No-tillage system participatory quality index

• Published in: Revista brasileira de engenharia agrícola e ambiental 2020-02, Vol.24 (2), p.128-133
• Main Authors: Telles, Tiago S., Righetto, Ana J., Lourenço, Marco A. P., Barbosa, Graziela M. C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
• ISSN: 1415-4366; 1807-1929; 1807-1929
• DOI: 10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v24n2p128-133

ABSTRACT The no-tillage system participatory quality index aims to evaluate the quality and efficiency of soil management under no-tillage systems and consists of a weighted sum of eight indicators: intensity of crop rotation, diversity of crop rotation, persistence of crop residues in the soil surface, frequency of soil tillage, use of agricultural terraces, evaluation of soil conservation, balance of soil fertilization and time of adoption of the no-tillage system. The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which these indicators correlate with the no-tillage system participatory quality index and to characterize the farmers who participated in the research. The data used were provided by ITAIPU Binacional for the indicators of the no-tillage system participatory quality index II. Descriptive analyses were performed, and the Pearson correlation coefficient between the index and each indicator was calculated. To assess the relationship between the indicators and the farmers’ behavior toward the indicators, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed. Although all correlations are significant at p-value ≤ 0.05, some correlations are weak, indicating a need for improvement of the index. The principal component analysis identified three principal components, which explained 66% of the variability of the data, and the cluster analysis separated the 121 farmers into five groups. It was verified that the no-tillage system participatory quality index II has some limitations and should therefore be reevaluated to increase its efficiency as an indicator of the quality of the no-tillage system. RESUMO O índice de qualidade participativo do sistema plantio direto tem o intuito de avaliar a qualidade e a eficiência do manejo do solo quanto ao uso do sistema plantio direto, sendo formado pela soma ponderada de oito indicadores: intensidade da rotação de culturas, diversidade da rotação de culturas, persistência de resíduos na superfície do solo, frequência de preparo do solo, uso de terraços agrícolas, avaliação da conservação do solo, fertilidade balanceada do solo e tempo de adoção do sistema plantio direto. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar com qual intensidade esses indicadores se correlacionam com o índice de qualidade participativa do sistema plantio direto e caracterizar os produtores rurais que participaram da pesquisa. Foram utilizados dados da ITAIPU Binacional, referentes ao índice de qualidade participativo do sistema planti