Nitrogen fertilization in off-season corn crop in different Brazilian Cerrado environments

The objective of this work was to assess the grain yield and the economic response of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop subjected to different combinations of starter and topdressing nitrogen fertilization, in the Brazilian Cerrado region. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design in a 3×4 factorial arrangement (0, 45, and 90 kg ha^-1 N at sowing and 0, 22.5, 45, and 90 kg ha^-1 N in topdressing as urea), in six environments, combining three sites and two sowing times. Grain yield was determined, and the response to total N applied as starter and topdressing was used to obtain a general model of the average trend of the technical and economic return of fertilization. The corn crop response varied according to the environment, and the observed yields were high. The application of N as a starter fertilizer increased corn yield and improved the effect of topdressing fertilization or even made it unnecessary. Fertilization with 90 kg ha^-1 N as urea promotes greater yield and economic return and improves N balance in the soybean/off-season corn crop system.

Index terms:
Zea mays; efficient N use; N requirement; second corn crop; soybean-corn succession

Authorship

Eduardo de Paula Simão

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Campus Universitário, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/no, CEP 36571-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil. E-mail: eduardosimao.agro@yahoo.com.br, jcgalvão@ufv.br, jefergiehl@hotmail.comUniversidade Federal de ViçosaBrazilViçosa, MG, Brazil Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Campus Universitário, Avenida P.H. Rolfs, s/no, CEP 36571-900 Viçosa, MG, Brazil. E-mail: eduardosimao.agro@yahoo.com.br, jcgalvão@ufv.br, jefergiehl@hotmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5032-0932

Álvaro Vilela de Resende ^**Corresponding author: alvaro.resende@embrapa.br

Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, Rodovia MG-424, Km 45, Caixa Postal 285 ou 151, CEP 35701-970 Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil. E-mail: alvaro.resende@embrapa.br, miguel.gontijo@embrapa.br, alexandre.ferreira@embrapa.br, emerson.borghi@embrapa.br, antoniocarlos.oliveira@embrapa.brEmbrapa Milho e SorgoBrazilSete Lagoas, MG, Brazil Embrapa Milho e Sorgo, Rodovia MG-424, Km 45, Caixa Postal 285 ou 151, CEP 35701-970 Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil. E-mail: alvaro.resende@embrapa.br, miguel.gontijo@embrapa.br, alexandre.ferreira@embrapa.br, emerson.borghi@embrapa.br, antoniocarlos.oliveira@embrapa.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5438-4052

Miguel Marques Gontijo Neto

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4962-0414

Alexandre Ferreira da Silva

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4877-2830

Vicente de Paulo Campos Godinho

Embrapa Rondônia, Rodovia BR-364, Km 5.5, Zona Rural, Caixa Postal 127, CEP 76815-800 Porto Velho, RO, Brazil. E-mail: vicente.godinho@embrapa.brEmbrapa RondôniaBrazilPorto Velho, RO, Brazil Embrapa Rondônia, Rodovia BR-364, Km 5.5, Zona Rural, Caixa Postal 127, CEP 76815-800 Porto Velho, RO, Brazil. E-mail: vicente.godinho@embrapa.br

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5211-9439

João Carlos Cardoso Galvão

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7679-2401

Emerson Borghi

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3094-622X

Antônio Carlos de Oliveira

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5829-6364

Jeferson Giehl

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3922-7168

*Corresponding author: alvaro.resende@embrapa.br

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Figures | Tables

Figures (3)
Tables (4)

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Figure 1
Daily and accumulated rainfall between January and July 2015 in the experimental sites in the Brazilian Cerrado.

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Figure 2.
Grain yield of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop in function of the combination between starter and topdressing nitrogen in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado. RV1, RV2, SN1, SN2, VL1, and VL2, environments combining three cropping sites - municipalities of Rio Verde (RV), Sinop (SN), and Vilhena (VL) - and two sowing times (1 and 2).

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Figure 3.
Mean productive performance of off-season corn (Zea mays) in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado, as a function of the total N applied as starter and topdressing fertilizer (A), as well as fertilization efficiency at the economic optimum N rate (EONR) for the 9.7 N/grain price ratio in 2015 (B).

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Table 1
Location, soil classification, soil fertility conditions in the 0-20-cm layer, and sowing dates of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop in three experimental sites in the Brazilian Cerrado.

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Table 2.
Analysis of variance for off-season corn (Zea mays) grain yield, considering the effect of the interaction of the application of starter and topdressing nitrogen, in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado.

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Table 3.
Grain yield response to starter nitrogen of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop grown in six⁽¹⁾ environments in the Brazilian Cerrado⁽²⁾.

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Table 4.
Partial nitrogen balance in the off-season corn (Zea mays) crop, based on the average response to N fertilization in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Figure 1 Daily and accumulated rainfall between January and July 2015 in the experimental sites in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Figure 2. Grain yield of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop in function of the combination between starter and topdressing nitrogen in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado. RV1, RV2, SN1, SN2, VL1, and VL2, environments combining three cropping sites - municipalities of Rio Verde (RV), Sinop (SN), and Vilhena (VL) - and two sowing times (1 and 2).

Figure 3. Mean productive performance of off-season corn (Zea mays) in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado, as a function of the total N applied as starter and topdressing fertilizer (A), as well as fertilization efficiency at the economic optimum N rate (EONR) for the 9.7 N/grain price ratio in 2015 (B).

Table 1 Location, soil classification, soil fertility conditions in the 0-20-cm layer, and sowing dates of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop in three experimental sites in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Information		Experimental site
Location		Comigo Technology Center	Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril	Embrapa Rondônia
Municipality, state		Rio Verde, Goiás	Sinop, Mato Grosso	Vilhena, Rondônia
Geographic coordinates		17°45'52.6"S, 51°02'14.6"W	11°52'22.1"S, 55°35'48.7"W	12º47'15.5"S, 0º05'35.5"W
Altitude (m)		748	384	610
Soil class		Latossolo Vermelho distrófico (Oxisol), clayey texture	Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico típico (Oxisol), very clayey texture	Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico (Oxisol), very clayey texture
Soil analysis
	Clay (g kg^-1)	390	580	740
	pH_(water)	5.8	5.3	5.4
	SOM (g kg^-1)	25	23	27
	P_Mehlich (mg dm^-3)	25	28	4.3
	K_Mehlich (mg dm^-3)	44	88	95
	Ca (cmol_c dm^-3)	2.7	1.8	2.3
	Mg (cmol_c dm^-3)	0.9	0.5	1.3
	H+Al (cmol_c dm^-3)	4.7	5.9	4.9
	CEC (cmol_c dm^-3)⁽¹⁾	8.4	8.2	8.4
	Base saturation (%)	44	31	46
Sowing date 1		2/3/2015	2/12/2015	2/20/2015
Sowing date 2		2/25/2015	3/3/2015	3/12/2015

⁽¹⁾CEC, cation exchange capacity.

Table 2. Analysis of variance for off-season corn (Zea mays) grain yield, considering the effect of the interaction of the application of starter and topdressing nitrogen, in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Source of variation⁽²⁾	DF⁽³⁾	Mean squares in each environment⁽¹⁾
Source of variation⁽²⁾	DF⁽³⁾	RV1	RV2	SN1	SN2	VL1	VL2
Block	3	952,574	296,979	341,877	123,258	1,494,008	305,252
Starter N (S)	2	799,149	7,990,587**	5,349,250**	3,921,124*	1,985,276*	14,211,257**
Topdressing N (T)	3	1,868,055	4,174,627**	2,503,976*	78,580	2,049,442**	12,752,400**
S x T	6	1,127,080	737,121	713,713	2,472,821*	1,044,136*	1,004,154
T in S0	3	3,888,659**	3,562,306**	1,727,729	63,439	2,341,073**	6,880,235**
T in S45	3	220,372	1,019,971	1,619,825	3,111,319*	1,384,989*	6,128,423**
T in S90	3	13,184	1,066,592	583,848	1,849,465	411,652	1,752,051
Error	33	833,674	585,414	826,075	858,501	455,440	1,032,074
Mean (kg ha^-1)		8,977	8,241	8,633	8,175	9,582	8,754
CV (%)		10.17	9.28	10.53	11.33	7.04	11.61

⁽¹⁾RV1, RV2, SN1, SN2, VL1, and VL2, environments combining three cropping sites - municipalities of Rio Verde (RV), Sinop (SN), and Vilhena (VL) - and two sowing times (1 and 2). * and **Significant by the F-test, at 5 and 1% probability, respectively. ⁽²⁾S0, S45, and S90, starter N fertilizer rates of 0, 45 and 90 kg ha^-1. ⁽³⁾DF, degrees of freedom.

Table 3. Grain yield response to starter nitrogen of off-season corn (Zea mays) crop grown in six⁽¹⁾ environments in the Brazilian Cerrado⁽²⁾.

Starter N (kg ha^-1)	Grain yield (kg ha^-1) ⁽²⁾
Starter N (kg ha^-1)	RV1	RV2	SN1	SN2	VL1	VL2
0	8,725a	7,441b	8,149b	7,606b	9,200b	7,673b
45	9,052a	8,782a	9,273a	8,411a	9,653ab	9,179a
90	9,153a	8,499a	8,477b	8,507a	9,894a	9,408a
Mean	8,977	8,241	8,633	8,175	9,582	8,754

⁽¹⁾RV1, RV2, SN1, SN2, VL1, and VL2, environments combining three cropping sites - municipalities of Rio Verde (RV), Sinop (SN), and Vilhena (VL) - and two sowing times (1 and 2). ⁽²⁾Means followed by equal letters, in the columns, do not differ by Tukey’s test, at 5% probability.

Table 4. Partial nitrogen balance in the off-season corn (Zea mays) crop, based on the average response to N fertilization in six environments in the Brazilian Cerrado.

Balance parameter	Nitrogen fertilization
Balance parameter	Without N	Economic optimum rate⁽¹⁾
	-------------------(kg ha^-1)-------------------
Initial N credits in the system (soybean residue + SOM)⁽²⁾	92.0	92.0
N available from fertilizer⁽³⁾	-	57.0
Grain yield	7,183.0	9,234.0
Yield increment from fertilization	-	2,051.0
N extracted by corn⁽⁴⁾	156.0	200.0
N exported by corn⁽⁵⁾	94.0	121.0
N content remaining in the corn straw⁽⁶⁾	62.0 (67.0)	79.0 (86.0)
Input and output balance of N for the corn crop⁽⁷⁾	-2.0	28.0

⁽¹⁾N rate related to the highest net revenue, according to the response model (Figure 3 A), calculated to be 90 kg ha^-1 N. ⁽²⁾Estimate of 61 kg ha^-1 N released by the decomposition of the soybean (Glycine max) residue for a hypothetical yield of 3.6 Mg ha^-1, plus 31 kg ha^-1 N from the mineralization process for a mean soil organic matter (SOM) content of 25 g kg^-1. ⁽³⁾Considering an average fertilizer efficiency of 63% for corn. ⁽⁴⁾Considering an average extraction of 21.7 kg N per metric ton of corn grains produced in the off-season. ⁽⁵⁾Considering an average export of 13.1 kg Mg^-1 N in the harvested grains of the off-season corn crop. ⁽⁶⁾Corresponds to the extraction minus export of N by corn. Values between parentheses indicate the percentage remaining in relation to the initial credits of N in the system. ⁽⁷⁾Sum of the initial credits and N from the fertilizer, minus the N removal in the corn grain harvest.

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Nitrogen fertilization in off-season corn crop in different Brazilian Cerrado environments

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[1] *Corresponding author: alvaro.resende@embrapa.br