Management of acid tropical soils in the Savannas of South America
1985
Goedert, Wenceslau J. (Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuaria dos Cerrados (CPAC), EMBRAPA, Planaltina-DF (Brazil))
Environmental features of the acid savannas of South America make them suitable for agriculture. The soil constraints are mostly chemical, with generalized nutrient deficiency and excess of active Al. Subsistence cropping without inputs of fertilizer and lime seems unlikely in the long run. Therefore, any soil-management strategy must concentrate efforts on: (a) decreasing the detrimental effects of soil acidity; (b) building the fertility status, especially that of phosphorus; (c) managing the soil surface properly to avoid compaction and erosion; and (d) improving root growth conditions below the plow layer. The knowledge already available is sufficient to support a cooperative program among research institutions, focusing on soil management validation. A network should concentrate its efforts on (a) testing the level of extrapolation of actual research results obtained in a few sites, (b) validating the technology already available to solve the main soil constraints, namely liming and phosphate fertilization and, (c) determining the most efficient input level for typical farming systems.
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