Corn Cropping System and Nitrogen Fertilizers Technologies Affect Ammonia Volatilization in Brazilian Tropical Soils

• Published in: Soil systems 2023-06, Vol.7 (2), p.54
• Main Authors: Santos, César, Pinto, Sheila Isabel do Carmo, Guelfi, Douglas, Rosa, Sara Dantas, da Fonseca, Adrianne Braga, Fernandes, Tales Jesus, Ferreira, Renato Avelar, Satil, Leandro Barbosa, Nunes, Ana Paula Pereira, e Silva, Konrad Passos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Ammonia; Ammonium; Ammonium nitrate; Ammonium sulfate; Cereal crops; Computer organization; Corn; Crop yield; Cropping systems; Efficiency; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Grain; Humidity; Hypotheses; Laboratories; Mineralization; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Nitrogen fertilizers; nitrogen use efficiency; no-till; No-till cropping; Rain; Rain-water (Water-supply); Seasons; Soils; Tillage; Tropical environments; Tropical soils; Urea; urea technologies; Urease; urease inhibitors; Vaporization; Vegetables; Volatilization
• ISSN: 2571-8789; 2571-8789
• DOI: 10.3390/soilsystems7020054

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.