ABSTRACT
Biological essays in pots with subterranean clover in coastal dryland soils, VI Region of Chile. I . Methodology.

José Domingo Opazo A.1, Lorena Fernández S. y M. Adriana Carrasco R.
 

The pastoral value of coastal dryland pastures in the central zone of Chile could be improved by the sowing and establishment ofsubterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.). The disappearance ofthis species after one or two years could be partly related to soil nutrient deficiencies. As an intermediate stage to achieve a short term survey about soil nutrient availability, a biological essay in pots under greenhouse conditions was developed. Two soils from Curanipe and Marchihue series were included and sampled at a 0-20 cm depth as a preliminary stage. Physical and chemical properties and nutrient availability were determined to be compared with data from the biological essays. The proposed method allowed the normal growth of subterranean clover until the end of its vital cycle, and the biological essays confirmed the low soil availability for P but not for S, B and Mo.

Keywords: soil fertility evaluation, greenhouse experiment, dryland soils.
1 Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Casilla 1004, Santiago, Chile. E-mail: jopazo@abello.dic.uchile.cl.