Estimativa da retenção de água em Latossolos do Cerrado mato-grossense cultivados com algodão

Abstract

In the state of Mato Grosso, the area planted with cotton is mainly concentrated in the plains, where the climate Aw determines an alternation between a rainy and a dry season, and where the soil is predominant Red-Yellow Latosol and Red Latosol (Oxisol). One of the factors that determine success in cultivation of this species is just the prior knowledge of the hydraulic properties of soils which, for various reasons, are not variables of extensive knowledge in the areas of production. This study aimed to verify the adequacy of pedotransfer functions to evaluate the soil water retention capacity in the cotton regions in Mato Grosso, taking into account the bulk density and content of clay, silt and sand soil. For this, soil samples were collected in 21 plots of commercial production of cotton in the state of Mato Grosso to determinate the particle size distribution, bulk density, and water retention curve in soil. In the region of cotton production in Mato Grosso, the pedotransfer functions, 0,334 - 0,0003 Ar and 0,247 - 0,0003 Ar, for estimating the water content in the tensions of 0.033 and 1.5 MPa, respectively, are suitable to evaluate the water retention capacity of the soils of the cotton production plots in this state.