Ammonia (NH3) volatilization can reduce the efficiency of urea applied to the surface of no-till (NT) soils. Thus, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the magnitude of NH3 losses from surface-applied urea and to determine if this loss justifies the urea incorporation in soil or its substitution for other N sources under the subtropical climatic conditions of South-Central region of Paraná State, Brazil. The experiment, performed over four harvesting seasons in a clayey Hapludox followed a randomized block […]

Studies with stable isotopes are becoming more common due to the increased safety of operation and quality and reliability of results. However, the use of microplots is required to decrease the costs of such studies. Since microplots are small compared to regular plot areas, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether nutritional data based on microplot samples can adequately represent the whole area, in a comparison of the nutritional status of microplot sugar cane plants at their maximum […]

Nitrate reductase is the first enzyme in the pathway of nitrate reduction by plants, followed by glutamine synthetase, which incorporates ammonia to glutamine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase activity, total soluble protein content, N and Ni content in coffee leaves during fruit development under field conditions to establish new informations to help assess the N nutritional status and fertilizer management. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks, arranged in a […]

Maize is an important crop for grain production in the Center-West region of Brazil. An experiment was installed in Rio Verde (GO) in the 2002/03 growing season to evaluate the effect of doses and timing of nitrogen application on the agronomic traits of no-tillage maize. The experiment was evaluated as a 6 x 4 + 1 factorial in a randomized complete block design with 4 repetitions. The factors consisted of six nitrogen applications (before sowing; at sowing; top dressed 30 […]

Where sugarcane is harvested without burning, a thick layer of straw remains on the soil. This crop residue modifies the agroecosystem and requires a reformulation of the crop management. Urea is the most common nitrogen source for sugarcane but, when applied on top of the crop residue, NH3-Nloss rates are high. This work was carried out under field conditions in the sugarcane production region of Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil, on an Arenic Kanhaplodult, using the third rattoon of […]

The association of conservation tillage with cover crops is an important tool for improving soil quality. When legumes are used as cover crops there is an increase in nitrogen (N) availability for the first crop in succession (immediate effect). However, the long term use of legumes as cover crop increases soil N availability (residual effect). This long-term experiment was carried out to evaluate the immediate effect and residual effect of cover crops on a Paleadulf from Rio Grande do Sul, […]

The efficiency of two nitrogen fertilizers, ammonium sulphate and urea, labelled with 15N, in two major Central-Amazonian soils (Yellow Latosol – an Oxisol and Red-Yellow Podzolic – an Ultisol), was studied in greenhouse experiments in Nancy, France, 1992. Italian rye-grass (Lolium multiflorum L.) was used as the test plant. Rye-grass nitrogen uptake of ammonium sulphate ranged from 44 to 49%, and of urea from 60 to 70%. Immobilization and losses of nitrogen were dependent on the fertilizer type. Microbial nitrogen […]