Corn Cropping System and Nitrogen Fertilizers Technologies Affect Ammonia Volatilization in Brazilian Tropical Soils
César Santos,
Sheila Isabel do Carmo Pinto,
Douglas Guelfi,
Sara Dantas Rosa,
Adrianne Braga da Fonseca,
Tales Jesus Fernandes,
Renato Avelar Ferreira,
Leandro Barbosa Satil,
Ana Paula Pereira Nunes,
Konrad Passos e Silva
Affiliations
César Santos
Laboratory of Fertilizers Technologies—INNOVA FERT, Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras—UFLA, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Sheila Isabel do Carmo Pinto
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, Campus Bambuí, Bambuí 38900-000, MG, Brazil
Douglas Guelfi
Laboratory of Fertilizers Technologies—INNOVA FERT, Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras—UFLA, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Sara Dantas Rosa
Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, University of Brasilia, Brasilia 70910-900, DF, Brazil
Adrianne Braga da Fonseca
Laboratory of Fertilizers Technologies—INNOVA FERT, Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras—UFLA, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Tales Jesus Fernandes
Department of Statistics, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Renato Avelar Ferreira
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, Campus Bambuí, Bambuí 38900-000, MG, Brazil
Leandro Barbosa Satil
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, Campus Bambuí, Bambuí 38900-000, MG, Brazil
Ana Paula Pereira Nunes
Laboratory of Fertilizers Technologies—INNOVA FERT, Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras—UFLA, P.O. Box 3037, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil
Konrad Passos e Silva
Department of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Institute of Minas Gerais, Campus Bambuí, Bambuí 38900-000, MG, Brazil
The adoption of technologies for N fertilization has become essential for increasing the N use efficiency in no-till (NT) systems in Brazil. Thus, this study aimed to quantify ammonia losses, N removal in grains, and second crop season yield in no-till and conventional (T) areas that received the application of different N fertilizers and their technologies. Ammonia volatilization, N extraction in grains, and corn yield in response to the application of conventional fertilizers were compared to urea treated with urease inhibitors in NT and conventional systems. The treatments were: no-N (Control); Prilled urea (PU); urea + N-(n-Butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (UNBPT); urea + Cu + B (UCuB); ammonium nitrate (AN), and ammonium sulfate (AS). In the NT system, the N-NH3 losses were 49% higher than in the conventional; without differences in corn yield. The fertilizers AN and AS had the lowest N-NH3 losses, regardless of the tillage system. UNBPT reduced the mean N-NH3 loss by 33% compared to PU. UNBPT (1200 mg kg−1) and UNBPT (180 mg kg−1) reduced the N-NH3 losses by 72% and 22%, respectively, compared to PU in the NT system. We noticed that the NBPT concentration to be used in soils under NT should be adjusted, and a reduction of N-NH3 losses does not directly reflect an increase in yield and N extraction by corn.
