Efeito da cama de aves na atividade enzimática do solo e na produtividade da soja

Abstract

With the high cost of mineral fertilizers, along with the use of sustainable agricultural practices, cheaper and more efficient alternatives must be studied. As Brazil is a large poultry producer, being the second largest producer of chicken meat in the world in 2023, accounting for 14.32% of the total production, several properties have availability of poultry litter residue to be used as fertilizer. This work investigates the effect of poultry litter on soil enzymatic activity and soybean productivity, where enzymes are crucial components for maintaining soil health and fertility, contributing to nutriente cycling, decomposition of organic matter and the maintenance of an active biological environment, and enzymatic activity is an important bioindicator of soil quality. This study was carried out at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), where it was based on a long-term experimental protocol with 12 years of study, using a randomized block design with 10 treatments and 3 replications, where the residual effect of different doses of poultry litter on soybean productivity was evaluated, which was carried out by sowing the Brasmax 55I57RSFIPRO (Zeus) variety with a spacing of 45 cm, on November 7, 2023, without the use of any fertilizer in the planting line and after harvesting, the productivity per hectare was estimated. Duplicate soil samples were collected at two depths and taken for analysis where they focused on the activity of the enzymes alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, betaglucosidase and urease. The results showed that the application of poultry litter influenced the enzymatic activity and also the productivity of soybeans. Acid phosphatase had greater activity in the treatment with mineral fertilizer. Alkaline phosphatase and arylsulfatase in the treatment with 6 t ha-1 of poultry litter, β- glucosidase had no significant difference between mineral fertilization and treatments with poultry litter, and urease activity was higher at doses of 6 and 9 t ha-1 of poultry litter. For soybean grain yield, there was no significant difference between mineral fertilization and treatments with different doses of poultry litter. Therefore, choosing the appropriate poultry litter dosage is essential because increasing the dosage does not necessarily increase enzymatic activity and productivity, since in the study, the response limit of soybean to fertilization was reached at the residual dose of 3 tons per hectare of poultry litter and not all enzymes have the same interference with increasing the dosage. This study contributes to the understanding of sustainable management practices and the use of organic waste in agriculture, promoting the improvement of soil quality and efficiency in agricultural production.