The sugarcane harvesting techniques do not always follow the precepts of soil conservation, which may influence soil physical properties with consequent change in the rate of soil water infiltration. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of different cropping systems (manual cutting and automated cutting) of sugarcanes (green and burned), on water infiltration in the soil and to determine the adequacy of mathematical models to estimate the rate of water infiltration in the soil profile. It was used a portable rainfall simulator calibrated to apply rainfall of 60 mm h-1. Tests of water infiltration in the soil were carried out in three cropping systems: manual harvesting of burnt cane, mechanical harvest of green cane and mechanical harvesting of burnt cane. The quality of the adjustment of models was evaluated by non-linear regression between the estimated values and the mean observed for each treatment. In the treatment where mechanical harvesting was applied it was observed a decreasing in the final infiltration rate compared to the area under manual harvesting of burnt cane. The equation of Horton was the most suitable to estimate the water infiltration rate in soil.
sugar cane harvest; infiltration rate; sprinkler infiltrometer
