High corn yields are conditioned by the different factors involved in the quantification of nitrogen requirements for the crop throughout its cycle, which becomes difficult considering the varying capacity of Brazilian soils to supply N. In this sense, the relative contents of chlorophyll are a tool which helps to improve soil N management. The study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of the chlorophyll meter to predict the nutrient status of corn in response to N applied in the soil with contracting clay contents and under different conditions of N supply. To that end, experiments were carried out under both controlled and field conditions. Under controlled conditions, three soils with contracting clay contents and five doses of N were tested. 55 days after emergence (before the VT period), the relative contents of chlorophyll, leaf N and the weight of the dry matter of the shoot were evaluated. Under crop conditions, six treatments, resulting from the combination of three doses of nitrogen topdressing, in the presence and absence of limestone, were evaluated, the highest dose of N corresponding to the ideal condition of N supply for corn. Nitrogen nutrition was monitored weekly with a chlorophyll meter. The contents of N in leaf, in grain, mineral N in soil, shoot dry matter and grain yield were also evaluated. The results allow concluding that there is a sensitivity of the chlorophyll meter to detect differences in the nutritional status of corn in response to different characteristics of soil and N supply, acting as an indicator of the need for nitrogen topdressing.
Nitrogen topdressing; SPAD; Zea mays
