Structural Quality of a Latosol Cultivated with Oilseed in Succession to Corn

Abstract

Mechanized operations on soils with inadequate moisture cause compaction and are deleterious to soil quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different oilseed crop successions on the structural quality of a clayey Rhodic Hapludox. Sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.), canola ( Brassica napus L. and Brassica rapa ), safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius L.), crambe ( Crambe abyssinica Hochst.), and niger ( Guizotia abyssinica ) were sown in autumn/winter in a no-tillage system in succession to corn grown in the summer and soybean/corn grown in summer/autumn-winter. When the autumn-winter crops began to grow, soil samples were collected in metallic cylinders at 0.0–0.05 m and 0.05–0.10 m depths. Analyses of the optimal water interval in each crop succession at the 0.0–0.05 m layer indicated that the corn/safflower and corn/crambe successions reduced the structural quality of the soil. The autumn-winter niger crop in succession to summer corn improved the soil structure at 0.0–0.05 m and 0.05–0.10 m when compared with the soil cultivated with the soybean/corn succession. The niger crop is an effective crop rotation alternative that improves the physical quality of the soil under no-tillage systems.