Changes in soil fertility and mineral nutrition of mango orchards in São Francisco Valley, Brazil

Abstract

This research aimed to analyse the soil fertility changes and macronutrient concentration in mango plantations in Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil. Samples of soil were collected at depths of 0-20 and 20-40 cm, and leaves of mango trees during vegetative growth were collected from 11 areas with different cultivation time spans (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19, and 26 years). Nearby areas under natural vegetation were sampled for reference. The chemical characteristics of soil evaluated were: pH; P, K, Ca, Mg; exchangeable Na and Al; H + Al; organic matter; sum of bases; base saturation; and total cation exchange capacity. The mango leaves were analysed for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. The agricultural management practices adopted by the mango-producing companies promoted changes in soil fertility when compared with the reference areas. The concentrations of organic matter tended to increase in the crop areas. The organic matter caused increases in CEC and nutrient retention. High P values were observed in soils and plants owing to the excessive use of fertilizers. This may cause nutritional imbalance and contamination of water sources. The contents of N, P, K in the leaves of mango trees were nutritionally adequate. Key words: Mangifera indica, mineral fertilizers, soil organic matter Alterações na fertilidade dos solos e teores foliares de nutrientes em cultivos de mangueira no Vale do São Francisco RESUMOEsta pesquisa objetivou avaliar as alterações na fertilidade do solo e nos teores de macronutrientes nas folhas em áreas cultivadas com mangueira em Petrolina-PE. Foram coletadas amostras de solo nas profundidades de 0-20 e 20-40 cm e de folhas da mangueira na fase vegetativa em onze áreas com diferentes tempos de cultivo (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 19 e 26 anos). Áreas de vegetação nativa adjacentes às áreas cultivadas foram utilizadas para efeito de comparação. As propriedades químicas dos solos avaliadas foram: pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na e Al trocáveis, H+Al, matéria orgânica, SB, V e CTC total. Os macronutrientes avaliados nas folhas foram: N, P, K, Ca e Mg. Os manejos agrícolas adotados pelas empresas promoveram alterações na fertilidade dos solos quando comparados com os solos das áreas de referência. Os teores de matéria orgânica tendem a aumentar nas áreas de cultivo. A MO causou aumento na CTC e retenção de nutrientes. Altos valores de P foram observados em solos e plantas devido ao uso excessivo de fertilizantes; isto pode causar desequilíbrio nutricional e contaminação das fontes de água. Os teores de N, P e K nas folhas das árvores de manga foram nutricionalmente adequados. Palavras-chave:Mangifera indica, fertilizantes minerais, matéria orgânica do solo

Soil sampling optimization using spatial analysis in irrigated mango fields under brazilian semi-arid conditions

“…Moreover, the soils from the semi-arid region generally have a sandy texture, and its adsorption sites (colloids) are easily saturated, which favors the increase in the mobility and leaching of K, as it is a monovalent cation (SANTOS et al, 2015). Silva et al (2014) confirmed this hypothesis in a study of soil fertility changes in mango orchards in the São Francisco valley region, demonstrating that the movement of the nutrients is favored by daily irrigation practices and the sandy soil texture, similar to observations in the three areas of the present study, contributing to its high variability.…”

Precision agriculture tools for liming management in mango orchards in the Brazilian semiarid region

“…Other authors have also found high variability for K + content (Oliveira et al, 2015;Rodrigues & Corá, 2015). This can be due to some factors such as: 1) frequent application of fertilizers (Richart et al, 2016): as in the São Francisco River Valley, fertilization with this nutrient is performed by fertigation, using the most soluble forms (Silva et al, 2014) --------------- ---------------0.0-0.2 m-----------------------------0.2-0.4 m--------------Ca 2+ (cmol c dm -3 ) 6.00 3.00 In general, the variables of the Mandacaru area showed the lowest range values in both layers (Table 3).…”

“…It is important to correct the Ca 2+ level, which is above the optimum values since its highest content is found in mango leaves (Silva et al, 2014), and calcium deficiency can depreciate the quality of the fruit, as low concentration of leaf Ca is associated with the incidence of internal collapse in mango (Almeida et al, 2015). Therefore, higher calcium content in the fruit slows ripening and senescence, by reducing respiration, ethylene evolution and loss of fresh weight, extending post-harvest life and fruit quality of mango (Aular & Natale, 2013;Hojo et al, 2009).…”

Soil fertility changes in vineyards of a semiarid region in Brazil

“…These values probably exceed plant requirements, which Schmitt et al Factor 2 showed high positive and negative loadings on pH (0.77) and Al (-0.93). The opposite association between P and sand content confirms that P movement towards deep layers is mainly governed by soil texture (Silva et al, 2014). Therefore, the high and continuous application of P in these soils increases the potential of P leaching and contamination of surface and underground waters (Pizzeghello et al, 2011).…”

“…Therefore, studies on the effects of agricultural practices on soil quality and sustainability are of paramount importance, especially for crops with intensive chemical input (Serrano et al, 2017). (Silva et al, 2014). These changes can affect both crop yield and the quality of the soil environmental (Fernández-Calviño et al, 2010;Wightwick et al, 2013;Duplay et al, 2014;Silva et al, 2014;Brunori et al, 2016;Preston et al, 2016), resulting in either improvement of the soil properties or accelerated soil degradation (Jiao et al, 2012).…”