Land area devoted to sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production in Brazil has increased from 2 million to 10 million ha over the past four decades. Studies have shown that, from an environmental perspective, the transformation of nitrogen (N) fertilizers into N 2 O gases can offset the advantages gained by replacing fossil fuels with biofuels. Our objectives here were to review recent developments in N management for sugarcane-biofuel production and assess estimates of N use efficiency (NUE) and N losses based on future scenarios, as well as for life-cycle assessments of bioenergy production. Approximately 60 % of N-based fertilizer applied to sugarcane fields in Brazil is recovered by plants and soils, whereas N losses to leaching and N 2 O emissions can average 5.6 and 1.84 % of the total applied N, respectively. Maintenance of trash, rotation with N-fixing legume species, and optimization of byproducts usage have potential for reducing the N requirements of sugarcane cultivation in Brazil. Moreover, the development of sugarcane genotypes with higher NUEs, along with management systems that consider soil capacity of mineralization, is required for improving the NUE of sugarcane. Strategies to maintain N as NH 4 + in sugarcane-cropped soils also have the potential to reduce N losses and enhance NUE. The development of secondgeneration biofuels is important for increasing biofuel production while simultaneously maintaining N rates and improving NUE, and sugarcane systems in Brazil show potential for sustainable biofuel production with low N rates and limited N 2 O losses. Reducing N rates in sugarcane fields is thus necessary for improving sugarcane-based biofuel production and reducing its environmental impacts.

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IntroductionThe contrasting weather conditions throughout the sugarcane harvest period in south-central Brazil (April to November) influence fertilization management in sugarcane ratoon.MethodsThrough field studies carried out over two cropping seasons, we aimed to compare the performance of sugarcane at sites harvested in the early and late periods of the harvest season as a function of fertilizer sources associated with application methods. The design used in each site was a randomized block in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme; the first factor consisted of fertilizer sources (solid and liquid), and the second factor consisted of application methods (above the straw, under the straw, and incorporated into the middle of the sugarcane row).ResultsThe fertilizer source and application method interacted at the site harvested in the early period of the sugarcane harvest season. Overall, the highest sugarcane stalk and sugar yields at this site were obtained with the incorporated application applying liquid fertilizer and under straw applying solid fertilizer, with increments of up to 33%. For the site harvested in the late period of the sugarcane harvest season, the liquid fertilizer promoted a 25% higher sugarcane stalk yield compared to the solid fertilizer in the crop season with low rainfall in the spring, while in the crop season with normal rainfall, there were no differences between treatments.DiscussionThis demonstrates the importance of defining fertilization management in sugarcane as a function of harvest time, thereby promoting greater sustainability in the production system

Foliar fertilization is a potential tool to increase the use-efficiency of nitrogen (N) fertilizers. However, whilst leaf scorching has frequently been reported, the underlying physiological processes are not clear. In the present work, we investigate the intensity of leaf scorching as affected by the balance between ammonium assimilation and accumulation. Leaves were sprayed with urea–ammonium nitrate (UAN) solution without surfactant or applied liquid droplets of urea in different N concentrations with surfactant. UAN solutions without surfactant containing >10% N caused leaf scorching already after 24 h and the severity increased with the N concentration. The same pattern was observed 3 days after the application of urea solutions containing >4% N together with surfactant. The scorching was accompanied by a massive increase in foliar and apoplastic ammonium (NH4+) concentration. Moreover, the activity of glutamine synthetase (GS), most pronouncedly that of the chloroplastic isoform (GS2), decreased a few hours after the application of high N-concentrations. Along with this, the concentration of glutamate—the substrate for GS—decreased. We conclude that leaf scorching is promoted by NH4+ accumulation due to a limitation in N assimilation capacity.

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