Effect of organic N-sources on maize yield components

Autor: Gustavo Vicentini Popin, David Augusto Lourenco, Gregori E Ferrao, Marcos Siqueira-Neto, Arthur Klebson Belarmino dos Santos
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: August 2019. :1215-1222
ISSN: 1835-2707
1835-2693
DOI: 10.21475/ajcs.19.13.08.p1366
Popis: Maize is one of the main staple crops of the world but needs large amounts of nitrogen (N) to achieve a high yield. Mineral N fertilization is one of the main production costs to cultivation and organic N sources could be a cost-effective alternative to mineral sources. We hypothesized that organic N sources could replace mineral fertilizer whilst maintaining high yields. Therefore, our study examined the effect of N supplied through organic sources on the yield of maize and its components and evaluated the economic viability of using organic N sources in terms of cost savings of energy resources. A field experiment was carried out in the Southeastern region of Brazil (São Paulo state) on a Typical Acrudox soil with a clay texture. The experiment was set out in a complete randomized block design, with six treatments (five N sources + control) and four replicates. The treatments were: (A) mineral source (urea - Ur); (B) a by-product from the food industry (Fby); (C) biofertilizer from swine manure (Bs); (D) poultry bedding (Pb); (E) cattle manure (Cm); and (F) control (Co - without N). The maize yield components evaluated were plant height (V6 and R2 stages), root dry mass and morphoanatomy (R2 stage) and, at harvest, grains in ears, thousand kernel weight (TKW), productivity and crop residues dry mass. Economic viability was assessed by considering the cost of each N source in relation to gross economic revenues from the sale of corn. Overall, the results showed that only Fby produced better yield components and was more productive than urea. This source also provided the highest economic revenue and the lowest fertilizer cost for each unit produced. The Pb and Cm sources were less productive than the mineral source, but were better than Bs, which was slightly better than the control (without N application). The same pattern of results was found for economic revenue and fertilizer cost. Bs was the most expensive N source and consequently gave the lowest economic returns to farmers. In summary, the N efficiency of the organic sources as an alternative to mineral sources for high-yield maize was ranked as follows: Fby >Ur> Pb > Cm > Bs > Co.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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