Can Soil Moisture and Crop Production Be Influenced by Different Cropping Systems?

Abstract

The different conditions of soil vegetation cover combined with irrigation management and/or agricultural production systems can influence soil moisture content and crop yields. This study investigated the impact of agricultural production systems and center pivot irrigation management on soil moisture content during the cultivation of soybean and off-season corn crops. Two field experiments were conducted during the 2018–2019 growing season in tropical Cerrado soil conditions; one experiment consisted of the application of three irrigation water depths (0%, 50%, and 100% of the crop evapotranspiration) during soybean cultivation in a no-tillage system under ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis) straw, and the second experiment consisted of the intercropped or nonintercropped cultivation of corn hybrids with ruzigrass in an agricultural area with and without the influence of eucalyptus reforestation. The volumetric soil moisture was measured using an electronic soil moisture meter (Hidrofarm), and the 1000-grain mass and yield of the soybean and corn were measured in the two trials. Irrigation and the no-till system did not influence soybean yields. The soybean cultivars NA 5909 RG and TMG 7067 IPRO presented TGM above 180 g, and this represented on average a 22% higher TGM than the BMX DESAFIO RR and CD 2737 RR. The presence of eucalyptus forest promoted a 1.5% increase in soil moisture in the corn crop. Soil management systems, such as irrigation, use cover crops, which may not increase the productivity of soybean and corn crops as expected.

Spatial correlation of soybean yield with the chemical attributes of an Oxisol

“…An important strategy to achieve soil decompaction consists of the adoption of cover crops with a robust root system as an important "biodecompaction" soil agent of soil since with the disturbance in the surface layers of the soil at planting in the direct planting system, combined with compaction because of the use of agricultural implements, the subsurface layers tend to become denser, reducing the pore space causing compaction (Oliveira et al, 2021). The cultivation of cover crops in the off-season of grain production is a practice much appreciated for Oxisols in the Cerrado region (Ratke et al, 2023).…”

“…Agricultural areas in the Cerrado region are ideal for the development of Brazilian agriculture and production, mainly due to the favorable tropical climate and soils, especially Oxisols with good characteristics that facilitate mechanization and management practices (Vilela et al, 2020;Ratke et al, 2023).…”