Ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizers in no-till wheat and maize in southern Brazil

• Main Authors: Fernando Viero, Cimélio Bayer, Sandra Mara Vieira Fontoura, Renato Paulo de Moraes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo 2014-10-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo
• Subjects: adubação nitrogenada; eficiência; rendimento
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-06832014000500017&lng=en&tlng=en

Crop residues on the soil surface of no-till systems can intensify ammonia volatilization from N fertilizers applied to cereal crops. This study assessed the magnitude of N losses through ammonia volatilization from urea applied to no-till winter (wheat) and summer crops (maize) on a Typic Hapludox in the south-central region of Paraná, southern Brazil. In addition, the potential of alternative N sources (urea with urease inhibitor, liquid fertilizer, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate) and different urea managements (fertilizer applied in the morning or afternoon) were evaluated. Two experiments with maize and wheat were carried out for two years, arranged in a randomized block design with four replications. Nitrogen volatilization losses were assessed with a semi-open static collector until 21 days after fertilization. In winter, the losses were low (<5.5 % of applied N) for all N sources, which were not distinguishable, due to the low temperatures. In the summer, volatilization rates from urea were higher than in the winter, but did not exceed 15 % of applied N. The main factor decreasing N losses in the summer was the occurrence of rainfall in the first five days after fertilization. Urea with urease inhibitor, nitrate and ammonium sulfate were efficient to decrease ammonia volatilization in maize, whereas the application time (morning or afternoon) had no influence.