Soil quality index for cacao cropping systems |
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| Authors: | Quintino Araujo Dario Ahnert Guilherme Loureiro José Faria Cinira Fernandes Virupax Baligar |
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| Institution: | 1. Executive Commission of the Cacao Farming Plan, CEPLAC/Cocoa Research Center, Ilhéus, Brazil;2. UESC - State University of Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazilquintinoar@gmail.com quintino@uesc.br;4. Department of Biological Sciences, UESC, Ilhéus, Brazil;5. Cocoa Research Center (CEPEC), Executive Commission for the Cacao Farming Plan (CEPLAC), Ilhéus, Brazil;6. Department of Exact and Technological Sciences, UESC, Ilhéus, Brazil;7. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Bahia, Uru?uca, Brazil;8. ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, USDA, Beltsville, MD, USA |
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| Abstract: | The soil quality index (SQI) for cacao cropping systems was developed to meet the nutritional criteria of the crop, the environmental safety of the cropping sites and the increasing demand for the production and quality of cocoa. Available water function (AWF), root growth function (RGF), mineral nutrition of plants function (MNF) and environmental safety function (ESF) for potentially toxic elements were included in the additive model of SQI for cacao cropping systems. In this study, over 66% of the cacao fields cropping sites were classified as regular SQI with a range of scores between 0.42 and 0.61. The field cropping site with the highest score (0.73) characterized as typic Alitic Red-Yellow Argisol was rated with high SQI. In contrast, the field cropping sites characterized as abrupt Cohesive Dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol (0.29), typic Dystrophic Haplic Cambisol (0.39), and latosolic Dystrophic Yellow Argisol (0.40) were rated with low SQI. MNF and AWF were the functions that most contributed to the increase or decrease of SQI scores. The SQI adapted expressed the agro-environmental reality of cacao cropping systems of Bahia, Brazil, and this could be a versatile tool to subsidize the adequate soil management of cacao plantations around the world. |
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| Keywords: | Soil quality Theobroma cacao L plant nutrition soil management cropping systems agricultural sustainability |
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