The direct consequences of inadequate soil management are erosion, productivity reduction and loss of sustainability. This study aimed to evaluate the resistance to penetration and permeability of soil to water under management systems used in the cerrado region. The study was conducted at Embrapa Corn and Sorghum, in Sete Lagoas (MG), using a cerrado phase, very clayey, typic dystrophic Red Latosol (Acrusthox). The native cerrado provided lower soil density, higher macroporosity, higher total volume of pores, and consequently, smaller resistance to penetration (0.84 to 2.09 MPa) and higher permeability (95 mm h-1). Higher resistance to vertical penetration values were found for conventional tillage with disk plow and corn-soybean rotation, at 15-30 cm depth, being the 3.04 MPa value classified as high, which can be indicative of restriction to root development and soil compaction. In general, greater values of resistance to penetration were observed throughout the soil profile, for the no-tillage system. There were no significant differences in permeability among the management systems, with the values ranging from 6 to 14 mm h-1 being classified as slow; these values were rather inferior than the equilibrium system. The physical attributes utilized in this study, as indicators of soil quality, presented a good distinction of the effects provided by the management systems in relation to those of the system in equilibrium, contributing for the monitoring of sustainable management of soils in the cerrado region.
soil quality; no-tillage; disk plow; plow harrow