Yield and economic analysis of soybean cultivation in succession with different autumn/winter crops in Midwest of Paraná, Brazil

Headnote

ABSTRACT

Soybean and corn succession system widely adopt in different agricultural regions from Brazil. However, different species incorporation, especially in the autumn/winter season, can influence the soybeans profitability in succession system and farm economic return, providing benefits for the agricultural sector. The objective this work was to analyze the development of different species in the autumn-winter crop and the influence on soybean yield and the economic return of farm in Midwest of Paraná, Brazil. The study was conducted during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 crop. A completely randomized design adopted, with eight treatments (autumn/winter season) and four replications. In autumn/winter season were composed of five crops in single system (black oat, brachiaria ruziziensis, oilseed radish, corn and wheat), two in intercropped systems (black oat with oilseed radish and corn with brachiaria) and fallow area (spontaneous plants). In the spring/summer season, soybean was cultivated. The biomass produced in the autumn/winter season varies with the species and cultivation system adopted. Soybean yield is higher when cultivated in succession to brachiaria, while the worst performance is obtained in succession to spontaneous plants. The cultivation of wheat in the winter and soybeans in the summer presents superior economic performance.

Keywords: agricultural systems; biomass; economic analysis; Glycine max.

INTRODUCTION

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) has high economic importance in Brazil, being produced from north to south under different soil and climate conditions (Cattelan & Agnol, 2018). Crop yield is reflection of the production environment (Corassa et al., 2018), and the adoption of appropriate techniques and management influences the productive potential (Battisti et al., 2018).

Soybean and corn succession system is adopted in large scale in producing regions, with emphasis in Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná (Garcia et al., 2018; Nóia Junior & Sentelhas, 2019). However, species diversification in crop systems improve some chemical, physical and biological aspects of the soil, in addition to the incidence of spontaneous plants and nutrient cycling (Comin et al., 2018; Buchi et al., 2018; Forte et al., 2018; Ramos et al., 2019; Hunter et al., 2019).

To incorporate new species into the agricultural production system, it is considered the impact to the environment, to successive crops and economic profitability (Singh et al., 2021). The incorporate new species, mainly adopting the implementation of different species in the winter period (Franchini et al., 2011), regarding the short and long-term economic impacts under yield components (Cai et al., 2019).

Plants grown in winter positively influence the succession crop, through biomass production, soil changes, cultural weed control and nutrient dynamics in the production system (Baraibar et al., 2018; Buchi et al., 2018; Tanaka et al., 2019). In southern Brazil, studies developed by Franchini et al. (2011) show that soybean yield is influenced by autumn/winter crop, obtaining better results after oat and wheat cultivation. Considering the diversity of adaptable species adaptable to the region, the study aimed to analyze the development of different species (black oat, brachiaria ruziziensis, oilseed radish, corn and wheat) in autumn-winter season, regarding the influence on soybean yield and the economic return of the farm.

material and methods

The study was carried on farm in Campo Mourāo-PR (23°59'1"S, 52°29'52"W and altitude of 535 m) during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 crop. The local climate is classified as Cfa, with an average annual temperature of 21.1 to 22 °C, annual precipitation between 1600 and 1800 mm, potential evapotranspiration from 1000 to 1100 mm and global solar radiation between 14.1 to 14.5 MJ m-2 day-1 (Nitsche et al., 2019).

A completely randomized design was adopted with eight treatments (autumn/winter season) and four replications. In autumn/winter season were composed of five crops in single system (black oat, brachiaria ruziziensis, oilseed radish, corn and wheat), two in intercropped system (black oat with oilseed radish and corn with brachiaria) and control (spontaneous plants). In the spring/summer period, soybean was cultivated. The experimental plots measured 3.6 m x 5 m, with used area of 10.8 m2.

The soil is characterized as LATOSSOLO VERMELHO according to Brazilian Soil Classification System, showing correlation with Ferralsols and Oxisols in WRB/FAO and Soil Taxonomy Classification, respectively (Santos et al., 2018). The soil presented granulometric composition of 44% clay, 18% silt and 38% sand. The soil chemical composition from 2 different depths is shown in Table 1.

Temperature and precipitation data from Campo Mourāo-PR were obtained by the Agricultural Decision Support System (SISDAGRO) of National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), presented in Table 2.

Before sowing, a dose (2 L ha-1) of paraquat (200 g L-1) was applied in total area for weed control. Wheat cultivation was carried out in the first half of May (2019 and 2020), while the other species were sown in the first half of March (2019 and 2020).

For wheat crop it was adopted 0.2 m of spacing between lines and 0.45 for other crops. In the intercropping of black oat and oilseed radish, sowing was carried out in interspersed rows, and in the cultivation of corn with brachiaria ruziziensis, brachiaria was sown between the corn rows.

Sowing fertilization in black oat and black oat intercropped with oilseed radish was performed with 10 kg ha-1 of N, 50 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 50 kg ha-1 of K2O. In brachiaria, 10 kg ha-1 of N, 50 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 60 kg ha-1 of K2O were used. In single corn and intercropped with brachiaria 15 kg ha-1 of N, 100 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 90 kg ha-1 of K2O. In wheat, 15 kg ha-1 of N, 60 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 50 kg ha-1 of K2O. In oilseed radish, 10 kg ha-1 of N, 40 kg ha-1 of P2O5 and 20 kg ha-1 of K2O. In topdressing, 70 kg ha-1 of N was applied to corn (single and intercropped) and 40 kg ha-1 of N to wheat. Fertilization was carried out according to nutrient and soil contents (Pauletti & Motta, 2017). Urea (45% N) was used as N source, triple superphosphate (48% P2O5) for P and potassium chloride (60% K2O) for K.

Crop management was carried out according to technical recommendations, using herbicides with the active ingredient of 2,4D amine (806 g L-1), methyl metsulfuron (600 g kg-1), glyphosate (445 g L-1) and ethyl chlorimuron (250 g kg-1); insecticides based on methomyl (255 g L-1) and beta-cyfluthin (12.5 g L-1) + imidacloprid (100 g L-1); and fungicides based on mancozeb (800 g kg-1), propiconazole (250 g L-1), pyraclostrobin (333 g L-1) + fluxapyroxad (167 g L-1) and bixafen (125 g L-1) + prothioconazole (175 g L-1) + trifloxystrobin (150 g L-1) using commercial product dosage according to culture recommended considering target and infestation/incidence.

Soybean (cv. M6410) sowing was carried out in the first half of November 2020, with line spacing of 0.45 m and population density of 311 thousand pl ha-1. At sowing it was used 230 kg ha-1 of NPK formulated (06-35-06). Peat inoculant (Masterfix SojaTM) was added to industrially treated seeds (TSI) at sowing time.

Weed control was carried out with glyphosate (445 g L-1) and ethyl chlorimuron (250 g kg-1). At flowering beginning, topdressing was carried out with 100 kg ha-1 of potassium chloride.

For crop phytosanitary management, mancozeb (800 g kg-1), azoxystrobin (120 g L-1) + tebuconazole (200 g L-1), pyraclostrobin (333 g L-1) + fluxapyroxad (167 g L-1 ), thiamethoxam (141 g L-1) + lambda-cyhalothrin (106 g L-1) and novalurom (100 g L-1), were used according to level attack/infestation and culture recommendation.

At the end of autumn/winter cultivation, total biomass was determined for each species. Crops with corn and wheat, grain yield was determined. In 2019/2020 crop, soil resistance penetration during flowering soybean beginning was determined. During soil penetration resistance evaluation, the moisture condition was 24.16% (0-0.2 m depth), 24.7% (0.2-0.4 m depth) and 25.3% (0.4-0.6 m). The Penetrolog equipment (Falker™) with a 0.6 m cone-shaped rod was used.

During crops cultivation, technical-financial surveys were carried out in order to determine the production cost of the analyzed cultures, the financial return and the annual economic balance (U$$ ha-1 year1), according to the products/services costs and commercialization value referring to Campo Mouräo-PR region.

To yield determination plants were collected in the useful area, and sent to Post-harvest Technology laboratory at the State University of Maringá (UEM). Grain mass was performed on an analytical balance (± 0.001 g), the water content in grains was determined by gravimetric method in oven with forced air circulation (105 °C for 24 hours). Grain yield was expressed in kg ha-1 with 14% standardized moisture content.

Biomass production and soybean yield data were subjected to analysis of variance and means grouped by ScottKnott test with 5% of significance, by SISVAR software (Ferreira, 2019) used.

results and discussion

Crop adoptions in between harvest period (autumn/winter) has the potential to impact the production system due to biomass production and the economic impact obtained. Cover crops can improve soil properties and increase yield, the effects can vary depending on, soil and climate conditions (Acharya et al., 2019). Even yield increments are not high, there are benefits associated with accumulation and nutrients cycling (Peterson et al., 2019).

Biomass production showed significant difference between the species adopted in 2019/2020 crop (Table 3), the highest biomass production was obtained with oilseed radish cultivation in single system, while in 2020/2021 crop the highest biomass production was obtained with single corn cultivation.

Higher biomass values in autumn/winter 2019/2020 crop were obtained with oilseed radish, brachiaria and corn intercropped with brachiaria. In 2020/2021 crop, the highest biomass production was obtained with corn cultivation and corn intercropped with brachiaria.

The higher biomass production in the winter period tends to suppress the spontaneous plants development, being more efficient when using grass species (Baraibar et al., 2018). Although still adopted in production areas, the spontaneous plants development cause negative effects on production system, considering the period with different plant proportions and species (Comin et al., 2018).

Although the highest efficiency of crops biomass accumulation in the study, only corn allows the immediate economic return for grain production, biomass production tends to increase of carbon stock in the soil, generating benefits for crops in succession and for long time (Aldridge et al., 2019, McClelland et al., 2021). According to Buchi et al. (2018), cover crops adoption in a short period of time, but with good development and mass accumulation, allows sustaining high wheat yields in succession in a no-tillage system, in addition to improving soil fertility.

Crops corn intercropped with brachiaria can contribute to productive efficiency, increasing biomass production and maintaining grain yield. According to Hunter et al. (2019), simultaneous cultivation with different species can increase biomass production, favor erosion control, weed suppression, nitrogen and carbon accumulation and change C/N ratio of remaining straw without changing yield. However, the management of species implantation in intercropped system must consider technical factors, corn intercropping with brachiaria ruziziensis in the same region Wenneck et al. (2021) found significant differences in yield and economic return as function of brachiaria sowing position.

Maintenance of remaining strow on soil surface combined with minimum soil disturbance are presuppositions for production in a no-tillage system, and have influence on soil's resistance to penetration, which the lowest values favor the establishment crops and soil water infiltration (Gabriel et al., 2021).

In the first soybean crop of succession system, differences were observed in soil penetration resistance values. In all cultivation system were obtained values lower than 3 MPa. In soybean cultivation after black oat, brachiaria, wheat, oilseed radish and black oat intercropped with oilseed radish, the average values until 20 cm depth were less than 2 MPa, being lower than those obtained in cultivation after the development of weeds. (Figure 1).

According to Moraes et al. (2014), the critical limits of resistance to penetration in Red Latosol are 3.0 MPa when adopted minimum tillage with scarification and 3.5 MPa in no-tillage system. Although in all conditions analyzed the results were below the critical limit, a reduction in soil resistance to penetration was verified in areas with black oat, brachiaria, oilseed radish and black oat intercropped with oilseed radish in relation to the fallow area (spontaneous plants).

In corn cultivation, there was reduction in soil resistance to penetration in almost every profile analyzed when compared to fallow conditions. According to Ren et al. (2019), corn roots tend to perform well up to 40 cm in depth. The use of vegetation cover in periods between crops and species rotation in a no-tillage system tend to increase soybean and corn yields in relation to cultivation after fallow (Forte et al., 2018).

In corn cultivation, there was reduction in soil resistance to penetration in almost every profile analyzed when compared to fallow conditions. According to Ren et al. (2019), corn roots tend to perform well up to 40 cm in depth. The use of vegetation cover in periods between crops and species rotation in a no-tillage system tend to increase soybean and corn yields in relation to cultivation after fallow (Forte et al., 2018).

In the study, the highest soybean yield was obtained in succession with brachiaria during both analyzed crops (2019/2020 and 2020/2021). In 2020/2021 crop, higher productivity was also obtained for soybean in succession with brachiaria, while the worst performance was obtained with soybean cultivation after a period without cultivation, with development of spontaneous plants (Table 4).

Although brachiaria biomass production did not show superior results, the benefits associated with its cultivation related to soil improvements, such as reduced penetration resistance and improving nutrient cycling. According to Tanaka et al. (2019) biomass production of Urochloa brizanta or U. ruziziensis increases nutrients accumulation in the straw and increases soybean yield in succession, in a short-term impact.

In 2019/2020 crop, soybean yields after black oat, corn, wheat, oilseed radish and black oat intercropped with oilseed radish crops were statistically similar, while in the 2020/2021 crop, soybean after wheat showed higher yield than other crops. In both seasons, the worst soybean performance was obtained after fallow (spontaneous plants), which can be related to weed infestation, soil cover and nutrient cycling.

Regarding the economic analysis, in 2019/2020 crop the return was positive in autumn/winter growing period only for crops intended for grain production (corn and wheat), with the higher returns for wheat. Soybean economic return was higher after brachiaria cultivation, however best results obtained in the annual balance was in the wheat-soybean succession (Table 5).

In 2020/2021 crop, the best economic return was obtained for corn in single cultivation, followed by wheat. In soybean crop, the best economic return was obtained after brachiaria cultivation, while cultivation after spontaneous showed the worst results. Regarding the crop annual balance, the best performance was for wheat-soybean succession (Table 6).

Grain production in autumn/winter season has economic and social relevance in food production, for corn yield and economic return are conditioned by climatic conditions and sowing date (Battisti et al., 2020).

The best yield and soybean economic return were obtained in succession to brachiaria, however, when performing annual balance analysis, greater economic performance was obtained in areas with soybean cultivation in succession to wheat, resulting from the production and grains sale in the winter and maintaining high soybeans in summer. Differences in economic return between crops related to the selling price of the products.

Adoption of rotation systems, mainly with vegetation cover species, has a lower economic performance in the first years, with favorable economic results being high in the fourth year of rotation implementation according to characteristics species and production system (Cai et al., 2019). Although crop rotation can improve soybean and corn yields in the long term, the determination of implanted species must consider performance variables and influence on the production system (Singh et al., 2021).

CONCLUSIONS

The biomass produced in the autumn/winter season varies with the species and cultivation system adopted.

Soybean yield is higher when cultivated in succession to brachiaria, while the worst performance is obtained in succession to spontaneous plants.

The cultivation of wheat in the winter and soybeans in the summer presents superior economic performance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND FULL DISCLOSURE

The Coordenaçâo de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES) under grant 001, The Fundaçâo de Estudos Agrarios Luiz de Queiroz (FEALQ) under grant 2917/2020, and Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM).

There is no conflict of interest in conducting and publishing the work.

Sidebar

Submmited on April 26th, 2022 and accepted on December 12th, 2022.

Footnote

1 Work originated from an institutional research project of the second author, being partially financed by the Fundaçao de Estudos Agrarios Luiz de Queiroz (FEALQ).

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

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