Leaching of nutrients from a sugarcane crop growing on an Ultisol in Brazil

• Published in: Agricultural water management 2009-10, Vol.96 (10), p.1443-1448
• Main Authors: Ghiberto, P.J., Libardi, P.L., Brito, A.S., Trivelin, P.C.O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 15N isotope; 15N isotope Drainage Saccharum spp. Pollution Sustainable management; Agricultural and forest climatology and meteorology. Irrigation. Drainage; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; crop production; Crops; Drainage; Economics; Fertilizing; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Furrows; General agronomy. Plant production; Leaching; Magnesium; Nutrients; Pollution; Saccharum; Saccharum spp; Soil (material); soil analysis; soil fertility; soil nutrient dynamics; soil nutrients; sugarcane; Sulfates; Sustainable management; Ultisols
• ISSN: 0378-3774; 1873-2283
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2009.04.020

Leaching is disadvantageous, both for economical and environmental reasons since it may decrease the ecosystem productivity and may also contribute to the contamination of surface and ground water. The objective of this paper was to quantify the loss of nitrogen and sulfur by leaching, at the depth of 0.9 m, in an Ultisol in São Paulo State (Brazil) with high permeability, cultivated with sugarcane during the agricultural cycle of crop plant. The following ions were evaluated: nitrite, nitrate, ammonium, and sulfate. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphate were also evaluated at the same depth. The sugarcane was planted and fertilized in the furrows with 120 kg ha −1 of N-urea. In order to find out the fate of N-fertilizer, four microplots with 15N-enriched fertilizer were installed. Input and output of the considered ions at the depth of 0.9 m were quantified from the flux density of water and the concentration of the elements in the soil solution at this soil depth: tensiometers, soil water retention curve and soil solution extractors were used for this quantification. The internal drainage was 205 mm of water, with a total loss of 18 kg ha −1 of N and 10 kg ha −1 of S. The percentage of N in the soil solution derived from the fertilizer (%NSSDF) was 1.34, resulting in only 25 g ha −1 of N fertilizer loss by leaching during all agricultural cycle. Under the experimental conditions of this crop plant, that is, high demand of nutrients and high incorporation of crop residues, the leached N represented 15% of applied N and S leaching were not considerable; the higher amount of leached N was native nitrogen and a minor quantity from N fertilizer; and the leached amount of Ca, Mg, K and P did not exceed the applications performed in the crop by lime and fertilization.