O cultivo e a deposição de resíduos de plantas de cobertura em sistema plantio direto podem afetar os atributos químicos do solo e a produção de cebola. O trabalho objetivou avaliar a interferência do cultivo de plantas de cobertura sobre a produção de cebola e sobre os atributos químicos do solo em sistema plantio direto (SPD) agroecológico. O experimento foi conduzido na EPAGRI, em Ituporanga (SC), em um Cambissolo Húmico, nas safras de 2010 e 2011. Em abril, foram implantados os tratamentos: testemunha com vegetação espontânea (T1); cevada (2010)/aveia-preta (2011) (T2); centeio (T3); nabo-forrageiro (T4); centeio + nabo-forrageiro (T5); e cevada (2010)/aveia-preta (2011) + nabo-forrageiro (T6). Aos 60, 80 e 95 dias após a semeadura (DAS) das espécies de inverno, coletou-se a parte aérea das plantas e determinou-se a produção de matéria seca por hectare. Em julho, foram transplantadas mudas de cebola e, em novembro, avaliou-se a produção. Após o acamamento das plantas de cobertura de inverno e a colheita da cebola, foi coletado solo na camada de 0-10 cm e submetido à análise de atributos químicos. O cultivo e a deposição dos resíduos de matéria seca das espécies de plantas de cobertura em SPD contribuíram para o aumento e a manutenção da produção total de cebola ao longo dos anos. Os atributos químicos do solo, com exceção do K trocável, P disponível e valores de saturação da CTCpH7,0 por bases não foram afetados pelo cultivo de plantas de cobertura.

Some species of cover crops produce phenolic compounds with allelopathic potential. The use of math, statistical and computational tools to analyze data obtained with spectrophotometry can assist in the chemical profile discrimination to choose which species and cultivation are the best for weed management purposes. The aim of this study was to perform exploratory and discriminant analysis using R package specmine on the phenolic profile of Secale cereale L., Avena strigosa L. and Raphanus sativus L. shoots obtained by UV–vis scanning spectrophotometry. Plants were collected at 60, 80 and 100 days after sowing and at 15 and 30 days after rolling in experiment in Brazil. Exploratory and discriminant analysis, namely principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis, t-test, fold-change, analysis of variance and supervised machine learning analysis were performed. Results showed a stronger tendency to cluster phenolic profiles according to plant species rather than crop management system, period of sampling or plant phenologic stage. PCA analysis showed a strong distinction of S. cereale L. and A. strigosa L. 30 days after rolling. Due to the fast analysis and friendly use, the R package specmine can be recommended as a supporting tool to exploratory and discriminatory analysis of multivariate data.

Microbial biomass is a driving force in the dynamics of soil organic matter, and microbial activity is an indicator of soil quality in agroecosystems, reflecting changes in management practices and environmental conditions. We evaluated the effect of monoculture and intercropped winter cover crops on soil chemical attributes, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), basal respiration (BR), metabolic quotient (qCO2), urease, β-glucosidase, and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis activity, as well as onion yield in a no-tillage system. Soil is a Typic Humudept, and treatments were control with spontaneous vegetation, barley, rye, oilseed radish (OR), OR + rye, and OR + barley. The soil was sampled (0-10 cm) five times between June and December. There were no differences among treatments for MBC and BR, and the highest values for those attributes occurred in June, when cover plants were in their initial stage. Although, qCO2 was not affected by any treatment, it varied among sampling periods, ranging from 0.62 to 10 µg C-CO2 mg-1 MBC h-1, indicating a low- or no stress environment. Cover crops had little influence on enzyme activity, but FDA was lowered in areas with single crops of barley and rye. Average onion yield in cover crops treatments was 13.01 (Mg ha-1), 30-40% higher than in the control treatment.

The cultivation and deposition of cover crops residues on the soil surface can reduce weed emergence. The objective of this study was to evaluate the emergence of weeds, in a greenhouse, on a soil with cover crops in an agroecological no-tillage system. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with soil samples from an experiment installed in Ituporanga (Santa Catarina state). On April 2010 and 2011, the following field treatments were implemented: weed vegetation (VE), Hordeum vulgare (2010)/Avena strigosa (2011) (CV/AV), Secale cereale (CE), Raphanus sativus (NF), Secale cereale + Raphanus sativus (NF+CE) and Hordeum vulgare/Avena strigosa + Raphanus sativus (NF+AV). After the rotation of the species, the soil samples were collected in July. The identification of the species and the emergence assessment occurred 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 and 105 days after the beginning of the experiment. The species with the highest incidence were: Amaranthus lividus, Oxalis spp., Cyperus spp., Stachys arvensis, Cynodon spp. and Rumex obtusifolius. Residues from single species of Secale cereale, Avena strigosa and Hordeum vulgare have shown the greatest ability to suppress weeds during the first 45 evaluation days; this corresponds to the beginning of the critical period in the onion development.

The identification of compounds with allelopathic potential produced by cover crops can assist in selecting species for weed management purposes in no-tillage systems. This study aimed to identify the main phenolic compounds with allelopathic potential in the shoot of rye (Secale cereale L.) and oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cover crops, as well as evaluate whether the cultivation system and phenological stage may influence secondary metabolite production and weed emergence. Samples of the shoot of these cover crops were collected at 60, 80, and 100 days after sowing (DAS) and 15 and 30 days after lodging (DAL) under field conditions. Weed emergence was evaluated at 45, 75, and 100 DAL of cover crops. The main compounds in rye were 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (MBOA) and 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA) under monocropping and intercropping, while flavonoid quercetin was found in oilseed radish at all evaluated times. During the growing cycle, the highest contents of phenolic compounds were found at the elongation stage (60 DAS) of rye under monocropping and intercropping systems (9.33 and 8.22 mg g-1 DM, respectively) and at grain filling stage (100 DAS) for oilseed radish intercropped with rye and black oat (3.24 and 3.83 mg g-1 DM, respectively). No differences were found in the contents of the main compounds when the species was grown under monocropping or intercropping systems. A reduction in the contents of MBOA, BOA, and quercetin was observed after lodging. Weed dry matter production was lower at 45 DAL in all treatments with rye and oilseed radish residues when compared to the control. The intercropping of rye with oilseed radish is an alternative management for weed control in agroecological systems due to the physical barrier created by these species and the presence of phenolic compounds with allelopathic potential.