EVALUATION OF THE CHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE SOIL IN COFFEE CULTIVATING AREAS (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in Brazil due to its economic return. This advance is associated with appropriate soil management practices and initiatives arising from public policies that encourage the strengthening of coffee production. However, the lack of scientific knowledge about the chemical attributes of the soil and its relationship with the natural vegetation constitutes an obstacle to the conservation and management of these areas, as well as to interventions for the rehabilitation of degraded areas. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the chemical attributes of soils under coffee cultivars of the Robusta variant species that were planted at the Instituto Federal de Rondônia Campus Cacoal and at two rural properties in the same municipality. The methods used to carry out this study consisted of collecting soil samples, observing the levels of Organic Matter (OM), P, K, Na, Al, Ca, Mg, (H++Al3+), Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, pH, Base Saturation (V%), Aluminum Saturation (m%) and effective CTC. The study was completely randomized and the data underwent statistical analysis using the independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. Pearson's bivariate correlation was also analyzed. Soils at a depth of 0 to 20 cm that had a high M.O. showed lower pH value in CaCl2. Only the soil of Producer 2 at a depth of 0 to 20 cm, among the soils under coffee cultivation, needed to have its acidity corrected. None of the evaluated soils required zinc fertilization. Furthermore, there is a negative and strong correlation between Ca and (m%); as well as a very strong and positive correlation between the M.O. and the Mg.