Soil porosity is of great importance for the crop yield, as the unfavorable conditions can hinder the roots penetration and, therefore, limit the appropriate nutrients and available water uptake. In the year of 2005, on Bonança farm, in Pereira Barreto - SP, Brazil, the corn forage yield (CFY), macroporosity (MA), microporosity (MI) and total porosity (TP) of a Typic Hapludox soil were analyzed concerning three different depths, under no-tillage. The objective was to analyze the variability and the linear and spatial correlations between soil and plant features, aiming at selecting a physical quality indicator which represents the forage yield. The geostatistical mesh to collect soil and plant data with 125 sampling stations has been established in an area of 2.500 m². In general, the studied features showed variability between low and very high. They were under clearly defined spatial patterns, with ranges of spatial dependence between 6.6 and 31.1 meters. Despite the fact that the simple linear correlation between CFY and MI at 0.10-0.20 m deep (M2) was low, it was extremely significant. However, from the spatial point of view, there was high inverse correlation between such variables. Therefore, the MI2 proved to be an excellent indicator for the soil physical quality of Pereira Barreto - SP, when it is intended to grow corn forage.
soil management; soil physical quality; foraging
