Fertiláqua addresses the evolution of soil fertility

Fertiláqua has been carrying out weekly online broadcasts with representatives of its technical staff and agribusiness experts to discuss the main points of agriculture and assist producers with tips and guidance that, until then, were given in the field. 

Another one was aired with the participation of soil experts Dorotéia Ferreira and Eduardo Cancellier. The mediation was carried out by Fertiláqua's market development coordinator, Caio Alves. The theme of this edition was “Evolution of soil fertility: System integration”. 

Dorotéia began by drawing a timeline since the beginning of soil analysis, around 1889. In the Brazilian cerrado, the first experiments date back to 1900, when they tested treatments with nutrient sources and measured plant development and production. In the 60s and 70s, programs to evaluate analytical forms were initiated, and plant tissue and leaf analyzes date back to the 80s. 

Brazil, being very diverse, has a mixture of soils in its territory and that is why the need for soil management and understanding which technologies can be inserted into it has grown. “The south, with its milder temperature, slows down the accelerated decomposition of waste and, being a pioneer in Direct Planting, knew how to build fertility. In the cerrado, it was necessary to open up environments, and with that, fertilization and liming were carried out, since it was known that the restriction was chemical, as the soils are very deep and drained, but at that moment in biological balance. And in the semi-arid northeast region, soil genetics don't help much, but by adding water and working on management, the plant responds”, explains Dorotéia.

The work on liming and fertilization dates back to the end of the 70s. According to Eduardo, liming should be the first action to be used, as from the moment the soil acidity is corrected, the availability of several nutrients.

Soil analysis is a device created to try to imitate what the plant does. Not even the best soil analysis in the world is as good as what the plant 'tells' us, regarding soil fertility. “All knowledge was constructed and tabulated. However, the level of management has improved so much that work needs to be renewed. We still stick to traditional soil analysis. Science already has new concepts, methods and ways of seeing the soil, but due to standardization, it has difficulty adopting new tools”, comments the expert.

One of the new forms adopted by farmers today is the integration system, but, according to Dorotéia, it is still a specific work that needs to be carried out over large areas: “In it, when there is a change in culture, maintenance fertilization is carried out. , replaces what the plant extracted, and uses other sources to supply nutrients to the plant. It integrates the components of the system, physics, chemistry and biology”.

For quality soil, one of the points to observe is the availability of nutrients. Organic acids, originating from the decomposition of organic matter and present in products based on humic and fulvic acids, are natural complexing agents and help in the movement of some nutrients, such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. Nutrients that may be low in availability in the soil can be complexed by organic molecules and have their availability increased for plant absorption. However, experts highlight that it is not enough to just have the nutrient in the soil, you have to worry about how it will be made available to the plant.

Furthermore, other factors interfere so that fertility is focused on the plant and guarantees productivity: components that act on the system as a whole, favoring nutrient availability, root development, biological activation and plant protection.

“High productivity crops must be based on a well-corrected soil profile in terms of acidity and high availability of calcium at depth so as not to impede the growth of the root system, with a balance in the calcium, magnesium and potassium ratio”, says Eduardo.