Total porosity and bulk density are strongly affected by soil management, which is reflects directly in agricultural productivity. In 2005, plant attributes were analyzed in an irrigated fall corn crop under no-tillage besides some soil characteristics (total porosity-TP and bulk density-BD), in a Haplic Acrustox on the Fazenda Bonança (Dahma Agricultural Company) in Pereira Barreto County, Sao Paulo State, Brazil (20 ° 40 ' 12 '' latitude S; 51 ° 01 '50 '' longitude W). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the variability, and linear and spatial correlations among the attributes (plant and soil) in order to identify an indicator of soil physical quality for corn forage productivity (CPF) . A geostatistical grid was installed to collect soil and plant data, with 125 sample points, over an area of 2.500 m². The studied attributes did not vary randomly and the variability was medium to low, with well defined patterns. The spatial range varied between 6.8 and 23.7 m. On the other hand, the linear correlations between the CPF with the soil attributes (TP and BD) were low due to the high data number. BD1 and TP1 were best correlated with the CPF. However, concerning the spatial variability, the inverse correlations between CPF and BD1, as well as between BD1 and TP1 were excellent. The BD1 increased (1.45-1.64 kg dm-3) when the CPF varied from 11.653 to14.552 kg ha-1. At the sites where bulk density decreased (1.35-1.45 kg dm-3) the CPF varied from 14.552 to17.450 kg ha-1. Thus, the bulk density in the 0-0.10 m soil layer proved to be a satisfactory index of the soil physical quality regarding forage yield of fall corn.
soil physical attributes; soil management; crop forage; animal nutrition
