Soil structure and its relationship with soybean yield

ABSTRACT Soil structure conditions the interaction between the physical-hydraulic, chemical, and biological attributes and determines the potential of soil productivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the structure of soils of areas subjected to soybean production and the impacts of soil structure on crop yield. In total, 28 soybean production areas were selected in the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil, and analyzed for particle size, soil organic carbon and aggregates. Data of soil attributes were subjected to descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test at p ≤ 0.05. In general, considering the non-irrigated soybean production areas, it was found that soils with mean sand content between 100.00 and 800.10 g kg-1 and clay content between 120.00 and 627.80 g kg-1 showed average soybean yield of 3,536.36 kg ha-1. Soils that had aggregates with mean weight diameter and mean geometric diameter above 1.50 mm showed soybean yield equal to or greater than 3,370.67 kg ha-1. Soils of similar textural groups can define different levels of soybean yield, depending on characteristics such as the type of management adopted and production technology applied in the soybean production area.