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To assess soil fertility after it has been managed, or to monitor the evolution of its properties when subjected to the impact of some improvement measure, it is necessary to take into consideration physical analysis. Although structure is one of the properties most sensitive to changes, N. I. Savvinov method does not provide precise information related to results of its analysis and soil aggregation state. The present work aim was to evaluate and establish an indicator calibration of structural stability and their relation to the weighted average diameter of aggregates in different soils. To establish the indicator calibration, 161 samples from the cultivable horizon of different types of soils were analyzed. Soils under pasture and forest showed the best indicators of structural stability and a weighted average diameter of their aggregates more favorable for crop development; while those intended for intensive agricultural production showed values indicative of their structure degradation and the prevalence of diameters in their aggregates that affect the proper functioning of soils, so that from results a more accurate interpretation can be made regarding structural stability behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La necesidad de buscar alternativas para mejorar la nutrición de los cultivos ante la baja fertilidad de los suelos agrícolas y la escasez de fertilizantes, cobra cada día mayor importancia. Una de estas alternativas es la aplicación de abonos orgánicos y la inoculación con hongos micorrízicos arbusculares (HMA). El objetivo del presente trabajo fue investigar el efecto de las aplicaciones de vermicompost y la inoculación de un biofertilizante micorrízico sobre el suministro de nutrientes de un suelo Gley Nodular Ferruginoso para plantas de millo perla (Panicum italicum L.). Se ejecutaron dos experimentos en condiciones de mesocosmos en el Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), se estudiaron cuatro proporciones de suelo-vermicompost, con y sin la inoculación micorrízica, en un diseño completamente aleatorizado con estructura factorial y tres repeticiones. Se evaluaron la altura, la masa seca de la biomasa aérea y la concentración y cantidad de nutrientes en las plantas, la frecuencia e intensidad de la colonización y el número de esporas en el suelo. La aplicación de vermicompost incrementó la disponibilidad de nutrientes del suelo y se reflejó en el incremento de la concentración y la cantidad de nutrientes en las plantas, lo que originó mayor crecimiento y desarrollo de estas; en presencia del millo perla la aplicación de vermicompost hizo disminuir la frecuencia e intensidad de la micorrización, lo que inhibió el efecto de la inoculación con hongos micorrízicos arbusculares y no se afectó la producción de esporas en el suelo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil fertility is considered a determining factor in the availability of nutrients for plants, mainly in tropical regions where transformation and translocation processes of substances are more energetic in soil formation compared to temperate regions. This problem is related to the climatic factor, mainly rainfall and temperature, which are more accentuated in these areas. Considering the above, a detailed edaphological study of "El Pitirre" Productive Base Unit, in Pinar del Río province, was carried out through the application of the Dokuchaevian comparative geographic method, with the main objective of evaluating the edaphological properties. For this, different factors of soil formation are diagnosed, which with their morphological, physical and chemical properties, the soil formation process is established; which is the main basis for soil classification in Cuba. On these results, a new genetic type of soils was diagnosed, the Red Leached Fersialitic, with several subtypes according to relief differences and anthropic causes. In addition, it was shown that the soils are of the ABtC profile type, deep, red, clayey, formed from ancient Quaternary sediments rich in basalt, in undulating to hilly relief, with acid reaction pH and have a low to very low content of assimilable potassium and phosphorus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]