Qualidade do solo de áreas cultivadas com cebola (Allium cepa L.) no semiárido baiano.

Abstract

The Soil quality changes according to the handling adopted having It’s physical, chemical and biological properties sensitive to these changes. This study aimed to evaluate soil quality in sowing areas and conventional cultivation (transplanting) of onion culture in the semi arid region Bahia. The study was conducted in the city of Casa Nova located in Bahia, which is fully inserted into the Water parting of the São Francisco River in the surroundings of Sobradinho Lake. In the Northeast, the São Francisco Valley contributes about 18.0% of the national production of onion and having the city of Casa Nova, as the largest producer in the region, hitting a productivity of 40,950 t/year. Five rural properties were selected on the basis of representative characteristics of the production system in the region and the proximity to the Sobradinho Lake. The soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-10 cm in the areas of sowing and transplanting in two production periods, before and after cultivation. The planting areas were divided into three parts having proportional size of the areas and in each parcel, 25 simple single samples were collected to form a composite, totalizing three composites samples per area. To evaluate the quality of soil were selected physical, chemical and biological indicators. The areas that had the best soil quality were the production areas AP3 and AP4, when compared with the other areas evaluated. The β- glucosidase enzyme, the soil respiration and organic matter were the most sensitive indicators to soil handling. Multivariate analysis showed efficiency correlating environmental indicators with the handling adopted in the studied areas.