ABSTRACT
Changes produced in a soil under conservation tillage and direct drilling of cotton in Chaco, Argentina

Juan Prause1 y Jorge Soler
 

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) farming represents 49% of the surface of annual crops of Chaco Province, Argentina. During the last 7 years, direct drilling has spread in some areas of the southwest of the province, in opposition to the traditional tillage systems. With the objective of evaluating the effects of the conservation tillage (LC) and the direct drilling (SD) on Argiustol Udico soil on cotton, the following were determined: soil water content, bulk density, pH, organic matter, assimilable phosphorus and exchangeable calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. The results indicate that SD caused an increase in bulk density and pH values at a depth of 0 - 15 cm. There were no differences between SD and LC for organic matter, P, Ca, Mg y Na. A better response to conservation of soil moisture was found with LC during a long drought.

Keywords: alternative systems, soil properties, cotton.
1 Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Sargento Cabral 2131, (3400), Corrientes, Argentina. E-mail: prause@agr.unne.edu.ar.