Abstract

Different farming practices and soil management can make changes in the chemical properties of the soil. In this sense, the monitoring of these possible changes is essential for proper soil correction and/or using systems that are more sustainable. The objective of this work was to verify the behavior of the chemical attributes of a Latosol (Oxisol) under a no-tillage system of plantation, by intercropping maize with two species of forage grasses in different methods of sowing. The experiment was conducted in an area of the Laboratory of Agricultural Equipment and Mechanization of Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP, São Paulo State University), in Jaboticabal, Brazil, and the treatments were maize intercropped with two species of grass, of the Urochloa gender, namely Urochloa brizantha cv and Urochloa ruziziensis cv, sown in four modes: maize with Urochloa in row seeding (MFL); maize with Urochloa between rows, sown on the same day of the sowing of maize (MFE); maize with Urochloa sown in rows, covered by fertilizer at the V4 stage (MFC); maize with Urochloa, sown by casting, along with fertilizer cover at the V4 stage of maize (MFLA) and maize alone, without any intercropping (control). Composite samples were taken for chemical analysis (P, MO, Ca, Mg, K, H + Al, SB, T, and V) in layers from depths 0.00 to 0.10 m; 0.10 to 0.20 m; and 0.20 to 0.30 m. The experimental design was that of randomized blocks, with nine treatments, in a factorial design (2×4) +1, with four replications. Major changes were observed in the soil chemical attributes in layer 0.10-0.20 m, within modes MFE and MFLA. In the no-till system, Urochloa brizantha cv has greater cycling of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ in the layer from 0.10 to 0.20 m.

Key words: Fertilization, soil fertility, sowing mode, crop rotation, nutrient cycling.