DECOMPOSITION OF PLANT RESIDUES IN LATOSOL UNDER CORN CROP AND COVER CROPS

Soil degradation occurs as a consequence of intensive preparation associated with, monocropping systems with deposition of residues that are rapidly decomposed. The objective of this study was to investigate the decomposition rates of different cover plants residues ill Latosol (Oxisol) under conventional and no-tillage systems. The cover plants (Crotalaria juncea, Canavalia brasiliensis, Cajanus cajan, Mucuna pruriens, Helianthus annuus, Pennisetum glaucum, Raphanus sativus and natural fallow, as a control) were used in a succession with maize. The cover plants were cut when flowering reached approximately 50 % and remained on the soil until the sowing of the maize. In the conventional system, plant residues were incorporated in subplots with plough. Litter bags with 10 g of dry matter of each species were placed on the soil surface and covered with plant residues to determine the decomposition rate along the dry (60 and 90 days of incubation) and wet seasons (180, 210 and 240 days of incubation) under both systems. During soil preparation and herbicide application before the sowing of maize, the remaining bags were removed from the field and kept in cold storage (0 degrees C). After the sowing of maize, these bags were returned to the respective subplots, either on the surface for the no-tillage treatment or buried at 10 cm depth when under the incorporation treatment. The lowest decomposition rates were found for residues of Cajanus cajan Pennisetum glaucum, Mucuna pruriens, and natural fallow. Incorporation of plant residues accelerated the decomposition time, when compared to no-tillage system, except for Raphanus satiuus. Maize yield was highest after the rotation with Canavalia brasiliensis.