Efeito da disposição de efluentes da bovinocultura no solo e na biomassa vegetal

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of slurry, derived from the application of livestock wastewater (LWW), in different soil depths and to assess the growth of Brachiaria pasture through forage plant mass analysis. The pH values of slurry ranged from 5.2 to 7.0, without showing any tendency of increasing or decreasing in function of depth. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) analysis presented the lowest value (120 mg L–1), while the concentrations in other points ranged from 150 to 240 mg L–1 COD. The values of total dry matter (TDM) of forage varied along the monitoring period and the distance of the LWW discharge area. The control plot presented an average value of 133.1 g TDM while plot 4 presented an average of 753.29 g TDM, which showed a significant increase in pasture TDM production. There was an improvement in soil fertility due to an increase in pH, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, MO, V, and CEC. The infiltration-percolation system showed to be promising as an alternative to the LWW discharge on the soil and increased TDM in pastures cultivated with Brachiaria.