MODALITIES FOR SOIL PREPARATION AND GYPSUM APPLICATION IN ULTISOL: STEM PRODUCTIVITY OF SUGARCANE

The study was conducted in an area of expansion of sugarcane at Vale do Parana factory in Suzanapolis city - Sao Paulo (SP), in Brazil, in the northwestern region of the State of Sao Paulo. It was used the sugarcane variety RB92-5345, 1.5m of spacing between rows, in an Ultisol. The study aimed to evaluate the productivity of sugarcane and first ratoon and some soil chemical attributes in function of soil tillage and application or not of gypsum. The experimental design was randomized blocks with six treatments, in a factorial 3x2 and six replicates, the main treatments were soil tillage with three equipments, moldboard plow, chisel plow, and heavy harrow, and two secondary treatments with application of 1 t ha(-1) of gypsum and no gypsum. After each harvest of cane, the soil was characterized as to its fertility indicators in layers of 0.0-0.15; 0.15-0.30 and 0.30-0.45m. Differences in values of soil chemical attributes due to the methods of preparation occurred in the sugarcane did not last until the harvest of the 1st ratoon cane, and also did not influence the crop productivity. The gypsum application resulted in higher values of total recoverable sugar (TRS) and the productivity of tons of stems per hectare (TSH) to sugarcane and 1st ratoon cane, respectively, confirming the initial hypothesis.