Biological attributes of soil cultivated with corn intercropped with Urochloa brizantha in different plant arrangements with and without herbicide application

•The soil microbiological attributes were evaluated in an intercropping system.•The seeding density of Uroclhoa brizantha affected the soil microbiological attributes.•The nicosulfuron changed the spores diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.•High seeding density of Uroclhoa brizantha reduced th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agriculture, ecosystems & environment ecosystems & environment, 2018-02, Vol.254, p.35-40
Main Authors: de Freitas, Marco Antonio Moreira, Silva, Daniel Valadão, Guimarães, Fernanda Rodrigues, Leal, Patrícia Lopes, de Souza Moreira, Fátima Maria, da Silva, Antonio Alberto, Souza, Matheus de Freitas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural practices
Arbuscular mycorrhizas
Biomass
Colonization
Corn
Crop yield
Factorial design
Flowers & plants
Fungi
Glomalin
Grain cultivation
Growth rate
Herbicides
Intercropping
Microbial biomass
Microbiological indicators
Microbiology
Microorganisms
Mycorrhiza
Nicosulfuron
Planting density
Plants (botany)
Respiration
Respiratory rate
Seeding
Seeds
Soil density
Soils
Spatial distribution
Spores
Spraying
Sustainability
Urochloa brizantha
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Summary:•The soil microbiological attributes were evaluated in an intercropping system.•The seeding density of Uroclhoa brizantha affected the soil microbiological attributes.•The nicosulfuron changed the spores diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.•High seeding density of Uroclhoa brizantha reduced the maize yield. Cultural techniques such as spatial distribution of plants and initial control of the growth rate of forage by applying herbicide sub-doses should be adopted for economic sustainability of intercropping between corn and forage. However, disturbances in the system can affect mycorrhizal colonization, metabolic quotient, microbial respiration, and the number and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of nicosulfuron spraying and the seeding density of Urochloa brizantha on soil microbiological attributes. The treatments were arranged in a 2×4 factorial design in randomized blocks. The first factor was nicosulfuron doses (0 and 1/5 of the recommended), and the second factor was the forage seeding densities (0, 2, 4 and 6kg of seeds per hectare). Soil samples were collected 60days after the emergence of corn plants. The respiratory rate, carbon associated with microbial biomass, metabolic quotient, diversity and number of mycorrhizal fungi spores and mycorrhizal colonization were determined in the soil samples. The seeding density of U. brizantha interfered with microbial respiration, metabolic quotient, mycorrhizal colonization and the population of AMFs. A planting density of 8kgha−1 associated with the application of nicosulfuron resulted in a lower metabolic quotient. The increase in forage seeding density linearly reduced corn yield when sub-doses of nicosulfuron were not applied. Management of the spatial distribution of plants and control of initial forage growth by spraying nicosulfuron provide economic and environmental sustainability to the production system.
ISSN:0167-8809
1873-2305
DOI:10.1016/j.agee.2017.10.026