O desenvolvimento do amendoim foi avaliado através da altura das plantas, números de ramos, massa seca da parte aérea e produtividade em casca (PC). A PC decresceu linearmente com o aumento da compactação do solo, nas duas cultivares. O IHO diminuiu com o aumentoda compactação, pela RP, até atingir a Dsc de 1,40 Mg m-3, valor próximo a Ds de 1,32 Mg m-3 a partir da qual a PC das duas cultivares decresceu no campo.(AU)

The aim of this work was to determine the least limiting water range and its relation with peanut yield and development in two cultivars (IAC Tatu ST and IAC 886) according to the compaction levels of a medium texture Haplustox soil. The treatments were composed by five compaction levels made with tractor traffic, on a soil at the capacity (0.01 MPa). The completely randomized design with four replications was used. Undisturbed soil samples were collected in the layers of 0.02-0.05, 0.08-0.11 and 0.15-0.18 m for determination of soil resistance to penetration (RP), porosity, water retention, bulk density and least limiting water range. The peanut development was evaluated by plant height, number of branches, plant dry matter and yield. The peanut yield decreased linearly with higher soil compaction, in both cultivars. The least limiting water range decreased with higher compaction by resistance to penetration, till reach the critical bulk density (Ds) of 1.40 Mg m-3. This value is close to 1.32 Mg m-3 from which the peanut yield in both cultivars decreased. (AU)