Abstract

HUERTA OLAGUE, José de Jesús et al. Effect of the root system of four crops on soil erosion. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2012, vol.30, n.3, pp.271-278. ISSN 2395-8030.

Soil loss resulting from the impact of the rain drops is reduced by the combined effect of root systems and plant cover and is associated with crop cultivation. With this in mind, the present study was conducted from July to September, 2006, to evaluate the effect of the root system of four crops, three row crops (Zea mays L., Phaseolus vulgaris L. y Cucurbita pepo L.) and a broadcast crop (Avena sativa L.), on soil loss and surface runoff. Sixteen 1 m2 runoff plots were established on a 40 cm deep sandy-loam Entisol with a 2% slope. The sowing rate for maize and beans was 10 hills m2 (two plants per hill), 4 plants m2 for squash, and 1964 stems m2 for oats. The measurements were conducted after 15, 30, 50, 65 days of crop development. The root length density (RLD) was obtained as a ratio between root length and soil volume. After each rainfall simulation event, runoff and soil loss were quantified. The results show negative relationships between the RLD and soil loss, but not between RLD and runoff. It is concluded that the root system of the crops considered has greater effect on the reduction of soil loss than on runoff. There are no results, however, regarding the differences among the root systems of the different crops.

Keywords : soil loss; surface runoff.