ABSTRACT Integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS) can help improve the soil physical attributes, increasing the nutrients cycling and yield potential. We evaluated the effect of forage height management under ICLS on physical soil attributes and water infiltration. Field experiment was carried out for two consecutive years in a randomized complete block design, with three repetitions. Forage was managed under continuous grazing, grazing up to 30 cm (G30), 20 cm (G20) and 10 cm (G10) of height, and control without grazing. Soil bulk density (SBD), microporosity (MIP), macroporosity (MAP), and total porosity (TP) were measured before and after the grazing at 0-5; 5-10 and 10-20 cm layer depth. Water infiltration rate was evaluated using the concentric rings in eight periods (5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, 90 e 120 min after beginning of the process). SBD at 0-5 cm layer was not affected by the grazing management, whereas the MIP, MAP, and TP reduced after sheep grazing compared to ungrazed. Water infiltration rate was higher for the G10 management, with greater amount of accumulated infiltrated water. Path analysis showed positive effects of the soil physical attributes under ICLS to the grain yield soybean, allowing the farmers to enhance their profitability.

ABSTRACT. Waterlogging directly interferes with the production capacity of agricultural crops in response to the morphophysiological changes caused to plants. Since the cultivation of poorly drained soils is traditionally avoided, this study aimed to evaluate the possibility of expanding canola cultivation into waterlogged soils using soil surface drainage and different row spacings in lowland areas of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Treatments consisted of the presence and absence of surface drains at 0.25 m depth and row spacings of 0.17, 0.34, 0.51, and 0.68 m arranged in two-factorial randomized blocks with four replications, in 2018 and 2019. In this study, growth traits, yield components, and the final grain yield of canola were evaluated. The increase in lateral branching in canola plants was found to be directly related to waterlogging and negatively affected yield. The use of drains positively impacted the number of pods per plant, seeds per pod, the 1,000 seeds weight, and grain yield. The more intense waterlogging conditions in 2018 resulted in the highest grain yield and superior production traits were obtained with row spacings between 0.41 and 0.48 m. In the absence of waterlogging, the 0.17 m row spacing was more productive. Canola cultivation can occur in waterlogged soils in the presence of surface drainage and at row spacings ranging from 0.40 to 0.50 m.

ABSTRACT. Inoculation of corn with diazotrophic bacteria reduces the need for nitrogen fertilization and mitigates environmental contamination risks due to the bacteria’s biological nitrogen-fixation capacity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of corn seed inoculation with Azospirillum brasilense under different nitrogen levels and post-grazing residual heights. The experiment was performed in two growing seasons and conducted in an integrated crop-livestock system for the 2014/15 and 2015/16. A factorial randomized block experimental design with sub-divided plots and three factors. The main plots varied in post-grazing residual height (0.10, 0.20, 0.30 m, continuous grazing, or no grazing), the subplots varied in inoculation (with or without seed inoculation), and the sub-subplots varied in nitrogen level (0, 75, 150, 225, or 300 kg ha-1 of N). The higher post-grazing residual height associated an A. brasilense and nitrogen fertilization resulted in increased corn biomass and production and yield. At the 300 kg dose of N, the highest grain yield was obtained under different post-grazing heights (10.15 Mg ha-1) and in the absence of the bacterium (10.00 Mg ha-1). Azospirillum brasilense helps plant growth and yield but does not replace the effect of N fertilization.