With the objective of evaluating the growth of cover crops under different levels of soil compaction an experiment was installed under greenhouse conditions. A completely randomized block design was used with four replications, in which the treatments consisted of a factorial with four vegetal species of cover crops: Cajanus cajan, Sesamum indicum L., Pennisetum glaucum L. cultivar ADR 300 and Chenopodium quinoa Willd., in four levels of subsurface compaction (soil bulk density: 1.18; 1.34; 1.51 and 1.60 Mg m-3) in a Typic distropheric Red Latosol. The compaction of the subsurface soil was restrictive to the root growth of the studied species, concentrating them in the upper layer. The Pennisetum glaucum cultivar ADR 300 excelled in the production of dry matter and was able to develop in the compacted layers and below them. The increase of soil density in the compacted layer did not influence the root length density of the Cajanus cajan, Sesamum indicum and Chenopodium quinoa, however these species had inferior performance when compared with the Pennisetum glaucum (L.) cultivar ADR 300, which presented greater root length density in all layers and densities.
soil density; root length density; root
