The influence of urea and vinasse in the lignocellulose degradation and the release of nutrients from sugarcane trash were evaluated. The following treatments were tested: vinasse (100 m3 ha-1 equivalent) over sugarcane trash with urea (100 kg ha-1 of N equivalent) over trash or buried in the soil under the trash, mixture of potassium chloride (120 kg ha-1 of K2O equivalent) and urea (100 kg ha-1 of N equivalent) over trash or buried in the soil below the trash. During the experimental period, January to November of 1997, the sugarcane trash received 1,839 mm of water, 923 and 916 mm by rainfall and irrigation, respectively. The average of the maximum and minimum temperatures were 28.4 and 15.5°C, respectively. No differences were observed between treatments for lignocellulose degradation of the trash and for the release of nutrients. However, significant differences were observed between the results of the fresh trash and the remainders over the soil surface after 11 months. There was a reduction of mass of approximately 80% for hemicellulose and for cellular content and of 30 and 50% for lignin and cellulose, respectively. The release of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, in relation to the total amount of nutrients in the fresh trash were of 18, 67, 93, 57, 68 and 68%, respectively.
cellulose; lignin; hemicellulose; celular contend; nutrients; sugarcane