Soil Science and Agribusiness
In Brazil, the center-west region leads the grains production, with Mato Grosso State being considered one of the biggest national producers of soybean. In the 2017/2018 harvest, the state of Mato Grosso produced around 31.8 million tons of soybean.
To maintain these high levels of production, it is necessary the maintenance of soil liming and fertilization, in which the recommendation of limestone and fertilizers use is made through the analysis of soil properties, characterized by chemical analysis performed in laboratory.
The soil of Mato Grosso State, located in the great Brazilian plateau, known as Planalto Central (Central Plateau), with savanna vegetation, are naturally acid, poor in base cations and phosphate, that are nutrients to plants and have high amounts of aluminum, which in turn is a phytotoxic element. These soils, mostly Oxisol, have sustained an intensive agriculture, with high productivity levels, thanks to the application in adequate rates of liming and fertilizers, especially phosphate fertilizers. In agricultural systems with high technology level, Oxisol has been considered the most productive soil of the world, allowing up to three harvests per year when one of them is irrigated; or only two, even without artificial irrigation, when can be assured that they have their excess acidity corrected and are adequately and frequently fertilized.
Despite the high soybean productivity already achieved, a research of the Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso – UFMT, Campus Sinop (Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop Campus), led by Professor Anderson Lange, pointed out that the average productivity of soybean recorded in recent years can increase further with the potential to raise the next harvest to the level of 35 millions of tons in the current planted areas. One of the decisive factors for this potential gain, of more than 3 million tons of soybean, to be effective is the increase of limestone doses currently applied in the State’s harvests soils. To obtain the results, the research centered the focus on soil chemical attributes and performed more than 70 thousand analysis of soil.
The low cost of limestone generates good response to agriculture, making liming a key practice that adds a number of benefits to the farmer, including greater absorption of soil nutrients, due to the increase of pH and, consequently, greater availability of those elements, neutralization of toxic aluminum and source of calcium and magnesium for crops.
Did you notice how the correct management of soil fertility can be a great ally of agribusiness?
Follow our page and do not miss any update from the world of Soil Science!
