SOIL USES DURING THE SUGARCANE FALLOW PERIOD: INFLUENCE ON SOIL CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND ON SUGARCANE PRODUCTIVITY

The planting of diversified crops during the sugarcane fallow period can improve the chemical and physical properties and increase the production potential of the soil for the next sugarcane cycle. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the influence of various soil uses during the sugarcane fallow period on soil chemical and physical properties and productivity after the first sugarcane harvest. The experiment was conducted in two areas located in Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo State, Brazil (21 degrees 14' 05 '' S, 48 degrees 17' 09 '' W) with two different soil types, namely: an eutroferric Red Latosol (RLe) with high-clay texture (clay content = 680 g kg(-1)) and an acric Red Latosol (RLa) with clayey texture (clay content = 440 g kg(-1)). A randomized block design with five replications and four treatments (crop sequences) was used. The crop sequences during the sugarcane fallow period were soybean/millet/soybean, soybean/sunn hemp/soybean, soybean/fallow/ soybean, and soybean. Soil use was found not to affect chemical properties and sugarcane productivity of RLe or RLa. The soybean/millet/soybean sequence improved aggregation in the acric Latosol.