Effect of Leucaena leucocephala on structure and content of dry matter in the soil of two cattle rearing units in Villa Clara, Cuba

Abstract

In order to determine the effect of Leucaena leucocephala on the structure and content of organic matter in the soil of two cattle rearing units in Villa Clara, two experiments were performed. One was developed in the Estación Experimental Agrícola de la Universidad Central de las Villas and the other, in the dairy farm “El Mamey” from the Instituto Tecnológico Agropecuario
“Victoria de Santa Clara”, both in fluffy brown carbonated soil. In the first, four treatments were established: treatment 1 (natural grass), treatment 2 (Leucaena leucocephala, with five years of establishment), treatment 3 (Leucaena leucocephala, with four years of establishment), and treatment 4 (permanent banana crop). In the second experiment, three treatments were
developed: treatment 1 (Leucaena leucocephala, with three years in a rotational grazing system), treatment 2 (Leucaena leucocephala, with eight years in a rational system), treatment 3 (natural grass). Samples were taken for the analysis of organic matter and structure indicators (structure factor, stable aggregates, permeability, plasticity limits) at 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm
deep. The experimental designed was completely random blocks design. Results indicate that Leucaena influence, at a long term, on the content of organic matter, as a tree or integrated to the silvopastoral system (adjustment curve R2 0.82-0.92), as well as on the structure factor, stable aggregates and permeability, with values superior to 65 % (good), 70 % (excellent) and 2.00 log 10k (excellent), respectively.
Key words: soil management, legume, structure, organic matter