EFFECTS OF SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF SOIL CHEMICAL PARAMETERS ON TIFTON 85 GRASS YIELD1

ABSTRACT Studies on spatial variability of soil attributes of tropical pastures gather information that can assist in decision making about managements of these soils. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the spatial variability of soil chemical attributes and their effects on grass yield of Tifton 85. The experiment was carried out in an area of 3.91 ha at the Feno Rio Farm of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil. Soils of the 0-0.20 and 0.20-0.40 m layers were sampled considering an irregular sampling mesh, making a total of 50 georeferenced points. The parameters evaluated were: the soil chemical attributes pH, Al+3, Ca+2, Mg+2, Na+, K+, P, H+Al, and total organic carbon (TOC); and the Tifton 85 dry matter yield (DMY). The results of these parameters were subjected to descriptive statistics, linear correlation, and geostatistics, and maps were developed for the analyses. Regions with grass yields different from the general mean were found in the area, which presented mean grass yield of 2248 kg ha-1. The soil chemical parameters Na+, Ca+2, TOC, and H+Al were significantly correlated with DMY, confirming that they are important and affect the Tifton 85 grass yield. The mapping of the Tifton 85 cycle is important for understanding the variability of DMY. The investigation of areas with different productive potentials should be followed by development of maps of soil chemical attributes to correlate and understand the ratios that may be involved with these variations.