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The desiccation time of high-biomass pasture and nitrogen (N) fertilization of pasture and soybean can influence the soybean sowing, establishment and growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate how the time of desiccation of the preceding pasture of Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piatã, cultivated at three levels of N, and by the soybean N fertilization affect soybean growth and N accumulation. Three N rates (0; 150 and 300 kg ha-1), broadcast as urea on the U. brizantha pasture were evaluated separately in each N level, every one considered as one experiment. In each experiment, five times of pasture desiccation were evaluated (60; 45; 30; 15, and 1 day before soybean sowing) and two levels of soybean N fertilization: 30 kg ha-1 (urea) broadcast at sowing or without N fertilization. A randomized complete block design with five replications was used. Early desiccation of U. brizantha pasture favors the establishment of soybean and promotes an increase in biomass and N accumulation in the vegetative stages, however these differences are not observed during the grain filling, regardless the soybean N fertilization. The soybean yield was not influenced by the desiccation time. N fertilization with 30 kg ha-1 at sowing intensifies soybean growth at the vegetative phase, but after full flowering, there were no effects on biomass and grain yield, independently of the desiccation time.

A argila dispersa está diretamente relacionada com a erosão hídrica, especialmente durante o desprendimento e arraste de partículas. O plantio direto é uma das mais importantes estratégias para conservação do solo e da água nas regiões tropical e sub-tropical, e quando associado com a rotação de culturas, pode reduzir o grau de dispersão de argila. O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar, após 24 anos, o efeito de diferentes sistemas de manejo e de culturas no grau de dispersão de argila de um Latossolo Vermelho. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado em um esquema fatorial 4x2, com quatro manejos do solo (plantio direto contínuo, plantio direto com escarificação a cada três anos, aração de discos seguida de gradagem leve e gradagem pesada seguida de gradagem leve) e dois sistemas de cultivo (sucessão de cultura e rotação). O grau de dispersão da argila foi avaliado e associado aos atributos químicos do solo da camada 0,00-0,10 m. O grau de dispersão da argila é afetado pelos sistemas de manejo do solo sem efeito dos sistemas de cultivo. O sistema de manejo de solo com menor perturbação do solo (plantio direto contínuo) possui o maior grau de dispersão de argila do que os que perturbam o solo, independentemente do implemento agrícola utilizado ou da intensidade do distúrbio do solo. O desequilíbrio eletroquímico do solo, causado principalmente pela acidez potencial do solo, está positivamente correlacionado ao aumento do grau de dispersão de argila da camada superficial do solo sob plantio direto contínuo.

Vigorous growth of soybean root system is a desired trait in breeding programs. However, few studies have evaluated this feature under field conditions. The aim of this research was to evaluate root growth of eight soybean cultivars under different water availability conditions. The experiment was carried out in Londrina, Paraná state, Brazil, during two growing seasons - with and without water deficit during the vegetative period. Soybean roots were sampled at flowering and assessed for dry matter yield, area and length at 0-0.25; 0.25-0.50; 0.50-0.75 and 0.75-1.00 m depth ranges. On average, root length and area of the cultivars Embrapa 48 and BRS 284 under water deficit were 66% and 40% larger than the others at 0.25-0.50 and 0.50-0.75 m layers, respectively. Under suitable water supply, BRS 282 showed the highest root length and area. Apart from the cultivars Embrapa 48, BRS 284, and BRS 255RR, soybean root growth was mostly lower under water deficit throughout the vegetative stage, which might been due to a higher soil resistance to root penetration, resulting from low soil water content. Drought increased the proportion of soybean roots at subsoil layers, mainly for Embrapa 48 and BRS 284. The cultivars Embrapa 48 and BRS 284 are promising to be used in breeding programs targeting superior root growth in subsoil layers.

The spatial arrangement of soybean plants affects the intraspecific competition for light, water and nutrients, which can change the biomass production, incidence of pests, diseases and weeds, plant lodging, and grain yield. This work aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance under different row spacing, plant densities and crossed rows. Two field experiments were carried out in Campo Mourão, Paraná State, Southern Brazil, using the randomized complete block experimental design, in a 3x3x2 factorial arrangement, with four replications. The treatments were formed by the combination of three row spacings (0.30, 0.45, and 0.60 m), three plant densities (300,000; 450,000; and 600,000 plants ha-1), and two row design (crossed or parallel rows). For all variables, interaction of the experimental factors was not significant. The row spacing of 0.45 m provided the highest grain yield in relation to 0.30 and 0.60 m. The density of 300,000 plants ha-1 showed higher yield of soybeans in late sowing. The crossed lines did not increase the productive performance in soybean.

Increases in the soybean grain yield without significant alterations in the production cost can be achieved with variations in the spatial plant arrangement. The sowing in crossed rows has aroused the interest of Brazilian soybean producers once this practice was used in some areas with record-breaking soybean yield in Brazil in 2010/11 and 2011/12 growing seasons. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of soybean cultivars with determinate growth habit managed under different spatial plant arrangements, including crossed rows. The experiments were carried out in Londrina, PR, at 2011/12 and 2012/13 growing seasons. A randomized complete block experimental design in a 2x2x2 factorial scheme was used, with three replications. The treatments were formed by combining two row spacing (0.4 and 0.6 m), two seeding rates (375,000 and 562,500 seeds ha-1) and two sowing systems (crossed or parallel rows).The cultivar BRS 294 RR was used in 2011/12 and BRS 295 RR in 2012/13 growing season. In both cultivars and years the grain yield was not affected by the sowing system, seeding rate, or by the interactions among factors, showing the high soybean phenotypic plasticity. Row spacing of 0.6 m showed the highest soybean grain yield in BRS 294 RR, mainly due to a higher grain production in the branches.

Soil productive capacity is related to levels of carbon (C) in aggregates of different sizes. The aim of this study was to assess total organic carbon levels in different size classes of water-stable aggregates in a Rhodic Eutrudox under different production systems. The cropping systems assessed were no-tillage (NT); no-tillage scarified every three years (NTS); disk plowing (DP) and heavy disking (HD). All systems were subjected to crop succession (S) (soybean - Glycine max / wheat - Triticum aestivum) and rotation (R) (soybean, maize (Zea mays), wheat) and cover and green manure (Lupinus albus, Raphanus sativus and Avena strigosa). Intact soil samples were collected in trenches at depths of 0–0.10; 0.10-0.20; 0.20–0.30 and 0.30-0.40 m. The highest levels of carbon were found under no-tillage, irrespective of the aggregate size class. In all treatments, the top layer (0.0–0,10 m) under crop succession showed the highest carbon content for all aggregate size classes. However, at depths below 0.10 m, crop rotation exhibited the highest carbon levels (between 12 and 20 g kg-1). After 29 years of trials, cropping systems with the lowest soil disturbance combined with crop rotation were found to contribute to raising the level of carbon in the soil and maintaining stable aggregates.

This study assessed the importance of stratified soil sampling on the detection (and therefore the distribution) of nematode communities and the differentiation of ecosystems by collecting stratified soil samples at intervals of 10 cm and non-stratified samples from 0 to 30 cm in two soil management systems (no-tillage and conventional tillage) and in a native forest fragment. The nematode frequency and prominence values were obtained after extraction by successive screening operations, sugar floatation clarification and the identification of nematodes to the genus level. The nematode communities were compared two-by-two based on Sorensen’s community coefficient (CC) and the percentage similarity (PS). Relative abundances of functional guilds were subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA) and classified in dendrograms. Thirty-two edaphic nematode genera were found, and the nematode communities sampled on a non-stratified basis in the soil profile exhibited a high level of similarity because they could not be accurately characterized. Genera with low abundances were not detected. In the stratified samples, we were able to classify and group the nematodes present at different depths, mainly from 0 to 10 cm. Stratified soil sampling allowed a more accurate characterization and greater differentiation of nematode communities, identifying taxa that occurred at lower abundance levels, irrespective of frequency.