Calcium silicate slag, as a soil acidity corrective material with long-lasting residual effects, can benefit long-cycle cultures like sugar cane, thus minimizing production drops during the productive cycle. This study evaluated different base saturation levels, comparing calcitic limestone to basic slag as a soil corrective agent, in relation to alterations of some chemical soil properties, as well as to the response of sugar cane rattoon. Sugar cane of the SP 80-1842 type, during the third and fourth cut in the agricultural years 2000/01 and 2001/02, was used for the experiment. The treatments, arranged in randomized blocks with four replications, consisted in the application of two corrective agents: calcitic limestone and basic slag, evaluated by the base saturation method, with four correction levels (V %): control (without correction), correction for V % to 50; 75; and 100, applied at planting. After 48 months, both calcitic limestone and basic slag had generated a beneficial residual effect in the correction of soil acidity and the increase of base saturation. The highest limestone rate caused a restrictive effect on the sprouts, the number of industrially usable culms and on the sugar cane yield, while under the use of basic slag, this fact was not observed. The application of basic slag and limestone in pre-planting caused a positive residual effect on the yield of sugar cane rattoon.
calcium silicate; calcitic limestone; base saturation; Saccharum
