Soil organic matter and water infiltration under maize and forage intercropping

Infiltration is a process by which water penetrates through the soil by its surface, and its dynamics can be influenced by several factors, among them, the soil management system adopted. The objective of this work was to estimate water infiltration rate and soil organic matter content in maize and forage intercropping systems. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three replications. Five treatments under no-tillage management were evaluated: 1) Corn (Zea mays L.), 2) brachiaria humidicola (Brachiaria humidicola), 3) Corn and brachiaria humidicola intercropping, 4) Aruana grass (Panicum maximum cv. Aruana), 5) Corn and Aruana grass intercropping. The double ring infiltrometer method was used to determine the basic infiltration rate (VIB). Soil physical properties and soil organic matter were evaluated and correlated with VIB values. Results revealed high VIB values for no-tillage. The highest VIB values were observed in the corn treatment. VIB values decreased with the inclusion of forages. All cultivation systems showed a decrease of organic matter with depth.