Soil enzymatic activity under coffee cultivation with different water regimes associated to liming and intercropped brachiaria

ABSTRACT: This research evaluated the effects of coffee cultivation with two different water regimes associated or not with liming and the presence/absence of brachiaria as intercrop on the activities of the soil enzymes β-glucosidase, arylsulfatase and acid phosphatase. The study was carried out at the experimental farm of Embrapa Cerrados, using the cultivar IAC 144 (Coffea arabica L.), under a clayey dystrophic Cerrado Oxisol. Two water regimes (WR) were considered, WR1 with irrigation shifts throughout the year and WR3 with controlled water stress, for about 70 days, in the dry season. In each water regime, effects of lime application (with/without) and the presence/absence of brachiaria cultivated between the lines of coffee plants were evaluated. The activities of the enzymes β-glucosidase, arylsulfatase and acid phosphatase were evaluated during the rainy and dry seasons. Liming and intercropped brachiaria positively affected the activities of the three enzymes assessed in this study at varying degrees, depending on season and/or the WR. Our findings evidenced that intercropped brachiaria in coffee rows was the factor that most positively impacted soil enzymes activities.