Ammonia volatilization and nitrogen status in second-season corn after lime and gypsum application in no-till

Abstract

In no-till (NT), liming and urea fertilization are performed on the soil surface, which can increase nitrogen (N) losses via ammonia volatilization. On the basis of N fertilization management, gypsum application provides a promising alternative for improving N uptake by plants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the N behavior loss by NH3-N volatilization, the soil pH at a depth of 0 – 0.05 m, leaf N content, and N uptake by second-season corn after lime and gypsum application in a Rhodic Ferralsol under NT. Overall, the treatments consisted of a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement with four lime rates (0, 2.6, 5.4, and 8.1 Mg ha-1) and four gypsum rates (0, 4, 8, and 12 Mg ha-1). During the study period, second-season corn was cultivated for two years and fertilized with urea, for which the N losses through ammonia volatilization, soil pH, leaf N content, and N uptake values were quantified. The losses through ammonia volatilization were subjected to nonlinear regression using a logistic model, and the other variables were subjected to linear regressions. The lime applied by broadcasting on the soil surface in the NT increased the pH of the topsoil and increased N losses via NH3-N volatilization in the second-season corn. Further, the N losses in the NT treated with lime accounted for 58% of the applied N, which increased by 2.3 to 2.5% for each Mg ha-1 of lime applied. Therefore, lime or gypsum application did not improve the status of N in second-season corn in soils with low acidity and no S deficiency.