Cultivation of Urochloa brizantha under different soil densities and doses of wood ash

ABSTRACT Soil compaction is a recurring problem in agriculture that ultimately leads to a reduction in crop productivity. However, the application of agro-industrial residues from the burning of plant biomass can improve the chemical and physical properties of soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth of Paiaguás grass under different soil densities and wood ash doses. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design, under a 5 × 5 factorial scheme, with five soil compaction values (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, and 1.8 Mg m-3) and five doses of wood ash (0, 8, 16, 24, and 32 g dm-3), with four replicates. A soil density greater than 1.2 Mg m-3 reduced the dry mass of Paiaguás grass. The wood ash dose of 20.42 g dm-3 led to the highest shoot dry mass. Root growth was highest at a wood ash dose of 16.52 g dm-3.