One of the essential conditions for soil particle size analysis is the complete dispersion of mineral particles of the soil sample. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of chemical and physical methods in combination to disperse samples of an Ustox irrigated with water from a deep well in Janaúba - MG (16 º 01 ' 56 '' S, 43 º 25 ' 21 '' W) was evaluated. Soil samples were collected in the 0-0.10 m layer from an irrigated banana plantation adjacent to a native forest for particle size analysis. Five chemical dispersants were applied in the treatments (NaOH 0.1 mol L-1, NaOH 1 mol L-1, calgon 0.1 mol L-1, HCl 0.1 mol L-1 + NaOH 0.1 mol L-1and HCl 1 mol L-1 + NaOH 1 mol L-1) and two physical dispersants (50 horizontal oscillations per minute for 720 min and 12,000 revolutions per minute for 10 min.) arranged in a factorial design with five replications. All chemical dispersants except HCl 1 mol L-1 + NaOH 1 mol L-1resulted in low clay values in the soil under irrigation, which can be attributed to the high content of calcium carbonate in the soil. The use of HCl 1 mol L-1 + NaOH 1 mol L-1 is effective in dispersing soil samples with high calcium carbonate content.
particle size analysis; soil pretreatments; pseudo-silt
