Sustainable Production Systems under No-till in the Cerrado of Brazil - Mato Grosso

Continuous land cultivation with mono-cropping systems tends to promote soil degradation and increase the incidence of crop diseases, pests, and weeds, which in turn, reduces crop yield potential. A long-term research project was initiated to look into various aspects of sustainable agricultural systems. The project focuses on crop rotation and other alternatives to generating long-term profitability. Part of this project is dedicated to the study of soil fertility management under these systems. Two experiments were established: one aimed at the production of fiber and the other at grain production, each containing seven different cropping systems.

Results of the 2015 season show that soybean yields have varied in response to the different rotations in use, between monoculture of soybean/fallow under conventional tillage (1.4 t/ha) or under no-till (1.7 t/ha) versus all other treatments that had crop rotations with cover crops in the fall: soybean/brachiaria (3.5 t/ha), soybean/millet (3.5 t/ha), or soybean/maize (3.5 t/ha). No difference was observed for maize second crop yield. Significant differences were detected for cotton lint yield in response to crop rotation: cotton/fallow (1.4 t/ha) versus all other treatments that presented crop rotation with cover crops in the fall: cotton/millet (1.7 t/ha), cotton/brachiaria (1.7 t/ha) or cotton after maize first crop (1.8 t/ha).

The intensification of a farming system with a soybean and corn (second crop) sequence is a reality for half of the Cerrado area. This is putting pressure on the development of new shorter-season soybean varieties that are able to benefit maize through an earlier seeding date. This has definitely made the second maize crop a strong economic option for farmers. This project will continue in 2016.