Load-bearing capacity of a red-yellow latosol cultivated with coffee plants subjected to different weed managements

Abstract

It is essential to know the levels of pressure applied to the soil by different weed managements to adapt the management of coffee plantations in a sustainable manner. The objectives of this study were: a) to generate load-bearing capacity models of a Red-Yellow Latosol (Oxisol) submitted to different weed managements and b) to determine which weed management resulted in higher compression. The study was conducted at the Experimental Farm of EPAMIG, located near the community Farias, in Lavras-MG (latitude 21° 14' 43" S and longitude 44° 59' 59" W and altitude of 919 m). The soil is a Red-Yellow Latosol (LVA) cultivated with coffee plantation using Topazio MG 1190 coffee variety, since 2006. We evaluated five weed managements, three being through mechanical control (harrow (GD), mowing (RÇ) and brush (TC)) and two by chemical control (post-emergence herbicide (HPos) and pre emergence herbicide (HPre)). To obtain the load-bearing capacity models, 10 undisturbed soil samples were randomly collected in the 0-3, 10-13 and 25-28 cm layers between the rows. The load-bearing capacity models which indicated a higher compaction were: in the 0-3 cm layer, TC and GD; in the 10-13 cm layer, HPre, HPos and RÇ and in the 25-28 cm layer, GD. The load-bearing capacity models that indicated greater susceptibility to compaction were: in the 0-3 cm layer, HPos; in the 10-13 cm layer, GD and TC and in the 25-28 cm layer, HPre.