ROOT parameters of sugarcane and soil compaction indicators under deep strip tillage and conventional tillage

Soil tillage and agricultural traffic generate changes in soil physical attributes and affect the growth of the roots. This study evaluates the impact of system soil tillage on compaction and sugarcane root growth. The experiment was carried out on a Rhodic Kandiudox with two soil tillages (Deep Strip Tillage and Conventional Tillage) and two positions (beds or traffic lane and no traffic lane), totaling four treatments (DST-beds + no traffic lane, DST-traffic lane, CT-no traffic lane and CT-traffic lane). Soil penetration resistance (SPR), bulk density, dry mass, and root system lengths and volumes were evaluated. DST-beds presented lower values for SPR (1.45 MPa) compared to the other treatments (2.55 MPa). This lower SPR did not reflect significant increases in root growth in relation to the DST-traffic lane, meaning that the roots were not confined to the beds. The dry root mass for CT- traffic lane was 35% less than for DST- traffic lane, and CT-no traffic lane reduced of the root dry mass in the layers 0.0–0.2 and 0.2–0.4 m by 62% and 47%, respectively, compared to the DST-beds. Therefore, CT, although widely used, does not create adequate conditions for root development in the first sugarcane cycle, even in lanes with no traffic.