Research on the performance of cover crops in crop systems of annual crops in the Brazilian state of Piauí contributes to increases in yield, greater efficiency of fertilizers and mitigation of environmental impacts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of cover crops in terms of biomass production and the accumulation and release of nutrients during the crop season (November to April) in an oxisol in the Brazilian Cerrado in the state of Piauí that was submitted to different crop production systems including soybeans, maize and upland rice. The experiment was established during the 2010/11 and 2011/12 crop years in the rural area near the municipality of Bom Jesus, Piauí. The experimental design was a randomized block in a split-plot array. Different soil management systems (conventional and no-till) were evaluated in the main plots. Different crop production systems consisting of cover crops sown in the off-season (April to November), and annual crops sown during the crop season (November to April) were implemented in the subplots. The crop production systems that included Urochloa ruziziensis and Pennisetum glaucum overseeded on soybeans and Urochloa ruziziensis simultaneously intercropped with maize stood out in terms of biomass production and the accumulation and release of nutrients. Yields of maize and upland rice declined when sown under newly implemented no-till soil management.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the biomass (leaves and stems) production of annual and cover crops sown as second crop, and its effects on soybean yield in succession. The experiment was carried out in the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 crop seasons. Soybean was sown in the crop season and in the second crop, in a randomized complete block design, in nine production systems (treatments) consisting of annual crops (corn, sunflower, and cowpea) and cover crops (Pennisetum glaucum, Crotalaria breviflora, C. spectabilis, Urochloa ruziziensis, Cajanus cajan, Stylosanthes sp., and U. brizantha), which were grown in monocropping or intercropping systems, besides fallow as a control. Monocropped P. glaucum and U. ruziziensis showed a faster establishment and growth of plants, higher-total biomass and soil cover rate in the 2014 crop season. In 2015, corn intercropped with U.ruziziensis and C.spectabilis, and sunflower with U.ruziziensis stood out for total biomass production during flowering and after harvesting of corn and sunflower grains. Biomass composition in the systems showed greater proportions of stems than of leaves, and C.spectabilis stood out after senescence. Sown as a second crop, C. spectabilis promotes yield increase of soybean grown in succession in the no-tillage system.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of phytomass accumulation, soil cover, and nutrient cycling promoted by cultivation systems with annual and cover crops on the grain yield of soybean sown in succession in the Cerrado, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with nine cultivation systems and four replicates, in two crop seasons. In 2014/2015, forage grasses and legumes were evaluated, besides fallow treatments. In 2015/2016, forage and legume intercropped or not with corn or sunflower and fallow were assessed; the soybean crop was evaluated following cover crops. Phytomass, soil cover, and nutrient cycling provided by cultivation systems, as well as soybean mass and yield, were determined. Urochloa ruziziensis alone or intercropped, compared with the fallow systems, promotes significant increases in phytomass production, soil cover and nutrient cycling, with an increase in the grain yield of soybean planted in succession. N and K are the most accumulated nutrients in the aerial part of the cover crops and are released in larger quantities in the soil in the two years of evaluation. Crotalaria spectabilis promotes an increase in soybean yield in the 2015/2016 crop season, compared with U. ruziziensis, due to the synchronism between N release and uptake under no-tillage system.

The aim of this study was to investigate the short- and medium-term effect of biochar on soil microbial properties, organic carbon and nitrogen in an Oxisol from Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design consisting of five levels of biochar (0, 2, 4, 8 and 16 Mg∙ha^–1) with and without of synthetic fertilizer: 0 and 200 kg.ha^–1 of synthetic fertilizer N-P-K (00-20-20). The following soil properties were determined: microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), microbial respiration (MR), metabolic quotient (qCO₂) and microbial quotient (qMIC), total organic carbon (TOC) and nitrogen (TN). The MBC, qCO₂ and carbon management index (CMI) were not altered by doses of fertilizer and biochar. The presence of biochar reduced the MBN by 11% and 5% with the application of16 Mg∙ha^–1 compared to control in the third and sixth year, respectively. The qMIC was reduced exponentially with the application of biochar, but was within normal limits as a proportion of total organic carbon. There was an increase in TOC and TN with the application of biochar. The use of biochar did not cause significant negative changes in soil microbial properties or contribute to carbon sequestration in the soil.