Characterization of soil chemical properties of strawberry fields using principal component analysis

Abstract

SUMMARYOne of the largest strawberry-producing municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is Turuçu, in the South of the State. The strawberry production system adopted by farmers is similar to that used in other regions in Brazil and in the world. The main difference is related to the soil management, which can change the soil chemical properties during the strawberry cycle. This study had the objective of assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of soil fertility parameters using principal component analysis (PCA). Soil sampling was based on topography, dividing the field in three thirds: upper, middle and lower. From each of these thirds, five soil samples were randomly collected in the 0-0.20 m layer, to form a composite sample for each third. Four samples were taken during the strawberry cycle and the following properties were determined: soil organic matter (OM), soil total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), soil pH (pH), cation exchange capacity (CEC) at pH 7.0, soil base (V%) and soil aluminum saturation(m%). No spatial variation was observed for any of the studied soil fertility parameters in the strawberry fields and temporal variation was only detected for available K. Phosphorus and K contents were always high or very high from the beginning of the strawberry cycle, while pH values ranged from very low to very high. Principal component analysis allowed the clustering of all strawberry fields based on variables related to soil acidity and organic matter content.Index terms: Fragaria x ananassa Duch, soil fertility, multivariate analysis, temporal variability.(

Explaining Soil Fertility Heterogeneity in Smallholder Farms of Southern Ethiopia

“…is might be due to the leaching of basic cations, removal of bases by crop harvest, and Al hydrolysis. Various research results showed that basic cations removal through crop harvest [30,43,44], leaching due to excessive precipitation, steepness of the topography, application of inorganic fertilizer [44,45], and mineralization and formation of humic substances [46] were reported as causes for soil acidity formation. Cardelli et al [47] and Alexandra et al [48] also indicated that H + ion released through nitrification of NH 4 + sourced fertilizers on cultivated lands might also encourage the development of lower pH.…”

Seasonal Changes of Some Metabolites in Hyoscyamus boveanus (Dunal) Asch. & Schweinf – Saint Katherine, South Sinai, Egypt

“…PCA is one of the statistical tools that can be used to study the relationship between the chemical properties of the soil/plant or the relationship between them. Several studies investigating the relationship between soil properties and vegetation have been conducted using PCA [23,24,25,26].…”

Multivariate statistical analysis to support the minimum streamflow regionalization

“…Over the past years, this technique has been used in a variety of domains, including medicine (SILVA et al, 2010), remote sensing (JESUS & EPIPHANIO, 2010), farming (ARRUDA et al, 2012;ARRUDA et al, 2011;YAMAKI et al, 2009), chemistry (BELLOMARINO et al, 2010;FARO JR. et al, 2010), analysis of soil (ISLABÃO et al, 2013), environmental studies (GUEDES et al, 2012;REID & SPENCER, 2009) among others.…”