Tillage systems and cover crops on soil properties in Northeastern Brazil

Authors

  • Jaelson Souza Araujo Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4739-0427
  • Francisco Sandro Rodrigues Holanda Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6812-6679
  • Luiz Diego Vidal Santos Department of Human Sciences and Philosophy, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, BA, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8659-8557
  • Alceu Pedrotti Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3086-8399
  • Aline de Almeida Vasconcelos Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1587-1429
  • Adielson de Araujo Costa Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3950-5068
  • Henrique Antônio Silva Department of Agronomic Engineering, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4410-0210
  • Emersson Guedes da Silva Department of Animal Science, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, SE, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9742-6215

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252026v3913794rc

Keywords:

Soil quality. Conventional tillage. Minimum tillage. No-tillage. Soil carbon.

Abstract

Long-term experiments combining tillage systems and cover crops are essential to understand variation in soil physical and chemical properties under different environmental conditions, but data from Brazilian tropical Ultisols under conservation management remain scarce. This study evaluated the effects of conventional tillage (CT), minimum tillage (MT), and no-tillage (NT), associated with different cover crops, on the physical and chemical properties of a Typic Hapludult. The experiment, conducted since 2001 at the Rural Campus Experimental Station of Universidade Federal de Sergipe, was cropped with maize (Zea mays) under the three tillage systems, each combined with sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), pearl millet, pigeon pea, and cowpea. Soil samples were collected from the 0.00–0.10 and 0.10–0.20 m layers. Soil bulk density in the 0.00–0.10 m layer was significantly higher under NT than under the other tillage systems, indicating surface consolidation under the absence of soil disturbance. Conservation tillage systems, particularly MT and NT, showed higher soil organic matter contents in the surface layer, and in both layers NT resulted in significantly higher soil organic matter content than CT and significantly higher soil carbon stocks than those observed under CT and MT. Among the cover crops evaluated, sunn hemp exhibited the greatest potential for soil organic matter increase. The results suggest that conservation tillage systems, especially when integrated with leguminous cover crops, may increase soil carbon stocks and contribute to improved soil quality in tropical Ultisols under continuous maize cropping.

References

ASSUNÇÃO, S. J. R. et al. Analysis of the green corn production costs under tillage systems in the Sergipano Coastal Tableland. Revista de Economia e Sociologia Rural, 61: 70-89, 2023.

ATHAR, T.; KANWAL, N. Significance of soil health and soil life for sustainable food production. Emergent Life Sciences Research, 8: 1-4, 2022.

BLANCO‐CANQUI, H. Cover crops and carbon sequestration: Lessons from US studies. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 86: 501-519, 2022.

COOPER, H. V. et al. Long term zero tillage enhances the protection of soil carbon in tropical agriculture. European Journal of Soil Science, 72: 2477-2492, 2021.

CUI, Y. et al. Effects of no-till on upland crop yield and soil organic carbon: a global meta-analysis. Plant and Soil, 499: 363-377, 2024.

DENARDIN, L. G. O. et al. No-tillage increases irrigated rice yield through soil quality improvement along time. Soil and Tillage Research, 186: 64-69, 2019.

DOETTERL, S. et al. Soil carbon storage controlled by interactions between geochemistry and climate. Nature Geoscience, 8: 780-783, 2015.

FUJII, K. et al. Continuous maize cropping accelerates loss of soil organic matter in northern Thailand as revealed by natural 13C abundance. Plant and Soil, 474: 263, 2022.

GRANDINETTI, L.; CANTERO MARTÍNEZ, C.; RAMOS, M. C. Aggregate stability and soil surface sealing in irrigated soils under no tillage versus conventional tillage. Land Degradation & Development, 33: 2379-2389, 2022.

HAN, Z. G.; ZHOU, Y. C.; REN, J. J. Effects of organic matter-bound multivalent cations on soil aggregate formation. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 76: 568-576, 2021.

KAHLON, M. S.; SINGH, C. B.; DHINGRA, M. Effect of compaction and irrigation regimes on soil physical characteristics and productivity. Legume Research, 46: 473-481, 2020.

LEIZEAGA, A. et al. Impact of land use intensity and forest restoration on microbial use of organic matter. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 36: e2021GB007109, 2022.

LI, Y. et al. Minimum tillage and residue retention increase soil microbial population size and diversity: implications for conservation tillage. Science of the Total Environment, 716: 137164, 2020.

MORAES, M. T. et al. Soil compaction impacts soybean root growth in an Oxisol. Soil and Tillage Research, 200: 104611, 2020.

MOSSADEGHI BJÖRKLUND, M. et al. Effects of compaction on soil hydraulic properties. Soil Use and Management, 35: 367-377, 2019.

MUHAMMAD, I. et al. Regulation of soil CO₂ and N₂O emissions by cover crops. Soil and Tillage Research, 192: 103-112, 2019.

PEDROTTI, A. et al. Structural quality of an Ultisol under long-term tillage systems. Soil Use and Management, 42: e70195, 2026.

PULIDO-MONCADA, M.; MUNKHOLM, L. J.; SCHJØNNING, P. Wheel load, repeated wheeling, and traction effects on subsoil compaction in northern Europe. Soil and Tillage Research, 186: 300-309, 2019.

SANTOS, J. A. et al. Impacts of tillage systems on green corn production. Soil Use and Management, 14: e13061, 2024.

SHAHGHOLI, G. et al. Effect of tractor tire parameters on soil compaction. Agriculture, 13: 259, 2023.

SHAHZAD, H. et al. Managing organic carbon in sandy clay loam soil. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14: 275, 2021.

SILVA, P. C. G. et al. No-tillage and crop rotation increase crop yields. Field Crops Research, 258: 107947, 2020.

SIMUNJI, S. et al. Evaluation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) genotypes for nitrogen fixation. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 8: 82, 2019.

SOIL SURVEY STAFF. Keys to Soil Taxonomy. 13. ed. Washington, DC: USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2022. 430 p.

SUN, L. et al. Effects of conservation tillage on soil properties. Land Degradation & Development, 31: 2475-2489, 2020.

TEIXEIRA, P. C. et al. Manual de métodos de análise de solo. 3. ed. rev. e ampl. Brasília, DF: Embrapa, 2017. 573 p.

WANG, S. et al. Effect of subsoiling depth on maize yield. Plant, Soil and Environment, 65: 131-137, 2019.

WANG, X. et al. Organic manure improves soil productivity. Plos One, 15: e0238042, 2020.

YEOMANS, J. C.; BREMNER, J. M. A rapid and precise method for routine determination of organic carbon in soil. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 19: 1467-1476, 1988.

ZHAO, X. et al. Crop yields under no-till farming in China. European Journal of Agronomy, 84: 67-75, 2017.

Downloads

Published

02-06-2026

Issue

Vol. 39 (2026)

Section

Scientific Article

License

Os Autores que publicam na Revista Caatinga concordam com os seguintes termos:

 

a)      Os Autores mantêm os direitos autorais e concedem à revista o direito de primeira publicação, com o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Licença Creative Commons  do tipo atribuição CC-BY, para todo o conteúdo do periódico, exceto onde estiver identificado, que permite o compartilhamento do trabalho com reconhecimento da autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista, sem fins comerciais.

 b)     Os  Autores têm autorização para distribuição não-exclusiva da versão do trabalho publicada nesta revista (ex.: publicar em repositório institucional ou como capítulo de livro), com reconhecimento de autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.

 c)     Os  Autores têm permissão e são estimulados a publicar e distribuir seu trabalho online (ex.: em repositórios institucionais ou na sua página pessoal) a qualquer ponto antes ou durante o processo editorial, já que isso pode gerar alterações produtivas, bem como aumentar o impacto e a citação do trabalho publicado (Veja O Efeito do Acesso Livre).