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- Title
Nutrient use efficiency in alley cropping systems in the Amazonian periphery.
- Authors
Moura, Emanoel Gomes de; Serpa, Sheilla Silva; Santos, José Geraldo Donizetti; Sobrinho, João Reis Salgado Costa; Aguiar, Alana das Chagas Ferreira
- Abstract
In the SE periphery of Brazilian Amazonia, low-input agriculture systems on sandy loam soils have very low nutrient use efficiency. In a low-input alley cropping system, we measured residue decomposition dynamics and the yield and nutrient uptake of a maize crop associated with the following treatments: Clitoria + Pigeon pea; Acacia + Pigeon pea; Leucaena + Clitoria; Leucaena + Acacia, Leucaena + Pigeon pea and no residue input (control). The acacia treatments provided better soil coverage throughout the whole corn cycle. Potassium was released faster than nitrogen from the residues; N concentration in corn leaves in the residue treatments were below critical levels. The Leucaena + Acacia treatment was the most effective in increasing post-tasseling N and K assimilation and K use efficiency. This resulted in corn productivity 3.5 times greater (7.3 Mg ha) than the control without residue application. In the Amazonian sandy loam soils, which are susceptible to hardsetting and nutrient leaching, efficient N and K use should be priorities for soil management. Although no-till alley cropping of leguminous trees constitutes an important option for low-input farming, its efficiency depends on using a mixture of residues that keeps soil covered and have high rates of both N and K release during the entire crop cycle.
- Subjects
AMAZON River Region; CORE &; periphery (Economic theory); AGRICULTURE; ACACIA; POTASSIUM; NITROGEN
- Publication
Plant & Soil, 2010, Vol 335, Issue 1/2, p363
- ISSN
0032-079X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11104-010-0424-0