Abstract

The study was conducted in the Agricultural Research Station of the Central University Marta Abreu of Las Villas –Villa Clara, Cuba–, on a moderately washed soft Brown soil, in order to evaluate the effect of different doses of decomposed cattle manure on the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the soybean yield and the populations of pentatomids. Two soybean varieties were planted: Incasoy-27 and Incasoy-35, at a distance of 0,40 m x 0,05 m which formed the two experiments. The treatments were: T1.- control without application of manure; T2.–decomposed cattle manure 4 t ha-1; T3.- decomposed cattle manure 8 t ha-1 with four replicas each. The following physical and chemical soil properties were evaluated: structure factor, stable aggregates, permeability, pH, organic matter, assimilable phosphorus and potassium. The decomposed manure had effect not only on the soil, but also on the control of the population of pentatomids. The application of decomposed manure produced a significant increase in aggregation, with a category change from regular (52,96 %) to good (66,95 %). The use of decomposed manure in interaction with the soybean crop significantly increased the OM of the soil during a short period of time, which went from low (2,5 %) to moderate category (3,7 %). Likewise, the application of organic matter significantly decreased the population of pentatomids in the soybean crop.