Pedro Alexandre Varella Escosteguy

Rhizoctonia root rot (RRR) reduces soybean yields, and is influenced by soil conditions, but there is a lack of knowledge on effects of soil moisture and soil type on disease severity, in subtropical environments. Increased RRR during periods of water deficit in southern Brazil reinforces requirement to understand interactions between soils and moisture affect severity of the disease and crop yields. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate combined effects of soil moisture (50, 65, 80, or 95% water holding capacity; WHC) and soil type (Acrisol, Cambisols, Leptosol, or Nitisol) on soybean RRR severity and yield components. Increasing soil moisture from 50 to 95% WHC linearly reduced RRR severity and linearly increased numbers of soybean pods, grains, and grain weights, inside and outside RRR patches. In Experiment 1, at 65% WHC, RRR severity was less in Leptosol than on Acrisol, but there were no differences between these two soils and the other soil types. In Experiment 2, soil type did not affect RRR severity evaluated at all the tested soil moistures. High soil moisture (≥ 80% WHC) mitigated RRR, and extended the soybean growth cycle. Low soil moisture (50–65% WHC) intensified RRR severity, increased plant death, and reduced soybean grain yields.

Bases are chemical species that donate electrons, accept protons, or release hydroxyls (OH–) in aqueous solution. In Soil Science, “base saturation”, “exchangeable bases” or “basic cations” has been widely used to distinguish Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ from H+ and Al3+ cations. This terminology is confusing since none of these cations are truly a base in chemistry sense. However, in the absence of the proposition of a correct term, the term “base saturation” remains in use nowadays, causing confusion [...] ABSTRACT Bases are chemical species that donate electrons, accept protons, or release hydroxyls (OH–) in aqueous solution. In Soil Science, “base saturation”, “exchangeable bases” or “basic cations” has been widely used to distinguish Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+ from H+ and Al3+ cations. This terminology is confusing since none of these cations are truly a base in chemistry sense. However, in the absence of the proposition of a correct term, the term “base saturation” remains in use nowadays, causing confusion

Maintenance fertilization changes with nutrient requirements and partitioning, but these are not well known for oat cultivars. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether phosphorus (P) requirements and partitioning vary among cultivars of oat (Avena sativa L.). The UPFA ‘Ouro’, UPFPS ‘Farroupilha’, IPR ‘Afrodite’, URS ‘FAPA Slava’, ‘Barbarasul’, ‘FAEM 007’, URS ‘Taura’, and ‘URS 21’ were cultivated in a Latosol with high P content in a greenhouse in 2015. Plants were sampled at physiological maturity and divided into roots, stem, leaves, and grain tissues. Phosphorus content and the dry matter weight of these parts were evaluated and the uptake amount and partitioning of P were estimated. The values of these variables differed across cultivars, except the P content in the grain (‘average’, 4.0g P kg^-1). ‘Afrodite’ and ‘FAPA Slava’ have lower requirements and partitioning of P in the grain, but these did not vary among the other cultivars. Requirements and partitioning of P in stem and leaves increased in the following order: ‘Ouro’ and ‘Farroupilha’<‘Taura’ and ‘FAPA Slava’<‘URS 21’<‘Afrodite’, ‘Barbarasul’ and ‘FAEM 007’. Requirement and partitioning of P in roots, stem, leaves, and grain differs across cultivars, which indicates that this factor, besides how the oat is used (such as for grain, pasture, silage, cover crop), can be used to improve maintenance fertilization.

The effect of humic acids (HA) on phosphorus (P) availability is still contradictory; thus, it is necessary to identify the conditions that play a crucial role in this effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HA application, combined with doses of P, on the content of this nutrient in a Latosol with and without acidity correction. Two experiments were carried out, one with HA from peat and another with HA from mineral charcoal (leonardite). Doses of these acids (0; 1.12 and 5.62 mg C g^-1 of soil) and P (26.2 and 104.7 mg P g^-1 of soil, 1 and 4-fold higher than recommended, respectively) were tested at soil pH 4.5 and 7.0, in a three-factorial design. The soil was incubated for 20 days and the soil-P content was measured by Mehlich-1 and remaining-P tests. The effect of HAs on P availability varied with the P doses and soil acidity. Humic acids application increases P content in Latosol when P dose is higher than recommended and there is no acidity correction (pH 4.5). However, there is no effect of HAs application on soil-P content when applying the recommended amount of this nutrient, irrespective of the pH value.

This study investigated the residual effects of pig slurry (PS) applied to common carpet grass pasture (Axonopus affinis) for two years (September 2008-March 2010) on dry matter yield and forage-nitrogen uptake from October 2010-May 2011. A field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments were 102, 204, 306, 408, and 510 m³ ha^-1 pig slurry applied for two years; one mineral nitrogen rate (1,250 kg ha^-1 ammonium nitrate) for two years; and no nitrogen fertilization (control). The pasture was cut at intervals of 48, 34, 43 and 69 days, which corresponded to 266, 300, 343, and 412 days after the last fertilizer application, respectively. Dry matter yield increased by 398 kg ha^-1 for each 100 m³ of PS applied, the equivalent of 317 and 564 kg ha^-1 for each 100 kg ha^-1 of inorganic and organic N applied, respectively. The residual effect of PS on dry matter yield and forage-nitrogen uptake ranged from 11-45% and 8-40%, respectively, indicating a gradual release and availability of N in PS, which can help reduce the amounts of nitrogen applied to pasture.

This study evaluated the response of carpet grass to pig slurry fertilization in order to estimate the agronomic efficiency and the plant-available nitrogen (N) of such manure. A field test was conducted during two years, following a randomized block design with six replicates of the treatments: 0, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 kg N ha^-1 year^-1, which resulted in 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 and 300 m³ ha^-1 (2008/09), and 0, 42, 84, 126, 168 and 210 m³ ha^-1 (2009/10), according to the N content of the pig slurry used in each year. These treatments were compared with ammonium nitrate (200 kg N ha^-1 year^-1), in order to estimate the plant-available nitrogen of the manure for the pasture. Pig slurry doses increased linearly the dry matter yield. In 2008/2009, it was increased from 2,600 (0 kg N ha^-1) to 7,718 kg ha^-1 (500 kg N ha^-1), while in 2009-2010 it ranged from 4,310 (0 kg N ha^-1) to 12,321 kg ha^-1 (500 kg N ha^-1). The average agronomic efficiency of the manurewas 15 kg DM kg^-1 N and it was lower than that found with ammonium nitrate (27 kg DM kg^-1 N).The estimated plant-available N of the pig slurry was similar between the growing years. The N fraction of this manure available to the pasture was 0.64 (2008-09) and 0.60 (2009-10).

Os taninos condensados são formados por monômeros de procianidinas e prodelfinidinas, cuja proporção e concentração dos seus monômeros varia de acordo com a espécie vegetal e condições ambientais. Em Lotus spp., são essas substâncias que evitam o timpanismo em ruminantes que delas se alimentam. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a concentração de procianidinas e de seus monômeros, catequina e epicatequina, em genótipos de Lotus L. sob distintas saturações de alumínio no solo. O ensaio consistiu de um bifatorial (Genótipo x Saturação de Al), no qual os genótipos São Gabriel, Ganador e UFRGS (L. corniculatus L.), Serrano (L. uliginosus) e El Rincón (L. subbiflorus) foram cultivados em solo com 0% e 20% de saturação de Al. As procianidinas foram avaliadas por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência, previamente validada para catequina e epicatequina. A concentração de procianidinas e a proporção epicatequina:catequina foram afetadas pela interação genótipo x ambiente. Em L. corniculatus e L. subbiflorus a concentração de procianidinas foi significativamente superior em solo com 20% de saturação de Al em relação ao solo com 0% de saturação de Al, mas o oposto foi observado em L. uliginosus. A proporção epicatequina:catequina reduziu nas plantas cultivadas em solo sem Al e apenas o genótipo UFRGS manteve proporção similar em ambas as condições de acidez do solo. A epicatequina foi o monômero preponderante, variando de 57 a 75% de acordo com o solo em que as plantas foram cultivadas.

Poultry manure is used as fertilizer in natura, but little is known about whether it contaminates the soil with pathogenic organisms. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of organic, organomineral and mineral fertilizers on soil contamination by enteric pathogens, using poultry manure as the organic fertilizer. Manure was applied in field experiments at rates of 7.0 ton. ha^-1 (maize crop, 2008/2009), 8.0 ton. ha^-1 (wheat crop, 2009) and 14 ton. ha^-1 (maize crop, 2010/2011). Organomineral fertilizer was applied at the same rates but was comprised of 50% manure and 50% mineral fertilizer. At 30 and 70 days after fertilization, the organic fertilizer and the upper 0-5 cm layer of the soil were tested for the presence of helminth eggs and larvae and enteropathogenic bacteria. Fecal and non-fecal coliforms (Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringes) were found in the organic fertilizer, but neither Salmonella spp. nor enteroparasites were detected. The population of enteropathogenic bacteria in the soil was similar among the treatments for all crops at both evaluation times. The population of thermotolerant coliforms in the organic fertilizer was larger than the maximum level allowed in Brazil, but neither the organic or nor the organomineral fertilizer contaminated the soil.