Plantas de cobertura de verão na implantação de um sistema plantio direto de hortaliças

Abstract

The cultivation of vegetables through the conventional planting system (SPC) is intensive, involving frequent mechanization and soil mobilization, causing damage to its structure. The exposed soil becomes more susceptible to climatic factors, which creates an unfavorable environment for vegetable cultivation and leads to unsustainable production. As a result, the direct vegetable planting system (SPDH) emerges, aiming to restore a suitable environment for production both economically and environmentally. It is characterized by an increase in organic matter (OM) within the system through the rotation of commercially relevant crops and cover crops, with minimal soil disturbance. Thus, the study evaluates the influence of summer cover crop combinations on dry matter yields, nutrient accumulation, soil temperature, and moisture. The experiment will be carried out in the municipality of Pato Branco, at the experimental site of UTFPR. The cover crops employed will include soybeans (Glycine max), corn (Zea mays), millet (Pennisetum glaucum), dwarf pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), sunn hemp (Crotalaria ochroleuca), and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). The following treatments will be evaluated: (T1) – Control 1 (no cover crop); (T2) – Control 2 (spontaneous plants); (T3) – Soybean + corn + millet consortium; (T4) – Dwarf pigeon pea + corn + millet consortium; (T5) – Sunn hemp + corn + millet consortium; (T6) – Soybean + corn + buckwheat consortium; (T7) – Commercial consortium (RX250®: sorghum + millet + sunn hemp). The consortium consisting of sunn hemp, corn, and millet, as well as the RX250 commercial mix, yielded the highest dry matter yields, with 15.17 t ha−1 and 13.93 t ha−1, respectively. They also showed the highest average nutrient accumulation, with 375.35 kg ha−1 and 394.64 kg ha−1 of nitrogen, 255.65 kg ha−1 and 228.34 kg ha−1 of potassium, and 34.41 kg ha−1 and 33.22 kg ha−1 of phosphorus, respectively. Furthermore, they presented significant results regarding soil temperature with and without mulch.