Soil fertility and performance of sorghum in monoculture and integrated with Piatã grass using biofertilizer as a nutritional source

The objective was to evaluate the effect of biofertilizer obtained through the anaerobic bio-digestion of poultry litter on the performance of sorghum BRS 610 in monoculture and integrated, and its impacts on the chemical attributes of the soil. The experiment was carried out following the premises of a randomized block design, in split-plots, with five levels of biofertilizer (0; 10; 20; 30; 40 m³ ha-1) in two cropping systems (sorghum monoculture and Piatã grass + sorghum intercropping). The agronomic characteristics of the biofertilizer levels in the two cropping systems were assessed, as well as the influence on the soil’s chemical attributes. The use of biofertilizers affected forage production, with quadratic effects on the monoculture and linear effects on the intercropping system. For both production systems, the proportion of leaves and stems, as well as the number of plants, showed decreasing linear effects as the application of biofertilizers increased. In addition, it increased the levels of P and K⁺, with the best results at levels of 40 m³ ha-¹ on both production systems. The pH and Al³⁺ showed variations depending on the depth and level Applied. The use of biofertilizer from the anaerobic bio-digestion of chicken litter compromises the performance of sorghum in intercropping, but improves the production of green and dry mass in monoculture up to a level of 21.54 m3 ha-1, as well as the levels of P and K+ in the soil.