Besides protecting soil from erosion, plant residues left on the soil surface by green cover crops in no-till cropping systems represent a considerable nutrient source of nutrients that can be made available for the following crop. Potassium leaching from the straw of six cover crop species was evaluated, in relation to the amount of rain on the residues. Pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum), guinea sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), black oat (Avena strigosa), triticale (Triticum secale), Indian hemp (Crotalaria juncea) and brachiaria (Brachiaria decumbens) were grown under greenhouse conditions in pots with soil, in Botucatu, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Forty-five days after emergence, the plants were cut, dried and placed in PVC rings, simulating an amount of 8 t ha-1 of straw. Rainfalls of 4.4, 8.7, 17.4, 34.9, and 69.8 mm were applied. The straws retained up to 3.0 mm of water, irrespective of the plant species, and rains of 5 mm did not cause K leaching. Maximum K leaching per rain unit was observed for rainfalls around 20 mm, and decreased under heavier rainfalls. The amount of K released from the straw right after preparation is species-dependent, but is always below 24.0 kg ha-1 under rains up to 70 mm, and positively related with tissue nutrient contents. Triticale and black oats are more efficient at recycling K.
cover crops; no-till; nutrient cycling; rains
