Proceedigns 16WFC

International Scientific Centre of Fertilizers (CIEC)
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION FOR A

SUSTAINABLE TROPICAL AGRICULTURE
October 20-24, 2014
Rio de Janeiro, RJ - Brazil
PROCEEDINGS
Vinicius de Melo Benites
Adilson de Oliveira Junior
Paulo Sergio Pavinato
Paulo Csar Teixeira
Milton Ferreira Moraes
Regina Maria Villas Bas de Campos Leite
Ronaldo Pereira de Oliveira
Editors
Rio de Janeiro, RJ
2014
Electronic editing: Vanessa Fuzinatto DallAgnol

Front cover: Neia Sussai
Front cover photographs: Convention Bureau Rio de Janeiro / Stock Free images
1st edition
On line (2014)
The opinions expressed in this publication are the sole and entire responsibility of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
(Embrapa), University of So Paulo (USP) and International Scientific Centre of Fertilizers
(CIEC).
All rights reserved.

Unauthorized reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, constitutes
a violation of copyright (Law n. 9610).
World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC (16. : 2014 : Rio de Janeiro, RJ)

Technical innovation for a sustainable tropical agriculture : proceedings 16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC, Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil, October 20-24, 2014 / edited by Vinicius
de Melo Benites... [et al.]. Rio de Janeiro: CIEC, 2014.
409 p.
ISBN 978-3-95547-013-5
Doi: 10.5073/jka.2014.448.000
1.Fertilizers. I.Oliveira Junior, Adilson de. II.Pavinato, Paulo Sergio. III.Teixeira, Paulo
Csar. IV.Moraes, Milton Ferreira. V.Leite, Regina Maria Villas Bas de Campos. VI.Oliveira,
Ronaldo Pereira de. VII.Ttulo.

631.8 CDD (21.ed.)
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Chairman
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa Soils/Brazil
Co-chairman
Jos Carlos Polidoro
Executive Secretary
Milton Ferreira de Moraes
Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil
International Affairs
Ronaldo Pereira de Oliveira
Financial Secretary
Paulo Csar Teixeira
Scientific Committee
Coordinator
Paulo Sergio Pavinato
School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz / University of So Paulo/Brazil
Members
Cleide Aparecida de Abreu - Agronomic Institute of Campinas/Brazil
Ciro Antonio Rosolem - State University of So Paulo/Brazil
Eder de Souza Martins - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Cerrados/Brazil
Fabio Vale - Adubai Agronomic Consultancy/Brazil

Godofredo Cesar Vitti - School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz /University of
So Paulo/Brazil
Thiago A. Moura - School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz /University of So

Paulo/Brazil
Edson Mattiello - Federal University of Viosa/Brazil

Alberto C. de Campos Bernardi - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Southeast Livestock/Brazil
Luiz Roberto Guimares Guilherme - Federal University of Lavras/Brazil

Paulo Csar Teixeira - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation/Embrapa Soils/ Brazil
Jos Lavres Jnior - Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture/ University of So
Paulo/Brazil
Ewald Schnug - Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated
Plants/Germany
Francesco Montemurro - Council for Agriculture Research and Experimentation/Italy

Silvia Haneklaus - Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Federal Research Centre for
Cultivated Plants/Germany
Milton Fereira de Moraes - Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil

Reinaldo Bertola Cantarutti - Federal University of Viosa/Brazil
Publication Committee
Coordinator
Adilson de Oliveira Jnior - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Soybean/Brazil
Members
Vinicius de Melo Benites - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Soils/ Brazil
Ronaldo Pereira de Oliveira - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

Embrapa Soils/Brazil
Paulo Sergio Pavinato - School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz/University of So

Paulo/Brazil
Milton Fereira de Moraes - Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil

Regina Maria Villas Bas de Campos Leite - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Soybean/Brazil
Communication Committee
Aurlio Martins Favarin - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
Embrapa Soils/Brazil
PRESENTATION
The International Scientific Center of Fertilizers (CIEC) under the auspices of the
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), FertBrasil Research Network,
and the University of So Paulo - (USP/ESALQ) has hosted the 16th World Fertilizer
Congress of CIEC focused in technological innovation for a sustainable tropical
agriculture, getting together the most recent topics of discussion regarding the fertilizer
sector in Brazil and all over the world.
During October 20 to 24th, 2014, Rio de Janeiro was the backdrop of the main
discussion regarding the paths of fertilizer technology to be followed by producers,
entrepreneurs and scientists in order to improve agronomic efficiency while promoting
sustainable food production.
The first edition of the event was held in 1932 in Italy. The last three editions happened
in China, Thailand and Romania respectively. In the 2014 congress, for the first time in
Brazil, we were honored to host this important and significant event.
The theme for the 16th edition of the Congress was Technological innovation for a
sustainable tropical agriculture. Main topics of discussions have included:
Controlled release fertilizers
Micronutrients and secondary macronutrients in NPK fertilizers;
Fertilizers and environmental impacts;
New routes for fertilizer production;
Organic based fertilizers and biofertilizers; and
Direct use of agrominerals.
In this volume we have published lectures, oral presentation papers, and poster
presentation papers submitted to the 16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC. On the
behalf of the organizing committee, all partner institutions and supporters, we are
glad to provide this collection of relevant information that was introduced along this
internationally highly acknowledged scientific event.
Chairman
SUMMARY
LECTURES................................................................................................................15
Tomorrows Challenges for Fertilizers and Fertilization | Ewald Schnug, Silvia Haneklaus............................... 17
New fertilizer technologies and their agronomic efficiencies | M.J. McLaughlin, F. Degryse,
R. Baird, R. Coqui da Silva....................................................................................................................................................... 20
Fertilizers in integrated plant nutrient management | Mark Alley...........................................................21

The use of clay minerals to improve nitrogen fertilizer efficiency | Alberto C. de Campos Bernardi,
Jos Carlos Polidoro, Marisa B. M. Monte, Elaine I. Pereira, Cau Ribeiro de Oliveira...............................................24
Agronomic effectiveness of controlled-release fertilizer in tropical conditions | Ithamar Prada Neto.......27
Major Functions of Calcium and Magnesium in Crop Plants | Ismail Cakmak........................................30
Dynamic of s oxidation from fertilizers in tropical soils | G.C.Vitti ; F. Vale..............................................33
Silicon fertilizers for plant disease protection | Lawrence E. Datnoff and Joseph R. Heckman........................36
Use of non-conventional phosphate fertilizers in tropical agriculture | Luis Ignacio Prochnow.................39
Recycling phosphorus for european agriculture | Philip J. White ...........................................................42
Potential of nanotechnology in crop fertilization: current state and future perspectives
Christian Dimkpa......................................................................................................................................46
Plant physiological response of humic substances and protein hydrolyzed-based products
Serenella Nardi, Andrea Ertani, Diego Pizzeghello............................................................................................48
Crop responses to organic fertilizers, and their efficiency | Francesco Montemurro, Mariangela Diacono......49
Guidelines to access plant physiology modification by fertilizers claimed as biostimulants
Daniel B. Zandonadi, Lzaro Eustquio P. Peres, Arnoldo R. Faanha...................................................................52
Rocks for crops: the use of locally available minerals and rocks to enhance soil productivity
Peter van Straaten ..................................................................................................................................55
Long term experiments with reactive phosphate rocks for grain crops in cerrado soils
Djalma M. Gomes de Sousa, Thomaz A. Rein, Rafael de Souza Nunes, Joo de Deus G. S. Junior..............................58
The efficiency of natural phosphates in tropical agricultures | S.H. Chien.............................................62
Fertilizer-use technologies that minimize environmental impacts | Andrew Sharpley.............................65
Nitrogen fertilizer source and management effects on nitrous oxide missions | Ardell D. Halvorson......68
Agronomic efficiency and environmental impact of N fertilizers in the tropics: relevance
of life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches | Luis Torres, Frank Brentrup, Ulrike Lebender, Joo Mas..........72
ORAL PRESENTATION PAPERS.............................................................................77

Agronomic Assessment of Premium Fertilizers | Hu Zheng-Yi, Wang Yanfen, Haneklaus Silvia,
Schnug Ewald.........................................................................................................................................79
Natural phenolic aldehydes as platforms for the development of novel urease inhibitors
Poltoradnev M., Andreev A., Grebennikova.............................................................................................................................. 81
Nutrients synergism as a next step in effective plant nutrition | Luzia V. Modolo, Lvia P. Horta, Ivanildo E.
Marriel, ngelo de Ftima..........................................................................................................................84
Use nanoparticles of Cu, Mn, and Zn to suppress soilborne diseases of eggplants and tomatoes
Wade Elmer, Alia Servin, Jason White...........................................................................................................87
The effect of Silicon on the organically grown cucumber transplants growth and quality
Margit Olle..............................................................................................................................................90
Evaluation of elemental sulfur and sulfate-enriched triple superphosphates in a
soybean-corn rotation grown in a brazilian cerrado oxisol | Djalma M. Gomes de Sousa, Thomaz A. Rein,
Joo de Deus G. dos Santos Junior, Rafael de Souza Nunes..............................................................................93
Effect of rates and sources of zinc in sugarcane | Estvo Vicari Mellis, Jos A.Quaggio,
Luiz A. J. Teixeira, Renan C. Vieira...............................................................................................................96
An evaluation of the use of a phlogopitite as a slow-release fertilizer | Isabella C. A. Souza,
Thas F. M. B. Duque, Marisa B. M. Monte, Claudio L. Schneider..........................................................................99
Processing of potassium silicates for K-release | Davide Ciceri, Taisiya Skorina, Carole Gadois,
Kejing Li, Antoine Allanore........................................................................................................................102
A review of innovations in MINERAL fertilizer production | Ludwig Hermann........................................105
The importance of single superphosphate for tropical agriculture | Jos Francisco da Cunha,
Alfredo Scheid Lopes, Luiz Roberto Guimares Guilherme...............................................................................109
A new K-release material from K-bearing silicates | Carole Gadois, Taisiya Skorina, Antoine Allanore.......... 112
Measurement uncertainty arising from sampling for compliance assessment of fertilizers in Brazil
Luiz A. J. Teixeira, Flvia Consolini, Fernando Carvalho, Ricardo G. Mendes, Eliezer A. B. de Oliveira......................... 114
Biogas residues - aspects of nutrient management and soil fertility | Bettina Eichler-Loebermann,
Silvia Bachmann, Ralf Uptmoor................................................................................................................. 118
Efficiency of liquid fertilizers made from swine slurry | Paulo C. Cassol, Marco A. Grohskopf,
Srgio W. Bousfield, Maria S. H. Mafra, Paulo R. Ernani, Juliano C. Corra..........................................................120
Energy crops and urban wastewater: effects on biomass and energy value | Marcello Mastrorilli,
Carola Vitti, Pasquale Campi, Anna Maria Stellacci, Francesca Modugno, Francesco Montemurro..............................123
Optimization of Chenopodium quinoa nitrogen nutrition in sandy soil | Sayed Eisa, Ahmed Abdel- Ati.....125
Potential and limitations of hyperspectral measurements to determine the nutritional
status of maize | H. Lilienthal, K. Panten, J. Schick, S. Schroetter, E. Schnug.................................................126
Agrominerals and their environmental impact | Silvia Haneklaus, Ewald Schnug......................................129
Mineralogical controls on K fertiliser function | David Manning, Mallely Sanchez Limon, Kirsten Brandt..........132
Direct applications of phosphate rocks on sustainability of oil palm plantations | Patrick Hong
Chuan NG, Kah Joo GOH, Zaharah A.R.......................................................................................................135
Silicate agrominerals as nutrient sources and as soil conditioners for tropical agriculture | der de
Souza Martins, Carlos Augusto Posser Silveira, Adilson Lus Bamberg, Rosane Martinazzo, Magda Bergmann,
Rmulo Simes Anglica.........................................................................................................................138
Eco-efficiency of nitrogen based fertilizers | Paula Prezotto, Jan Schoeneboom.......................................141
POSTER PRESENTATION PAPERS.......................................................................145

Section 1 | Alternative routes for fertilizer production................................................................147
1. Microfluidics to investigate the leaching performance of agrominerals | Davide Ciceri,
Antoine Allanore....................................................................................................................................................................... 147
2. Celtonita, natural mineral product obtained by clinoptilolite to increase the efficiency of

plant nutrition and reduce envirometal pollution | F. Borsatto; J. A. Febles; J. P. Ferreira, F. Ferreira..............150
3. Fertcel, clinoptilolite natural product to optimize the fertilization and reduce environmental
pollution Jorge A. Febles Gonzlez, Fernando Borsatto Faria, Miguel Soca Nuez................................................153
Section 2 | Direct use of rock as fertilizers...................................................................................156
4. Evaluation of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticles solubility for aplication as a source of
phosphorus | Camila R. Sciena, Maria F. Santos, Cau Ribeiro, Daniel S. Corra, Elaine C. Paris...........................156
5. Performance of k silicate agrominerals for corn crop | Maria Ins Lopes de Oliveira, der de Souza
Martins, Mariana B. Gabos, Flvia Cristina Silveira Braga, Josiel Pereira de Almeida, Albano A. da Silva Leite ...............158
6. Feldspar cristallinity and potassium behaviour in soils overlying syenites: agromineral application
Rmulo Simes Anglica, Albano A. da Silva Leite, Flvia Cristina Silveira Braga, Marcelo Augusto de Oliveira,
Kelly Silva Oliveira, Eder de Souza Martins....................................................................................................161
7. K-alternative fertilizer project: biotite-bearing ultrapotassic deposit in Bahia state | Flvia Cristina
Silveira Braga, Albano A. da Silva Leite, Marcelo Augusto de Oliveira, Eder de Souza Martins, Mariana B. Gabos,
Rmulo Simes Anglica..........................................................................................................................164
8. K-alternative fertilizer project: ultrapotassic syenite deposit in Pernambuco state | Flvia Cristina
Silveira Braga, Albano A. da Silva Leite, Rmulo Simes Anglica, Eder de Souza Martins, Maria Ins Lopes de Oliveira,
Ingo Gustav Wender................................................................................................................................167
9. K, Ca and Mg-bearing agrominerals from ultramafic rocks: soil conditioners and K-fertilizers source
Marcelo Augusto de Oliveira, Albano A. da Silva Leite, Leandro Arb A. Novaes, Rmulo Simes Anglica, Maria Ins
Lopes de Oliveira, Eder de Souza Martins.....................................................................................................170
10. K-silicate agrominerals from the ultrapotassic rocks of the brazilian cerrado | Albano A. da Silva
Leite, Marcelo Augusto de Oliveira, Carlos Alex Lima Alves, Mariana Bassetto Gabos, Eder de Souza Martins, Rmulo
Simes Anglica.....................................................................................................................................173
11. Using a new extraction solution for analyzing the fertility of the remineralizers
Suzi Huff Theodoro..................................................................................................................................176
12. Microorganisms in the phosphorus availability for sugarcane | Letcia de Abreu Faria, Carlos Antonio
Costa do Nascimento, Vanessa Benaci Galvo, Marcos Agostinho Petean Gomes, Godofredo Cesar Vitti.....................180
13. Nutrient desorption from basaltic rock | Clarissa Trois Abreu, Jackson Korchagin, Magda Bergmann,
Edson Campanhola Bortoluzzi....................................................................................................................183
Section 3 | Economical and social impacts of fertilizer use.......................................................186
14. Market outlook of mineral-organic fertilizers in Brazil | Joice Oliveira, Maria Regina Capdeville Laforet,
Rachel Bardy Prado, Vincius de Melo Benites, Jos Carlos Polidoro, Estevo Freire...............................................186
Section 4 | Fertilization and food quality......................................................................................189
15. Genotypic variation and transcriptome levels of upland rice plants in response to selenium supply
Andre Rodrigues dos Reis, Milton Ferreira Moraes, Karina Carvalho Guimares, Fabrcio Ribeiro Andrade, Valdemar
Faquin, Luiz Roberto Guimares Guilherme, Larissa Venucia Freitag Varjo Alves..................................................189
Section 5 | Fertilizers and environmental impacts.......................................................................192

16. CO2emissions by conventional, slow-and controlled-released andstabilized nitrogen fertilizers
incoffee crop | Andr Baldansi Andrade, Douglas Ramos Guelfi Silva, Eduardo Bucsan Emrich; Wantuir Filipe
Teixeira Chagas;Andr Luiz Carvalho Caputo; Lorena Solar Silva Oliveira.............................................................192
17. Thermophosphates obtained of the combination of aluminum phosphate and slag | Edilson
Carvalho Brasil, Efraim Cekinski, Catia Fredericci, Marcondes Lima da Costa, Letcia Cunha da Hungria, Rbia Carla
Ribeiro Dantas.......................................................................................................................................195
18. Sorption of pb/cd by five types of phosphate fertilizers | Maria Luiza Kede, Daniel Vidal Prez,
Marcia Marques, Josino Moreira, Luiz Carlos Bertolino.....................................................................................197
19. Effect of leonardite derived fertilizer on the production of lettuce and soil humic fractions
Dick, Deborah. P.; Morosino, Luiza; Vicente Kraemer; Ludtke, Ana Cristina............................................................200
20. Effect of swine sludge compost on the production of lettuce and on the soil organic matter
Ludtke, Ana Cristina, Dick, Deborah. P; Morosino, Luiza Aita, Celso.....................................................................203
21. Potential of biofertilizers in plant production | Silke Ruppel, Katja Witzel, Henri Fankem,
Bettina Eichler-Lbermann........................................................................................................................206
22. Site-specific N2O emission from soil related to fertilization and sugarcane trash addition | Ana
Paula Packer, Iracema A.M. Degaspari, Igor Martins Morasi, Viviane A.A. Vilela, Viviane C. B. Maximiliano, Juliana de
Oliveira Santos, Nilza Patricia Ramos, Osvaldo M.R. Cabral, Raffaella Rosetto.......................................................208
Section 6 | Methodologies for fertilizer characterization.............................................................213

23. Evaluation of extractants for characterization of K silicate agrominerals | Mariana B. Gabos, der de
Souza Martins, Douglas R. Mendes, Luiz Fernando dos Santos, Maria Ins Lopes Oliveira, Albano A. da Silva Leite........ 211
24. X-ray powder diffraction analysis as a tool in mineral exploration for agromineral evaluation
Rmulo Simes Anglica, Albano A. da Silva Leite, Flvia Cristina Silveira Braga, Marcelo Augusto de Oliveira, Kelly
Silva Oliveira, Eder de Souza Martins...........................................................................................................214
25. Biostimulants: an approach to harness the power of these complex compounds | Giovanni
Povero, Gianluca Di Tommaso, Donata Di Tommaso, Alberto Piaggesi, Prem Warrior...............................................217
26. A simple method for nitrogen analysis of solid fertilizers | Catia B. Klein, Pedro A. V. Escosteguy,
Sulen Navarini, Juliana Hnel; Osvaldo A. P. Rosso.......................................................................................221
Section 7 | Nutrients recovery from residues..............................................................................223
27. Effect of a zinc mine by-product in zinc availability in tropical soils | Guilherme Soares Dinali,
Guilherme Lopes, Enio Tarso de Souza Costa, Luiz Roberto Guimares Guilherme.................................................223
28. Ash biomass as a neutralizing and fertilizer in different soils of the south of Chile | Felipe
Gallardo, Javier Estay, Manuel Paredes, Fernando Ramirez, Cristina Diez.............................................................226
29. Agroindustrial wastes to improve water holding capacity in sandy soil | M. Cristina Diez,
Felipe Gallardo.......................................................................................................................................229
Section 8 | Organic based fertilizers............................................................................................232
30. Agronomic efficiency of granular organomineral p fertilizers produced from poultry litter
Vinicius de Melo Benites, Jeander Oliveira Caetano, June Faria Scherrer, de Menezes, Getlio Sousa Guimares..........232
31. Macronutrients on crop residues and compounds in the arboretum at Botanical Garden
of Rio de Janeiro | Lusimar Lamarte Gonzaga Galindo da Silva....................................................................235
32. Effect foliar spraying of humic and fulvic acid on production maize (Zea mays L.) | Cleyton da
Silva Domingos, Leonardo Rgis Pereira, Thiago Pinheiro de Oliveira..................................................................238
33. Phosphorus in soil and soybean leaves with use chemical fertilizer coated in organic substances
Rafael Felippe Ratke, Leandro dos Santos Soares, Alcinei Ribeiro Campos, Keilane Menes da Silva, Matias
Cocco Slaviero.......................................................................................................................................241
34. Mitigation of salt stress of tomato using pre-treatment with humic acids | Daniel Baslio Zandonadi,
Mirella Pupo Santos; Leonardo Oliveira Medici...............................................................................................244
35. Compost fertilizer by municipality wastes of Isfahan as bionematicide and biofertilizer | M. Nasr
Esfahani, N. Helalat,M. Oliya......................................................................................................................247
36. Uptake of calcium and magnesium in grasses submitted to organic fertilization |Aline Cristina Richart,
Joo Cardoso de Souza Junior, Natalia Guarino Souza Barbosa, Daniel da Silva Tavares, Madson Maciel da Costa,
Mrio Lopes da Silva Junior.......................................................................................................................250
37. Biomass and uptake of nitrogen and sulphur under organic fertilization | Joo Cardoso de Souza Junior,
Natalia Guarino Souza Barbosa, Aline Cristina Richart, Mrio Lopes da Silva Junior, Italo Marlone Gomes Sampaio,
Flvio Wirlan Andrade da Silva ..................................................................................................................253
38. Vermicompost biostimulants: nutrients and auxin for root growth | Lisanne Santos Caixeta, Rafaela
de Assis Neves, Carlos Eduardo Pacheco Lima, Daniel Baslio Zandonadi.............................................................256
39. Agronomic efficiency of granulated organomineral fertilizers based on poultry litter and
phosphates | Joaquim Jos Frazo, Vincius de M. Benites, Virgnia Damin, Paulo Csar Teixeira, Guilherme M.
Macedo, Letcia F. Linhares.......................................................................................................................259
40. Organic biofertilizer enriched in n by Diazotrophic bacteria and mud cake in sugarcane
Newton P. Stamford, Fernando L. Oliveira, Carolina E.R.S. Santos, Ana Dolores S. Freitas........................................262
41. Agronomic aspects related to the use of biostimulants on some vegetable crops | Tarantino E.,
Disciglio G., Tarantino A. ..........................................................................................................................266
42. Effect of the use of fertilizer on yield organomineral of maize hybrids in Santana of Vargem/MG
Miguel Henrique Rosa Franco, Robson Thiago Xavier de Souza , Diego Ramon Alves Pereira, Murilo Raimundo Vaz,
Daniel Arajo Tinco, Vincius William Borges Rodrigues..................................................................................267
43. Efficiency of fertilizer on yield organomineral sugar cane, with respect to mineral fertilizer | Daniel
Arajo Tinco, Robson Thiago Xavier de Souza, Miguel Henrique Rosa Franco, Murilo Raimundo Vaz, Diego Ramon
Alves Pereira, Vincius William Borges Rodrigues............................................................................................269
44. Differential nutrient availability in humic substance-ammended soil | Elke J.B.N.Cardoso, Cristiane
A. Santos, Daniel Bini, Carolina B.C.Caetano.................................................................................................271
45.Cowpea growth and nutrients availability after addition of differents phosphate sources and
biochar carbonization temperature to a tropical soil | Danielle M. de Oliveira; Newton P. S. Falco; Jos L.
Junior; Lvia Mara Goulart; Ira Guerrine.......................................................................................................274
46. Alternative techniques for increasing soil fertility in organic farming | Campanelli G., Canali S.,
Tittarelli F., Fusari F., Leteo F......................................................................................................................277
Section 9 | Policies and legislation related to fertilizer..............................................................281
47. Analysis of bulk blends inspected by Mapa between 2008 and 2010 | Mariana C. de Sena, Tairone
P. Leo, George F. von Borries, Osiris Turnes.................................................................................................281
48. Assessment and monitoring of cadmium, chromium and lead in mineral fertilizers
commercialized in Brazil | Glucia C.G. Santos, Aline R. Coscione, Cleide A. Abreu, Mrcio K. Chiba...................284
Section 10 | Premium fertilizer.......................................................................................................287

49. Use of growth promoters in seed treatment in soybean production (Glycine max L.) | Cleyton
da Silva Domingos, Leonardo Rgis Pereira, Thiago Pinheiro de Oliveira..............................................................287
50. Productivity of sugarcane with thermopotash | Ivaniele Nahas Duarte, Eduardo Scarpari Spolidorio,
Laerte Rocha Neves Pinto, Gaspar Henrique Korndrfer, Hamilton Seron Pereira....................................................290
51. Ammonia volatilization in maize field from enhanced-efficiency urea-based fertilizers | Eduardo
Lopes Cancellier, Douglas Ramos Guelfi Silva, Andr Leite Silva, Leando Lopes Cancellier, Bruno Almeida Gonalves,
Eduardo Bucsan Emrich ...........................................................................................................................292
52. Ammonia enhanced efficiency fertilizer volatilization in corn crop under tillage system | Taylor Lima
de Souza, Douglas Ramos Guelfi Silva, Andr Silva Leite, Eduardo Bucsan Emrich, Eduardo Lopes Cancellier, Andr
Baldansi Andrade....................................................................................................................................296
53. Polymer-sulphur coated urea: an alternative to improve nitrogen fertilization management and
corn grain yield in Brazil | Hugo A. Gonzlez Villalba, Lucas Peres Miachon, Evandro Luiz Schoninger, Ithamar
Prada Neto, Paulo Cesar Ocheuze Trivelin....................................................................................................299
54. Nitrogen efficiency for differents sources fertilizers in maize | Lvia A. Tiraboschi, Julio Bogiani,
Luis Torres............................................................................................................................................302
55. Efficiency of the fused magnesium potassium phosphate for soybean | Cleide Aparecida de Abreu,
Camila Prado Cenciani de Souza, Ana Clara Kozma Viaro, Cristiano Alberto de Andrade e Mnica Ferreira de Abreu.......305
56. Efficiency of different nitrogen sources in maize at field condition | Lvia A. Tiraboschi, Leonardo A.
Aquino, Luis Torres, Joo Mas.................................................................................................................308
Section 11 | Secondary macronutrients and micronutrients in NPK fertilizers......................... 311
57. Soil chemical properties according to doses of bentonite sulphur and gypsum | Leandro Jos
Grava de Godoy, Felipe Pachioni Garotti, Felipe Gustavo Frana........................................................................ 311
Section 12 | Strategies for better use efficiency..........................................................................315
58. Residual effects of reactive phosphates associated to soluble phosphor source to corn
production in the third agricultural cycle | Dayane Gomes dos Santos, Edilson Carvalho Brasil, Adilson de
Oliveira Jnior, Letcia Cunha da Hungria, Rbia Carla Ribeiro Dantas, Marlene Evangelista Vieira..............................314
59. Nanocomposites produced from extrusion of urea and montmorillonite: a new perspective
to produce slow release fertilizer | Elaine Incio Pereira, Caue Ribeiro de Oliveira........................................316
60. A study of the grinding effect on the kinetics superphosphate solubilization | Fbio Plotegher,
Caue Ribeiro .........................................................................................................................................320
61. Evidence of Synergistic Effects on the Slow Release of Fertilizers by nanocomposite
hydrogels | Adriel Bortolin, Andr R. T. Serafim, Fauze A. Aouada, Luiz H. C. Mattoso, Caue Ribeiro........................323
62. Hydroxyapatite/urea nanocomposites - increased solubility by dispersion in a soluble matrix
Amanda S. Giroto,Caue Ribeiro..................................................................................................................326
63. Effect of humic acid rates and carbonate sources in available P in a tropical soil | Henrique
Jos Guimares Moreira Maluf, Carlos Alberto Silva, Davi Lopes do Carmo...........................................................329
64. Agronomic efficiency of reactive phosphate Bayvar in a Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piat crop
Wantuir Filipe Teixeira Chagas, Douglas Ramos Guelfi Silva, Eduardo Bucsan Emrich, Andr Luiz Carvalho Caputo,
FranciscoHlcioCanutoAmaral,Digo Faustolo Alves Bispo.............................................................................332
65. Forms of phosphorus application on different arrangements of planting soybeans:

accumulation of nutrients | Adriane de Andrade Silva, Pedro Afonso Couto Junior, Regina Maria Quinto
Lana, Angela Maria Quinto Lana................................................................................................................335
66. Evaluation of organo-mineral granular fertilizers enriched with potassium solubilizing

microorganisms | Flvia Cristina dos Santos, Ivanildo Evdio Marriel, Eliane Aparecida Gomes, Christiane Abreu
de Oliveira Paiva, Jos Carlos Polidoro, Antnio Carlos de Oliveira, der de Souza Martins.......................................338
67. Growth of seedlings of corn (Zea mays L.) Originating from seeds treated with nanoparticles of
zinc | Cristiane Segatto, Adariely Galera, Cristiano Reschke Lajs, Luciano Luiz Silva, Humberto Gracher Riella,
Mrcio Antnio Fiori.................................................................................................................................341
68. Potential of benzimidazoles as urease inhibitors of agricultural interest | ngelo de Ftima, Dbora
P. Araujo, Vincius S.S. Morais, Luzia V. Modolo..............................................................................................344
69. Charcoal (biochar) as soil conditioner to enhance fertilizers and water use efficiency in agriculture
in acid tropical soils in the Central Amazon Basin | Wenceslau G. Teixeira, Christoph Steiner, Gilvan C.
Martins , Murilo R. de Arruda......................................................................................................................346
70. Ammonia volatilization from enhanced efficiency fertilizers in brazilian coffee crop | Anderson William
Dominghetti, Douglas Ramos Guelfi Silva, Eduardo Bucsan Emrich, Eduardo Lopes Cancellier, Andr Luiz Carvalho
Caputo, Bruno de Almeida Gonalves..........................................................................................................350
71. Phosphorus and potassium activity in the soil solution affected by the addition of high doses
of fertilizers | Jaqueline P. M. de Oliveira, Paulo R. Ernani, Tas G. Garmus, Paulo C. Conceio.............................353
72. The response of some physiological traits of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) to biochar and
phophorous fertilizer | Patricia J. Macil, John B.O Ogola, Jude J. O. Odhiambo, Siphiwe G. Lusiba.......................356
73. Response of maize to fertilizer and biochar application | Jude J.O Odhiambo.................................359
74. Fertilizer use efficiency by maize genotypes under high or medium technological investment
Alvaro V. Resende, Fabio A. Padilha, Silvino G. Moreira, Lauro J. M. Guimares, Paulo Evaristo O. Guimares.............362
75. Nitrogen source and rate influence on grain protein of wheat cultivars | Pedro A. V. Escosteguy,
Juliana Hnel, Osvaldo A. P. Rosso, Catia B. Klein..........................................................................................365
76. Maize and brachiaria intercropping system efficiency in the use of soil phosphorus reserves
Antnio Marcos Coelho.............................................................................................................................368
77. Sources and levels of potassium in nutrition and initial growth of mahogany | Jos Zilton Lopes
Santos; Matheus da Silva Ferreira; Tainah Manuela Benlolo Barbosa; Jaisson Miyosi Oka; Arnon Afonso Cardoso..........371
78. N and chorophyll content in Swietenia macrophylla in function of nitrogen sources and levels
Tainah Manuela Benlolo Barbosa, Jos Zilton Lopes Santos, Matheus da Silva Ferreira, Jaisson Miyosi Oka, Arnon
Afonso de Souza Cardoso.........................................................................................................................374
79. Phosphorus utilization efficiency in maize fertilized with polymer-coated phosphate or

conventional phosphate | Adilson Pel, Rogrio Nunes Gonalves, Faber de Souza Pereira, Sihlio Jlio
Silva Cruz.............................................................................................................................................378
80. Agronomic efficiency of fertilization with polymer-coated phosphate on irrigated cammom bean
Glucia de Mello Pel, Renan Cesar Dias da Silva, Adilson Pel, Marco Antnio Moreira Pereira, Lincon Rafael
da Silva................................................................................................................................................381
81. Ectomycorrhizal fungi selection in eucalypts rooted cuttings nursery | Gomes, .L.F., Grazziotti,
D.C.F.S., Grazziotti, P.H., Avelar, D.C.S., Antunes, L.A.; Costa, S.S.D. .................................................................384
82. Preliminary evaluation of coffee crops under different doses of nitrogen with a spad meter
and leaf nitrogen | Viviane A.A. Vilela, Ademir Rodrigo F. V. B. de L. Amaro, Igor Martins Morasi, Marina K. Murrer,
Petra F.G. de Abreu, Rafaela C.R.M. Duarte, Waldemore Moriconi, Jos R.P. Gonalvez, Lidiane C. F. da Silva, Ana
Paula Packer.........................................................................................................................................387
83. Potencial of nitrication inhibitors derived from roots exudates of Bracchiaria humidicola and
Saccharum spontaneum associated to sugarcane performance | Oriel Tiago Klln, Henrique C.
Junqueira Franco, Saulo de Castro, Vitor P. Vargas, Heitor Cantarella, Paulo C. O. Trivelin .......................................390
84. Release of nitrogen from urea with different coatings | Odirley Rodrigues Campos, Edson Marcio
Mattiello, Reinaldo Bertola Cantarutti, Genelicio Crusso Rocha, Leonardus Vergutz................................................393
85. Relationships between soil and leaf contents of manganese and cooper in orange trees
Lafayette Franco Sobral, Tiago Araujo Muniz,Robinson Cruz Fontes Junior, Adeilva Rodrigues Valena, Joezio
Luiz dos Anjos........................................................................................................................................396
86. Volatilization of ammonia in function of the use of coating urea with humic acid and urease
inhibitors | Pinheiro, R. B., Ribeiro, I. B., Santos, D. S....................................................................................398
87. Volatilization of ammonia in function of the time of contact of the coated urea with polymer
Marra, M. P., Pinheiro, R. B., Moura, G. G. G..................................................................................................401
88. Coated and common urea as affecting upland rice production | Adriano Stephan Nascente, Nand
Kumar Fageria, Luis Fernando Stone...........................................................................................................404
89. Levels of n as coated urea as affecting upland rice production | Maria da Conceio Santana
Carvalho, Adriano Stephan Nascente...........................................................................................................407
Lectures
Lectures
17
TOMORROWS CHALLENGES FOR FERTILIZERS AND FERTILIZATION

EWALD SCHNUG, SILVIA HANEKLAUS
International Scientific Centre of Fertilizers (CIEC), Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated
Plants, Julius Khn-Institut (JKI), Bundesallee 50, D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Introduction

No need to carry coals to Newcastle: the
todays world fertilizer congress of CIEC is far from
simply spreading the message of fertilizer needs
to satisfy the global demand for plant based food,
feed, materials and energy. CIEC has spread the
word about the rational use of mineral fertilizers
since more than 80 years. The constantly increasing use of fertilizers did not only cause success
through higher yields, but also concerns about
collateral damages to the environment and exploitation of global resources. Fertilizers are not only
tools, but also resources which require sustainability, stewardship, responsibility and participation.

In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the term sustainability was coined. The Brundtland Commission
defined it in its publication Our Common Future
in 1987: Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs. Its implications go far beyond
implementation in the present, when profit is seen
regularly as an indicator for sustainability. The chief
constraint of sustainable development is that it requires investments for future generations, which
are usually not paying in the present. Todays agriculture and in particular fertilization are far away
from being sustainable. This contribution will address three sectors which are supposed to have
a key role in the development of sustainability in
fertilization: nitrogen, phosphorus and precision agriculture.
Prescription for nitrogen Fertilizers

Required

National nitrogen (N) balances have become a key indicator for assessing sustainability in
agriculture. The German government for instance
has adopted the national N balance as one indicator for the sustainable development of the state.
Irrespectively, an increasing use of N fertilizers is
still the deadly companion of negative effects on
drinking water quality and eutrophication. One of

the longest battles fought in this war is the one of
HELCOM (Helsinki Convention for the protection
of the Baltic Sea environment). Founded in 1974,
HELCOM addresses since 1992 the problems of
nutrient discharges from agriculture into the Baltic
Sea basin. Codes of Good Agricultural Practice
have been welcomed as the tool of choice, however,
proved to be sharp as a battle axe made of marshmellows. The result is that the marine environment
of the BALTIC Sea and many others marine bodies
worldwide still suffer from undamped eutrophication. For the continuing increasing nitrate pollution
of groundwater resources the EU commission is actually threatening Germany with incrimination in the
European Court of Justice. There is no real gap in
science and practice of how to limit N discharge to
the environment. Missing is the will for a change that
arises from consciousness and sense of responsibility, and stewardship. In retrospective, negotiated
environmental agreements were never successful
which leaves the application of carrot and stick as
the method of choice. Many carrots have already
been dealt out in Europe through the Cross Compliance policy of the EU, but real effects only shows
the stick, which has been decreed by the Danish government (DEPA 2014, Grinsven et al. 2012):
The basic principle is the obligatory employment of
a certified advisory service by every farm. Farmer
and advisor establish nutrient balances for the farm
which are the basis for the calculation of the total
amount of mineral and organic fertilizers the farmer
is allowed to purchase. Each farm has a maximum
permitted amount of N it can use, with the choice
to lower the N input to one crop in favor of another
crop. Use of any N in excess of the assigned total
amount may result in serious fines. The vendor of
fertilizers retracts any excess N at the end of the
season. Vendors are also subjected to strict regulations, with a license required to buy and sell, and all
quantities imported must be recorded. Any unaccounted quantities of imported fertilizers run the risk
18
16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC
of huge fines, after exposing previous attempts of

importing extra fertilizer from neighboring countries.
What sounds like another harsh stick for farmers,
is the only and truly efficient way to control and limit
N losses from agroecosystems to the environment.
And it comes with its own carrot: the obligatory association of farm operations with certified advisory
systems opens vast challenges for a new sector
of agribusiness: investment in profound agricultural
education and sophisticated management systems
will become more profitable and what has been
seen first as an inconvenience will lead to a win/win
situation for both, agriculture and environment on a
long-term basis.
Phosphorus fertilizers: 100%/zero

approach required

Of major concern for sustainable development is the waste of the non-renewable resource
phosphorus (P), which is mainly consumed for fertilizer purposes, but P fertilization strategies require
significant advancements towards sustainability.
Pessimistic assessments see world P reserves last
only for another 50-150 years. In industrial countries agriculture uses more P for fertilization than
it exports with agricultural products. Some uncertainty in practical P fertilization derives from the fact
that there are no experimental means to estimate
the true long-term utilization of fertilizer P.

The traditional concepts (differential and
radioisotope method) suggest that on an average
only 75% of the fertilizer P applied is finally used
by plants, implicating that always more P has to be
fertilized than will be recovered by agricultural products. The breakthrough towards the possibility of a
complete utilization and thus also a complete recycling of fertilizer P came with an empirical approach
published in 1965 by the Finnish scientist Armi
Kaila, for which the term apparent utilization has
been coined. Based on Kailas hypothesis P fertilization concepts can be designed, which guarantee
a full utilization of fertilizer P in agriculture. There is,
however, one crucial prerequisite for a 100% utilization which is that the entire P in a fertilizer has to be
completely water soluble or at least soluble in neutral ammonium citrate solution (Schnug et al. 2015).
Rock phosphates and processed P fertilizers are
significant sources of heavy metal contaminations
to soils. Uranium (U) concentrations for instance

may exceed several hundred mg/kg U. Loads to the
environment are coming primarily from the use of
mineral P fertilizers in agriculture and may exceed
200 t/ha U annually in a country like Germany. As
crop plants only remove minor amounts of U from
soils, the element accumulates easily in soils and
is prone to leaching to groundwaters from where
it enters the food chain. To maintain the content
of hazardous elements in soils unchanging, the
heavy metal concentrations in fertilizers needs to
be limited legally. Concentrations always refer to
the original product. Cd and U in mineral fertilizers
with < 5% P2O5 shall be labeled, if Cd/U exceeds
1 mg/kg Cd/U; fertilizers with > 5% P2O5 shall be
labeled, if Cd/U if Cd/U exceeds 20mg/kg P2O5.
Mineral fertilizers with < 5% P2O5 shall be banned

from trading when they exceed 1.5 mg/kg Cd/U and
fertilizers with > 5% P2O5, if Cd/U is higher than
50mg/kg P2O5. This sounds at first like another
stick on the back of farmers as one will expect
fertilizer prices to increase under these limitations.
But also here is again a carrot as a benefit: U in
fertilizers is a welcome source for the production of
fertilizers with zero contaminants: especially when
burned in the new generation of High Temperature
Gas cooled Reactors it is a promising alternative to
presently used fossil energy sources that provide
large amounts of energy with little environmental
footprint. Sustainable fertilization requires fully soluble P for 100% utilization and limited contaminant
concentrations for zero environmental impact.
Fertilization in Precision Agriculture twilighth of the Gods of technology

Precision Agriculture (PA) a catchy term
rising with the new millennium. In fact it does not
deal with precision but rather the opposite: variability. Its basic idea is that by stepping from uniform treatment of larger (land) units comprising a
wide range of variability in various growth or fertility parameter (i.e. available soil P) to smaller, less
variable ones any input with dependency on the
parameter (i.e. fertilizer P) so that the conversion
efficiency of the input will be improved (Haneklaus
and Schnug 2006). Thus the appropriate term for
PA would be definitively Local Resource Management. Key technologies involved are satellite po-
Lectures
19
sitioning and navigation (GPS), geographical information systems (GIS), variable rate application
techniques, remote sensing and online yield mapping. It sounded like a quantum leap in agricultural
production techniques, but the hype went down
to a reality facing unexpectedly small economic
returns and even higher capital and maintenance
costs. Approximately a quarter of a century after the
rise of the phoenix PA is still a freak technology
for technology enthusiasts in agriculture. However,
there might be dawn ahead for Precision Agriculture when the last man leaves the field says when
autonomous vehicles take over human labor. With
increasing work efficiency the capital allocated to
an individual worker is increasing as the individual
possesses higher education and enhanced skills,
umented. This for instance is a key to solve the

above mentioned problems in N management and
sustainable use of P resources.
which again presses heavily on salaries. If the

symbolic last man is leaving the field for robots
his economized salary easily pays for running and
maintenance of PA. Large areas will then be managed efficiently through remote operators using all
the tools of the PA trade. Agriculture has seen horses and oxen disappearing from the field, why not
now humans? Such a chance offers tremendous
opportunities for a continuation of revolution in agriculture which are: agricultural education becomes
much more valuable as one single person not only
oversees much larger areas, but also performs expertly complex decisions and tasks. Factors and
inputs are efficiently controlled, tracked and doc-
DEPA, Danish Environmental Protection Agency

(2014) Implementation of the Nitrates directive in
Denmark
http://eng.mst.dk/topics/agriculture/nitrates-directive/implementation-in-denmark/
References
Brundtlandt Kommission (1987) Our Common Future Centre For Our Common Future. 52, rue de
Pquis, CH - 1201 Genf, Schwiss.
Grinsven, H.J.M. van, Ten Berge, H.F.M., Dalgaard,
T., Fraters, B., Durand, P., Hart, A. and Hofman, G.
(2012) Management, regulation and environmental
impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwest Europe
under Nitrates Directive, a benchmark study. Journal of Biogeoscience 9, 5143-5160.
Haneklaus, S. and Schnug, E. (2006). Site specific

nutrient management objectives, current status
and future research needs. In: Precision Farming
A global perspective. Srinivasan, A. (Ed), Marcel
Dekker, New York, 91-151.
Schnug, E., de Kok, L.J. and Frossard, E. (eds.)
(2015) Phosphorous: 100% zero. Springer (in
press)
20
NEW FERTILIZER TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR

AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCIES
M.J. MCLAUGHLIN1,2, F. DEGRYSE1, R. BAIRD1, R. COQUI DA SILVA1
1
University of Adelaide Fertilizer Technology Research Centre, Waite Research Institute, The University of Adelaide,
Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AUSTRALIA (michael.mclaughlin@adelaide.edu.au); 2CSIRO Land and Water, PMB 2,
Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AUSTRALIA
Introduction
Agronomic efficiency

While global supplies of phosphorus (P),
potassium (K) and trace elements (e.g. zinc (Zn),
copper (Cu), boron (B), etc.) are unlikley to be exhausted in the near future, the exploration of lower
grades of ores and physcial or geopolitical inaccessibilty of high-grade reserves means that the cost
of these nutrients is likley to increase in the future.
Nitrogen (N) supply is virtually limitless but likewise
will be restricted by cost considerations, and also
environmental concerns related to greenhouse gas
emissions and off-site transport to water supplies.
Hence the impetus to develop more efficient fertilizer formulations has both an economic and an
environmental perspective.

The definition of nutrient use efficiency is
important if global post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved, but efficiency
may mean different concepts to a plant physiologist or crop breeder than to an agronomist or fertilizer technologist. Efficiency needs to be defined in
a systems context and take account of geographic boundaries and time scales used. The various
metrics of nutrient use efficiency will be discussed
and compared and it will become evident that time
scales can often change perspective on how efficient a particular nutrient is deemed to be. For example, when P deficient soils are first fertilized, P
efficiency is deemed low due to strong sorption reactions and occlusion of P in organic matter. However, as P fertilization continues over time efficiency
of P use increases and the nutrient may be used
very efficiently in many soils with long fertilization
histories. For elements where off-site losses may
occur from soil (due to inherent aqueous or gaseous mobility) e.g. B or N, inefficiencies are more
often defined by the magnitude of these losses and
new formulations focus on retaining the nutrient in a
less-mobile form.
Fertilizer innovation

Many would argue that innovation in fertilizer technology is lacking, with no major breakthroughs made in the last 4 decades. While it
is certainly true that we know much about crop
nutrition and that no new wonder plant nutrient
remains to be discovered, there has still been
much progress in developing fertilizer formulations more tailored to crop demand, or designed
to enhance efficiency and reduce wasteful off-site
losses to the environment. Fertilizers are increasingly becoming more multinutrient in character,
and the ability to bundle certain micronutrients
with macronutrients creates new challenges that
only a fundamental understanding of fertilizer and
soil chemistry can solve. Similarly the addition of
specific chemicals to granular or fluid fertilizers
designed to slow release of nutrients, or to alter nutrient transformations in soil, are becoming
more commonplace. However, it is important that
the full lifecycle in the enviornment and fate in the
food chain of these new chemicals is well understood before commercial release.
New product evaluation

Increases in prices of fertilizer leads to an
increase in the release of alternative products,
efficient formulations or substitute technologies.
There is a magnitude of new products entering the
market each year globally, and it is imperative that
these are properly evaluated and tested to ensure
claims of efficiency are justified. Proper evaluation
includes two key components. Firstly, mechanistic
action need to be credible and proven, and secondly, performance under field conditions needs to be
assessed with sufficient rigour to account for biological and environmental variation. Key examples will
be used to demostrate how this can be achieved.
Lectures
21
FERTILIZERS IN INTEGRATED PLANT NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

MARK ALLEY1
1
Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060 USA (malley@vt.edu)
Introduction

Integrated plant nutrient management
(IPNM) is a holistic approach to optimizing plant
nutrient supply. It includes: (1) assessing residual
soil nutrient supplies, as well as acidity and salinity; (2) determining soil productivity potential for
various crops through assessment of soil physical properties with specific attention to available
water holding capacity and rooting depth; (3) calculating crop nutrient requirements for the specific site and yield objective; (4) quantifying nutrient value of on-farm resources such as manures
and crop residues; (5) calculating supplemental
nutrient needs that must be met with off-farm
nutrient sources; and (6) developing a program to
optimize nutrient utilization through selection of
appropriate nutrient sources, application timings
and placement. The overall objective of IPNM is
to adequately nourish the crop as efficiently as
possible, while minimizing potentially adverse impacts to the environment. A detailed discussion
of the IPNM concept can be found in Plant Nutrition for Food Security (Roy et al., 2006).
Soil fertility is the capacity of soil to retain, cycle and supply essential nutrients for plant growth
over extended periods of time (years). Soil fertility relates not only to the nutrient status of the soil,
but also to activities of soil organisms, including
earthworms and microbes, clay mineral amounts
and types, air exchange rates, and other biological chemical or physical properties and processes. All of these factors, in combination with the
temperature and rainfall or irrigation regimes, affect nutrient supplies available for plant growth.
Fertilizers are any solid, liquid or gaseous substances containing one or more plant nutrients in
known amount, that is applied to the soil, directly
on the plant (foliage) or added to aqueous solutions (as in fertigation) to maintain soil fertility, improve crop development, yield and/or crop quality
(IFA, 2014). Fertilizers can be manures and crop
residues as well as naturally occurring essential
elements that have been mined (e.g. P and K), or
in the case of N, fixed from the atmosphere and

incorporated into manufactured fertilizers.
Plant Available Soil Nutrient Supplies

and Crop Growth

The vast majority of soils do not supply adequate amounts of all essential plant nutrients to
produce optimum yields of most crops. Optimum
yields being defined as those yields that maximize
the use of plant available moisture for the specific
site and which provide the total crop yields needed
to support increasing human populations, as well
as necessary economic returns to sustain growers.
Appropriate nutrient applications depend on the
specific crop, (e.g., root system architecture and
growth pattern), soil properties, climate, and nutrient characteristics. Nutrient use should optimize
crop growth and soil productivity, maintain soil productivity for future crop production, and increase
economic value while minimizing environmental
impacts. Environmental impacts include both the
loss of excessive nutrients to water and air as well
as situations in which a lack of nutrient availability
results in soil fertility degradation, and low amounts
of plant growth resulting in soils susceptible to wind
and water erosion.
Defining and predicting plant available soil nutrient supplies in soil are difficult tasks. Marschner
and Rengel (2012), in a recent book chapter, identified the following factors as being of major importance: (1) concentration of nutrients in soil solution;
(2) movement of nutrients to the root surface; (3)
root density; (4) distribution of water in soil; and (5)
soil structure. And all of these factors interact in
a specific soil and crop situation making for even
more complexity. However, new research methods such as those to describe soil pores (Jassogne
et al. 2007) and visualize plant roots (Tracy et al.
2010) coupled with more powerful simulation modeling (Doussan, 2006) offer a way forward to better
understanding and predicting plant nutrient uptake
rates. Understanding nutrient uptake rates by crop
plants is extremely important as future yield increas-
22
es will require more total nutrient uptake within approximately the same growing period at a specific
site if crop yields are to maintain the same nutrient
density as at lower yield levels. Fertilizer applications properly placed and timed will be required to
increase nutrient uptake rates in many soils.
Fertilizer--An Entry Point for Integrated

Soil Fertility Management

Resource constrained farmers in many regions face the situation of being unable to maintain
crop residues on fields to increase soil organic matter and protect soil from wind and water erosion.
Many also do not have manure to return to soils.
Soil degradation results from decreased soil organic matter content, lower rainfall infiltration rates
and retention capacity, and decreased crop yields.
Limited, targeted, balanced fertilization increases
first crop yields and can increase yields of following crops (Vanlauwe et al. 2001). Increases in the
quantity of available crop residues useful as livestock feed or organic inputs to soil usually occur.
Growers can then begin to increase soil quality and
crop yields through improved nutrient and residue
management.
Fertilizer Use in Sustaining Soil Fertility

and Productivity

Nutrient budgets indicate when nutrient removal from a field, region, or country exceeds nutrient inputs and forms the basis for further examination of potential fertilizer requirements. Regional
nutrient balances calculated for Sub-Saharan African countries by Roy et al. (2003) clearly showed
negative balances for all major nutrients. With limited on-farm nutrient sources available, this work
highlighted the need for appropriate policies that
improve affordability of manufactured fertilizers to
re-mineralize soils. Nutrient balances for Chinese
farmland from1949 to 1995 revealed large negative
balances for N, P and K from 1949 to 1975 but N
and P trends had been reversed by 1980 through
fertilizer use (Jiyun Jin et al. 1999). However, large
negative balances existed for K through 1995, and
led to a coordinated program of education and
availability of K fertilizers to increase crop yields
and improve overall soil fertility.
Nutrient budgets can also be used to assess
potential environmental problems associated with

excessive levels of nutrients. In areas with high levels of manure production, fertilizers must be used to
balance crop nutrient needs when manure applications must be limited. For example, phosphorus
levels in a local county area of Virginia USA exceeded crop removals by 4000-5000 tonnes (Alley
and Vanlauwe, 2009). Manure applications must
be limited in these areas to prevent P enrichment of
surface waters, and N and K fertilizers are required
to optimize yields when manure rates are limited.
Similar conditions exist in areas of Western Europe
and are beginning to develop in other countries that
are increasing animal production.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management

and Fertilizers

Integrated plant nutrient management provides a framework to manage nutrients in all cropping situations with the objective of using all nutrient sources to increase crop yields and food quality, and to increase nutrient use efficiency for both
economic and environmental reasons. Fertilizers
are an integral part of integrated plant nutrient management as they offer a solution to recovering degraded soils, provide nutrients to balance on-farm
nutrient supplies, and can be applied at appropriate
plant growth stages to maximize nutrient use efficiency. Integrated plant nutrient management is a
fundamental part of total crop production programs
for meeting the challenge of increased food, feed,
fiber and bioenergy production in sustainable agroecosystems.
References
Alley, M., and B. Vanlauwe. 2009. The Role of Fertilizers in Integrated Plant Nutrient Management.
International Fertilizer Industry Association. Paris,
and the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute
of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Doussan, C., A. Pierret, E. Garrigues, and L. Pages.
2006. Water uptake by plant roots: IIModelling of
water transfer in the soil root-system with explicit
account of flow within the root system comparison
with experiments. Plant Soil 283: 99-117.
Lectures
International Fertilizer Industry Association.

2014. About fertilizers. [available on-line] www.
fertilizer.org/En/Knowledge_Resources/About_
Fertilizers/About_Fertilizers_Home_Page.
aspx?WebsiteKey=411e9724-4bda-422f-abfc8152ed74f306. Accessed 19 Aug 2014.
Jassogne, L., A. McNeill, and D. Chittleborough.
2007. 3D-visualization and analysis of macro- and
meso-porosity of the upper horizons of a sodic,
texture-contrast soil. European J. Soil Sci. 58:589598.
Jiyun, Jin, L. Bao, and Z. Weili. 1999. Improving nutrient management for sustainable development of
agriculture in China. P. 157-174. In E.M.A. Smaling,
O. Oenema, and L.O. Fresco (eds). Nutrient Disequilibria in Agroecoystems, Concepts and Case
Studies. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon, UK
Marschner, P. and Z. Rengel. 2012. Nutrient availability in soils. Pgs 315-330. In Petra Marschner (ed).
23
Marschners Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, 3rd

edition. Elsevier and Academic Press, London.
Roy, R. N., R. V. Misra, J.P. Lesschen, and E. M. A.
Smaling. 2003 Assessment of soil nutrient balance,
approaches and methodologies. FAO fertilizer and
plant nutrition bulletin 14. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
Roy, R. N., A. Finck, G. J. Blari, and H.L.S. Tandon.
2006. Plant nutrition for food security, a guide for
integrated nutrient management. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Rome.
Vanlauwe, B., J. Wendt, and J. Diels. 2001. Combined application of organic matter and fertilizer. In
G. Tian, F. Ishida, J.D.H. Keatings (eds). Sustaining Soil fertility in West-Africa. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.
Special Publication Number 58, Madison, USA, pp
247-280.
24
THE USE OF CLAY MINERALS TO IMPROVE NITROGEN

FERTILIZER EFFICIENCY
ALBERTO C. DE CAMPOS BERNARDI1, JOS CARLOS POLIDORO2, MARISA B. M. MONTE3,
ELAINE I. PEREIRA4, CAU RIBEIRO DE OLIVEIRA5
1
Embrapa Pecuaria Sudeste, Cx.P. 339, So Carlos-SP, Brazil, CEP: 13560-970 (alberto.bernardi@embrapa.br); 2Embrapa Solos,
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; 3Centro de Tecnologias Minerais CETEM, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil; 4Universidade Federal de So
Carlos - UFSCar, Chemistry Department, So Carlos, SP, Brazil; 5Embrapa Instrumentao, So Carlos-SP, Brazil
Introduction

Diferent strategies can be taken to increase
the efficient use of nutirents from to maximize its
benefits to the plant-soil-atmosphere system. Nitrogen is part of all living cells and is an essential constituent of amino acids and hence the proteins, enzymes and metabolic processes involved
in the synthesis and transfer of energy, and is part
of chlorophyll, the green pigment responsible for
photosynthesis. Fertilizers are the most important
sources of nitrogen used in large-scale cultivation
of various non-legumes crops.

In general, some changes in agricultural
management can increase the efficiency in the use
of N fertilizers such as: removing phisical, chemical
and biological limiting fators to plant growth; balanced fertilization; adequate water suplying; adjustment of fertilizer suplying to plant demand; optimization of rate and timing of fertilizer supllying; split
fertilization; fertilizer soil-incorporated; use of crop
rotation and green manure; and finally, using slow
or controlled release fertilizers and nitrification inhibitors with N-fertilizers.

The controlled and slow release fertilizers are prepared to release their nutrient content
gradually, and if possible, match their release with
the crop nutritional requirements, or to extend their
availability much more than high solubility fertilizers. The advantages of these nutrient sources are
the eliminate the use of topdressing fertilization, labor and fuel saving, soil compaction and root damage minimizing, and preventing crop damage, as
well as reducing environmental contamination.

Urea nitrogen has been the most used Nsource in Brazil, due to lower cost per unit of N. But
N use efficiency of urea may be reduced because
of losses from agricultural system by volatilization
of ammonia to atmosphere. This is one of the main
factors responsible for the low efficiency of urea,
and may reach extreme values, close to 80% of N
applied, even so in acid soils, since the liming increases soil pH and favors volatilization. Mulch form
no-tillage or pasture systems may also increase the
amount of N lost by volatilization, especially when
urea is applied on soil surface.

The N-urea losses can be reduced using
zeolites as additives in the fertilizers to control the
retention and release of NH4+. The use of minerals
for agricultural purposes is becoming widespread,
and zeolites concentrates have a special niche in
this category. Zeolite minerals are crystalline hydrated aluminosilicates of alkali or alkaline-earth
metals, structured in three-dimensional rigid crystalline network, formed by the tetrahedral AlO4 and
SiO4, which come together to compose a system
of canals, cavities and pores at nanoscale. These
minerals are characterized by the retaining and releasing water and exchange cations without changes in structure. Other hydrated layered silicates
clay minerals, like bentonite, are able to exchange
cations, and intercalate neutral molecular species
between the interlayer regions by interaction with
structural water. The worldwide number of identified natural zeolitic concentrates demonstrates both
their great variety and the present-day interest on
their potential applications in the industry and the
agriculture. In Brazil there are three regions with
sedimentary zeolite which widely varies in the depth
of the ocurrence and the stilbite concentration. The
largest zeolite reservoirs are found in the Parnaiba
river valley, where the stilbite form of the heulandite
group dominates reaching approximately 50% of
sediment (Rezende & Angelica, 1999; Monte et al.,
2009; Bernardi et al., 2013b).

The main action of zeolite in partial reduction on NH3 loss by volatilization occurs by the control of retention of ammonium ion, formed by urea
hydrolysis in the soil, due to zeolite high cation exchange capacity and ammonium retention from soil
solution. N inputs from fertilizers increase NH4+ and
Lectures
25
NO3 soil concentrations and may increases the soil

emissions of the greenhouse gas (GHG) as NH3
and N2O. However information on how ureaaluminosilicate slow-release nanocomposites might affect volatilization, nitrification and denitrification processes in the soil still need more studies. Besides
retaining large quantities of ammonium ion, these
minerals also interfere in the process of nitrification.

There are many reports in literature demonstrating the increased efficiency of N utilization
when urea is used together with aluminossilicates.
In a laboratory tests, Baptista-Filho et al. (2008)
demonstrated the ammonia retention by zeolite using a photoacoustic set-up, which simulated tropical
weather temperatures. The positive effect of zeolite
was confirmed in a field experiment with rose buds.
Rech (2014) tested urea-based formulations of nitrogen fertilizer with the addition of urease inhibitors
(NBPT, Cu, B), elemental sulfur and clay minerals
of the zeolite group. The results showed that formulations produced with urease inhibitor alone (NBPT,
B, Cu) embedded in beads and those inhibitors
combined with the clay mineral showed greater efficiency in reducing losses by volatilization compared
to commercial coated fertilizer with the same inhibitors. Ammonium and nitrate leaching and soil accumulation showed no significant differences between
produced formulations and commercial fertilizers.
The N accumulation in corn plants grown with the
new formulations was similar to commercial fertilizer, being higher to commercial urea. However, it
is clear that the incorporation of a urease inhibitor

In a field experiment Bernardi et al. (2011)
evaluated dry matter yield and nutritional levels of
nitrogen of silage corn fertilized with urea + zeolite.
Treatments comprised two types of stilbite zeolite
(natural and concentrated), four levels of nitrogen
(0, 50, 100 and 200 kg ha-1) and four ratios of zeolite (25%, 50% and 100% of N level). Treatments
were applied 60 days after planting in the topdressing fertilization. The use of concentrated (650 g kg-1
of stilbite) or natural (470 g kg-1 of stilbite) zeolite
with urea increased, respectively 5.5% and 3.6%
the silage corn dry matter production and N leaf
concentrations.

In a pot experiment with Italian ryegrass
Bernardi et al. (2013a) observed differences in the
rate of N-NH3 volatilization with addition of 20% of
zeolite to urea with an 8% decreasing of accumulated volatilized N-NH3. Results indicated that approximately 21% of applied N was lost as N-NH3+ when
there was no addition of zeolite to urea. Addition of
20% zeolite reduced losses to 19.6%. As expected
based on previous results, the lowest percentage of
loss was obtained from ammonium nitrate N-source
which was similar to the control (without N).

Clinoptilolite is the most known and used
zeolite specie for retaining ammonium cation. Werneck et al. (2012) achieved reductions of losses by
ammonia volatilization when urea was applied with
clinoptilolite. Baptista et al. (2011) showed that the
Brazilian zeolite stilbite has the ability to retain half
of the quantity of ammonium held by the clinoptilolite type.
in urea fertilizer is more efficient in the reduction of

losses by volatilization compared to coated fertilizers produced with the same additives.

However, the property of cation exchange
is shown by the aluminosilicate, represented not
only by zeolites, but especially by clay minerals.
Clay minerals are crystalline hydrated aluminum
silicates, structurally oriented as silicate lamellae bonded to aluminate lamellae. These lamellae
are spatially arranged by stacks separated by exchange able ions and structural water. The crystalline structures are classified into 2 types: structures
1:1 (kaolinite, serpentine) and structures 2:1 (talcpyrophyllite, mica, smectite, vermiculite, chlorite,
attapulgite, sepiolite). Only a small number of clay
minerals are components of industrial clays: kaolinite (kaolin); montmorillonite (bentonite); talc (talc);
vermiculite (vermiculite) andchrysotile (asbestos).
Just as zeolites, the cation exchange capacity in
clay minerals is quite pronounced, however, values
may range from 10-3 meqg-1 (phyllites) to 1 meqg-1
(montmorillonites and vermiculite).

Pereira et al. (2012) demonstrated that a
nanocomposite formed from a montmorillonite exfoliation in a urea matrix controlled the solubilization process, delaying the N release. The results
showed that it was possible to obtain by cold extrusion, a high N content and adequate strength
compatible to comercial fertilizer. Microstructural
analysis of composites indicated that the extrusion process generated two regions, one comprising the nanocomposite itself (montmorillonite and
26
urea), and other regions with urea granules. Thus,

the authors attributed the release process not only
to the clay mineral-urea interaction, but also to the
creation of barriers to free urea diffusion out of the
granule.
BERNARDI, A.C.C.; MOTA, E.; CARDOSO, R.D.;

MONTE, M.B.M.; OLIVEIRA, P.P.A. Ammonia volatilization from soil, dry matter yield, and nitrogen levels of Italian Ryegrass. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, v. 45, p. 153-162, 2013a.
Conclusions
BERNARDI, A.C.C; OLIVEIRA, P.P.A.; MONTE

M.B.M; SOUZA-BARROS, F. Brazilian sedimentary
zeolite use in agriculture. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, v.167, p.16-21, 2013b.

The reduction in ammonia losses by volatilization and the increased efficiency of N utilization
when urea is used together with aluminosilicates
was demonstrated in both greenhouse and field
experiments. These results indicate that aluminosilicates minerals are able to improve the efficiency
of nitrogen use, contribute to increasing N uptake
through the control of retention of ammonium ion.
Keywords: Zeolite, stilbite, clinoptilolite, slowrelease fertilizer, N losses, ammonia volatization.
References
BAPTISTA FILHO, M.; SILVA, M. G.; POLIDORO,
J. C.; LUNA, F.J.; MONTE, M.B.M.; SOUZA-BARROS, F.; MIKLOS, A.; VARGAS, H. Detection of
ammonia released from zeolite by the quantum
cascade laser based photoacoustic set-up. European Physical Journal A, v.153, p.547-555, 2008.
BAPTISTA-FILHO, M.; RITER, H.G.; SILVA, M.
G.; LUNA, F.J.; WERNECK, C.G.; RECH, I.; POLIDORO, J.C.; MONTE, M.B.M.; SOUZA-BARROS, F.; MIKLOS, A.; VARGAS, H. Ammonia traces
detection based on photoacoustic spectroscopy for
evaluating ammonia volatization from natural zeolites at typical crop field temperature. Sensors and
Actuators. B, Chemical, v. 158, p. 241-245, 2011.
BERNARDI, A.C.C; SOUZA, G.B.; POLIDORO,

J.C.; MONTE M.B.M; PAIVA, P.R.P. Yield, quality components, and nitrogen levels of silage corn
fertilized with urea and zeolite. Communications in
Soil Science and Plant Analysis, v.42, p.1266-1275,
2011.
MONTE, M.B.M.; MIDDEA A; BERNARDI, A.C.C;
REZENDE, N.G.A.M.; BAPTISTA FILHO. M.; SILVA, M.G; VARGAS, H.; AMORIM, H.S.; SOUZABARROS, F. Nutrient release by a Brazilian sedimentary zeolite. Anais da Academia Brasileira de
Cincias, v.81, p.641-653, 2009.
PEREIRA, E.I.; MINUSSI, F.B.; CRUZ, C.C.T.; BERNARDI, A.C.C.; RIBEIRO, C. Urea-MontmorilloniteExtruded Nanocomposites: A novel slow-release
material. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry,
v.60, p.5267-5272, 2012.
WERNECK, C.G.; BREDA, F.A.; ZONTA, E.; POLIDORO, J.C.; BALIEIRO, F.C.; BERNARDI, A.C.C.
Volatilizao de amnia proveniente de ureia com
zelita natural. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira,
v.47, p.466-470, 2012.
Lectures
27
AGRONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTROLLED-RELEASE

FERTILIZER IN TROPICAL CONDITIONS
ITHAMAR PRADA NETO1
1
Produquimica S.A., Av. Paulista, 1754, So Paulo, CEP 01.310-920 (ithamar.prada@produquimica.com.br)

The challenges of the current agricultural
production are directly connected with the necessity
of enhancing the yielding, adopting some methods
that intend to optimize the agricultural operations
which may result in high sustainability regarding the
environmental, social and economic aspects. In this
context, the implementation of improved methods
to fertilization are fundamental to improve the efficiency of the nutrients available and also to enhance the crops productivity with the rational use of
fertilizer.

Also, in association with the correct management, the use of such enhanced efficiency fertilizer provides the necessary assistance to help
farmers reach the advantages previously described,
with emphasis on controlled release fertilizer.

In relation to it, although the controlled release fertilizer is made from conventional fertilizer
sources, it is recovered and results in a physical
barrier avoiding a short time exposition of all the nutrients in the soil plant atmosphere system. Indeed,
this category of fertilizer allows the coat of all nutrients, being relevant to give scientific and technical
emphasis on the nitrogen (N).

Havlin et al. (2005) describes the physical
and chemical concept of the controlled release fertilizer, based in the ions exchange between semipermeable membrane with the solution of the humidity of the soil, highlighting that in the case of
coated urea it can be controlled ranging the total
quantity of the grain layer.

Focusing on chamber volatilization research, an accumulative loss of N was found due to
volatilization. Covering the period of sixteen days,
such losses reached the value of 0,4% for the polymer sulfur (S) coated urea (Producote) and, considering the total N applied for urea, it reached of
26% (CANTARELLA et all, 2013). Regarding the
corn crop, similar results were found in field research, presenting a reduction of 37% on the nitrogen losses, in relation to the urea volatilization,
when it used Polyblen (formulation of fertilizer with
controlled release profile) (CANCELIER, 2013).

Trenkel (1997) mentions that the use of this
type of fertilizer can reduce the toxicity and the high
osmotic pressure problems. As a consequence, this
provides a good reason to analyze the benefits of
using it in nursery productions. Furthermore, it decreases the cost with usage due to reduction in the
amount of its usage.

Over the last years, a range of researches
have been carried out in Brazil by official research
centers, universities, foundations, consultants,
and for research and development department of
Produquimica in different crops, such as: coffee, citrus, eucalyptus, corn, cotton, vegetables, fruits and
sugar cane, showing the high potential of response
regarding this technology in tropical conditions.

In addition, Trivelin et al. (2013) tested the
use of controlled release fertilizer in the corn. As
a result, when using such fertilizer, a productivity
of 11,453 kg ha-1 was measured, which showed to
be much better than the urea that reached 9,569
kg ha-1. Another positive aspect carried out in the
same research was that by using Producote, in
the furrow during the sowing, it was found a higher
concentration of N-NO3- in the soil solution when
compared with urea, usage in the top floor, when
the corn had six leaves.

Relevantly, the agronomic benefits provided by the controlled release fertilizer are not only for
nitrogen, but also for phosphorus, potassium, and
micronutrients.

Still considering the benefits of controlled
release fertilizer, it is crucial to mention an experiment carried out for three consecutive years in the
same experimental area by the Procafe Foundation. They compared the management of coffee nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilization in which
the used conventional sources three times a year
and Polyblen just once. Despite being used less
times than the conventional sources, Polyblen obtained and incredible overage gain in the productivity of 318 kg ha-1.
28
Similarly, Santinato et al (2014) in a research that

had been carried out for four years in Araguari, MG,
testing the effect of controlled release fertilizer for N
and K, obtained average gain of 378 kg ha-1, when
compare the result of Polyblen with conventional
sources.

Among other benefits, it is important to
state its benefits in reducing losses and synchronizing the nutrients supply with the plant nutritional
demand.

Not surprisingly, it was observed during a
research with controlled release fertilizer for nitrogen and potassium and K (Polyblen), a considerable reduction of the potassium leaching potential
in areas of eucalyptus with the use of Polyblen in
comparison to conventional sources (Silva et al,
unpublished), indicating the welcoming potential of
reduction of the product usage to obtain superior
results.

Godoy et al. (2013) made a research with
Banana comparing KCl with the controlled release
fertilizer (Producote K). The results indicated a linear increase in the K and S in the soil in response
to Producote K dose. Additionally, it was observed
higher levels of K in the soil in the period between
2 and 5 months after using the controlled release
fertilizer that was usage only once in the beginning
of the raining season, compared with KCl usage in
four times during the raining season.

Finally, after analyzing all these positive effects provided by the use of controlled release fertilizer, it is easy to conclude that it requires less usage of this kind of product, optimizing the operation
inside the farms and reducing the fertilizer usage
costs. This benefit is possible because there is a
controlled release of the nutrients, with fewer risks
of losses and damage for root and seeds from the
salt effect of the fertilizer.

Fortunately, currently in Brazil, farmers of
different crops have been using with success the
controlled release fertilizer technology (Producote
and Polyblen) ratifying, in production scale, the results found by the scientific community.
Keywords: Volatilization, Enhance efficiency
fertilizer, Nitrogen, Fertilization.
Acknowledgements
We thank the research centers and researchers
that development researches, in partner with us, to
amplify the knowledge in this kind of fertilizer, and
the farmers that use this technology.
References
CANCELLIER, E.L. Eficincia da ureia estabilizada e de liberao controlada no milho cultivado
em solo de fertilidade construda. Lavras: UFLA,
75p. 2013.
CANTARELLA, H.; SOARES, J.R.; SOUSA, R.M.
Policote e Producote: volatilizao de NH3 e transformaes de N no solo. Relatrio final de pesquisa. Instituto Agronmico, 2012. 19p.
FUNDAO PROCAF Fertilizantes com liberao gradativa de nitrognio e potssio (Polyblen),
comparados adubao convencional. Relatrio
final de pesquisa. Varginha, 2013.
GODOY, L.J.G.; OLIVEIRA, F.C.; ALVES, H.E.;
MARCUZ, A.M.; MATHEUS DE NETO, A.; FERRARI, S. Alteraes na fertilidade do solo com
uso de fertilizante potssico de liberao controlada. XXXIV CBCS, Florianpolis, 2013.
HAVLIN, J.;, BEATON, J.; TISDALE, S.; NELSON,
W. Soil fertility and fertilizers: an introduction to
nutrient management. 7th edition. Prentice Hall,
2005.
SALMAN, O. Polyethylene-coated urea. 1. Improved storage and handling properties. Industrial
& Engineering Chemistry Research, v.28, p.630632, 1989.
SANTINATO, R.; FERREIRA,R.T.; TAVARES,T.O.;
SANTINATO,F. Efeito do Producote formulado
25-00-25 com os adubos 37-00-00+13S e 0000-51+14S de lenta/programada liberao na
produo do cafeeiro. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE PESQUISAS CAFEEIRAS, 39., 2013,
Poos de Caldas. Resumos... Rio de Janeiro: MIC/
IBC, 2013. p. 338.
Lectures
TRENKEL, M.E. Controlled-Release and Stabilized Fertilizers in Agriculture. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA), Paris, France, 1997.
29
TRIVELIN, P.C.O.; SCARPIN, J.; MIACHON, L.P.;

GONZALEZ,. H.A. Ureia revestida com polmeros
na cultura do milho: produtividade e acmulo de
matria seca da parte area. 21 Simpsio de iniciao cientfica da USP, 2013.
30
MAJOR FUNCTIONS OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM IN CROP PLANTS

ISMAIL CAKMAK
Sabanci University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
E-mail: cakmak@sabanciuniv.edu
Introduction

Magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca) are two
cationic mineral nutrients which have diverse of
important structural, physiological and biochemical functions in growth and stress tolerance of crop
plants. As a well-documented signal carrier to cells,
Ca ions are specifically required by plants to regulate the developmental processes and to recognize,
respond and adapt to wide range of stress conditions. Calcium is also primarily needed for the stability and functions of cell walls and biological membranes. Impairments in the structural integrity of cell
walls and membranes have been often discussed
as a major cause for high susceptibility of crop
plants to pathogenic infection, cell collapse, tissue
browning and tip burns. Due to very low phloem
mobility of Ca, actively growing meristematic parts
of plants such as root and shoot tips are extremely
sensitive to low supply of Ca. Similarly, also an adequate Mg nutrition is required for the maintenance
of high growth rate of roots and young shoot parts
by affecting both biosynthesis and translocation of
photoassimilates. Magnesium plays a critical role
in phloem loading and phloem transportation of
photoassimilates into sink organs. Plants under low
Mg supply are very sensitive to high light intensity
and heat stress and rapidly becoming chlorotic and
necrotic, probably due to extensive production of
reactive oxygen species. An adequate Mg nutrition
is needed to mitigate adverse effects of high light
intensity, heat, drought and aluminum (Al) toxicity.
This paper will discuss major physiological roles of
Ca and Mg in plant growth and provide several
examples about how Ca and Mg are important in
alleviating detrimental effects of biotic and abiotic
stress factors in crop plants.
Magnesium and Calcium Deficiency

Calcium and Mg deficiency usually occur
in acidic and sandy soils because of high leaching and antagonistic effects with other cations during their root uptake especially with aluminum (Al).
Over-fertilizing with potassium (K) may also induce

deficiencies of Mg and Ca in plants. Since Ca is
easily replaced by Na ions from its binding sites in
plant cells, plants often suffer from Ca deficiency in
saline soils. Probably, inefficient distribution of Ca
within plants due to its very low mobility in phloem is the major cause of Ca deficiency in plants.
Calcium is predominantly transported in the xylem
through the transpiration stream. Therefore, plant
organs having low transpiration capacity such as
fruits and shoot tips contain very low Ca to maintain
their proper growth. Therefore, soil moisture in the
root zone and air humidity also play critical role in
development of Ca deficiency in plants.
Particular Functions of Calcium in

Plants
Calcium as signal carrier

The ability of Ca to act as signal carrier is
attributed to its very low cytosolic concentrations in
plant cells. When plants exposed to a stress situation, a quick raise in cytosolic Ca2+ takes place
which is key factor in expression of stress-responsive genes and physiological responses of plant
cells to stress conditions such as extreme temperatures, drought, salinity and pathogenic attack. The
changes in cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations are often
in a close relation with the severity of stress exposure. Number of published evidence is available
demonstrating positive roles of Ca in alleviating detrimental effects of various environmental stresses
in pants.
Calcium in Cell Walls

Calcium has particular role in structure
and function of cell walls. There is large number of
binding sites for Ca in cell walls, especially carboxylic acid groups of polygalacturonic acids (pectins).
Therefore very high amount of plant Ca (up to 50
%) exists in cell walls. The well-documented differences between plant genotypes for Ca demand are
closely related to the amount of pectin in cell walls
Lectures
which is generally higher in dicots than the monocots. Calcium pectates provide stability and mechanical strength to cell walls. This role of Ca is important in development of a physical barrier against
pathogenic attack. Calcium is also important in preventing degradation of pectates by polygalacturonase enzyme. Calcium-deficient plant tissues are,
therefore, highly susceptible to disintegration and
disruption due to stimulated polygalacturonase activity. Minimizing Ca deficiency disorders on fruits
by Ca spray is mainly related to a reduced polygalacturonase activity. Some pathogens penetrate
tissues by releasing pectolytic
enzymes, and degrading which middle lamella of the cell walls. Many of
those enzymes are also inhibitable by sufficient Ca
in the cell walls.
Calcium in Cell Membranes

Like in cell walls, Ca has also an important stabilizing effect on biological membranes.
By binding phospholipids Ca ions are required for
structural stability and integrity of cell membranes.
Structural impairments in membrane structure are
very common in Ca-deficient cells which make cell
membranes very leaky and cause extensive loss of
organic (e.g., sugars, amino acids) and inorganic
electrolytes from root or leaf cells. Sugars or amino
acids are a good feeding substrate for pathogens.
Thus, an enhanced efflux of carbohydrates and amino acids out of cells under Ca deficiency stimulates
growth of pathogens and invasion of plants tissues.
This has been discussed as an important reason
for the high susceptibility of Ca-deficient plants to
pathogenic infection. Membrane stabilizing effect of
Ca is also important under abiotic stress conditions.
Particular Functions of Magnesium

Photosynthesis
Many metabolic processes in plant systems need
an adequate Mg supply, including photosynthesis,
protein biosynthesis and chlorophyll biosynthesis.
Magnesium plays a critical role in photosynthesis
and contributes directly to transport of photoassimilates from source organs (e.g., from fully-expanded
leaves) into actively growing parts of plants (such
as roots and seeds). Phloem loading process of
31
photoassimilates is under control of Mg. Magnesium

is known to be a central atom in the chlorophyll molecule and needed for its biosynthesis. Magnesium
is also required for the production of ATP through
photophosphorylation process in chloroplasts.
Magnesium in Root Growth and Seed Formation
As a consequence of impaired phloem transportation of photoasimilates, a large amount of carbohytrates accumulate in source leaves. This phenomena is very specific and occurs at very early
stage of Mg deficiency stress, even before any
clear change in chlorophyll amount or shoot growth
takes place. Because of such very early and significant inhibition in transport of sugars into sink
organs, root growth and seed formation are seriously affected by Mg deficiency. Rapid decline in
root growth as a result of impaired phloem transport
of sugars is, probably, the first reaction of plants to
Mg deficiency during the vegetative growth stage.
Magnesium nutrition has differential effects on seed
formation and number of seeds per spike or pod. In
a recent study with wheat, it has been shown that
varied Mg nutrition has very little effect on number
of seeds per spike; but seed weight is largely reduced, indicating an important role of Mg in delivery
of carbohydrates into seeds.
Mitigation of High Light Damage and Heat Stress
by Magnesium
Low supply of Mg makes plants highly susceptible
to high light intensity. Several published reports are
available showing that high light promotes occurrence of leaf chlorosis in plants under low Mg supply. This observation indicates oxidative damage of
chlorophyll by reactive oxygen species (ROS) which
are probably produced at cost of inhibited photosynthesis in Mg deficient plants. Extensive accumulation of sugars and inhibition of photosynthetic
carbon-fixation in Mg-deficient plants may cause
build up absorbed light energy which, then, activate
molecular O2 to ROS. In a similar way, plants under low Mg supply also show high susceptibility to
increasing air temperature (e.g., heat stress). Wellknown detrimental effects of heat stress on crop
plants are pronounced when plants have low Mg
nutritional status.
32
Mitigation of Aluminium Toxicity by Magnesium

In acidic soils, Mg nutritional status of plants is important in mitigating toxic effects of aluminum (Al)
in plants. A good Ca nutrition is also needed to alleviate Al toxicity. Several mechanisms have been
reported contributing to better understanding of the
protective effects of Mg on Al toxicity including i)
enhanced root exudation of organic acids inactivating Al by complexation in soil solution, probably due
to stimulated H+-ATPase activity on plasma membranes and ii) enhanced carbon partitioning from
shoots to roots contributing to better root growth
and health.
Lectures
33
DYNAMIC OF S OXIDATION FROM FERTILIZERS IN TROPICAL SOILS

G.C.VITTI ; F. VALE

Sulfur deficiency is considered one of the
main limiting factors for agricultural production in
Brazil, particularly in Cerrados Region. Due to
that, the application of that nutrient is typically recommended in the management of corrections and
fertilization of soils for the great part of crops with
interest economic such as soybean, corn, cotton,
coffee, sugar-cane, and others.

Several products are recognized as sulfur
sources to be applied in the management of the
fertilizations programs via soil, for example: single
super phosphate (12% S) and ammonium sulfate
(24%S) which are commercialized as single elements or as component of commercial fertilizers
with low concentration of NPK. Commercial fertilizers with high concentration of NPK are produced
with raw materials with low contents of sulfur, for
example: urea, MAP, and triple super phosphate.
In soils with sulfur deficiency the application of adequate amounts of that nutrient is possible through
the application of fertilizers with low concentration
of NPK which leads to the increase of costs with
freight, storage, and application.

The elemental sulfur is listed in the legislation as source of that nutrient being the form with
highest concentration that may be included in the
fertilization programs. The minimal guarantee of the
product is 95% of total sulfur, being a product of
big interests to be applied in NPK blends with high
concentration, offering agronomic benefits through
the addition of the nutrient in the fertilizations programs as well as logistics and operating advantages. Through 42 soil samples from different regions
of Brazil, Horowitz (2003) shown that those soils
have the capacity of oxidizing elemental-S, but at
variable rates of oxidation.

To be absorbed by the roots of plants, the
elemental sulfur, after its application, must be oxidized and transformed in sulfate which is the predominant form absorbed by plants. That oxidation
occurs through the reactions which are catalyzed by
enzymes (arylsulfatase and rodanases) produced
by microorganisms of the soils, such as bacterias of
Thiobacillus gender which is considered of highest
importance, besides several heterotrophic microorganisms (bacteria and fungus) which also have
that capacity. Therefore, it is a biological process
that depends on several adequate conditions to obtain the highest efficiency. Besides of the required
population of microorganisms, other conditions are
important as listed below:
Temperature Although the optimum temperature
to the oxidation process is not well defined yet, studies published by several authors have shown that
the highest oxidation rates occur between 30o.C and
40o.C. The oxidation does not occur or is practically
nil at temperatures lower than 5o.C;
Humidity and aeration The maximum oxidation
rates occur around the field capacity. Under low humidity conditions in the soil, the oxidation is limited by
the insufficiency of water to the microbiological activity; on the other hand in soils with high humidity the
oxidation is limited by the insufficient aeration;
Soil texture and organic matter As much as higher
the contents of clay and organic matter, higher are the
tendency of oxidation. Nevertheless, the positive effect is more dependent of the organic matter contents
which may be attributed to the use of organic matter
as energy source by the microorganisms.
pH The oxidation is faster in acidic soils, than in
alkaline soils. In the acidic soils the velocity is higher
when the pH is next of 6.0 in comparison with the lowest value.
Presence of other nutrients The oxidation tends
to be faster in soils with high fertility due to the higher
maintenance of the microbiological population;
Particles size Reducing the size of the particles
of the elemental-S applied in the soil, the oxidation
rate has a significant increase due to the increase of
the superficial area of the particles which improve the
contact with the oxidizing microorganisms. In general
it is considered that for a fast oxidation of the elemental sulfur to be applied in the soil, the particles size
should be lower than 0.15 mm.

In spite of the recognizing of elemental
sulfur as fertilizer, the application of that product in
the form of powder is an important impediment for
its using for several reasons, such as segregation
when the product mixed with other granular sources; difficulty for applications in bands due to the
34
lack of implements for application of powder fertilizers; risk to the workers in broadcast applications,
since that the contact of elemental sulfur with the
human skin may cause irritation and burning. Due
to that, the use of elemental sulfur in Brazil used to
be considered negligible until few years ago.

In the last 25 years several options have
been developed in different regions of the world attempting to aggregate the fine particles of elemental sulfur in order to improve the applicability of the
product by implements typically used in the fertilization of the crops. And beside of that, those production processes have taken in consideration manners to continue enhance the contact of the fine
particles of the elemental sulfur with the soil, which
is basic to the agronomic efficiency of the product.

Craighead et al. (1990) evaluated sources
and rates of sulfur in the growing of grasses for pasture in New Zealand . The use of sulfur significantly
increased the production of dry matter. In the beginning, the most soluble sources were more efficient,
but the granules of elemental sulfur with bentonite
were the most efficient along the time, being the
treatment with the rate of 56 kg ha-1 of sulfur, from
that source, considered one of the best treatments.
The use of elemental sulfur in the original form of
powder, one of those showed low agronomic efficiency.

One of the first papers with elemental sulfur
and bentonite carried out under Brazilian conditions
was published by Prochnow et al (2007), evaluating under greenhouse conditions sources of sulfur

A methodology developed in Canada that
currently is the most typical way to apply the product with good efficiency, is the use of bentonite, expansible clay which is melted with the fine particles
of elemental sulfur. Through this process is possible to obtain a granular fertilizer with physical properties that facilitates the application of the product,
as described by Boswell et al. (1988).

The objective of that industrial methodology is that through the soil moisture the granules of
elemental sulfur combined with bentonite are disintegrated exposing the large superficial area of the
fine particles to the microbiological activity once that
bentonite, being an expansible clay, in contact with
soil moisture, has its volume enlarged in around 20
times, as described by Tisdale et al. (1993).

Research papers, in the initial development
stages, pointed to the low efficiency of products
with those properties when compared with the use
of elemental sulfur in powder form, being that low
efficiency attributed mostly to the inappropriate dispersion of the particles of elemental sulfur after the
application of the product in the soil (BOSWELL et
al., 1988; JANZEN, 1990).

However, the advancement of the technology from those findings permitted the development of
sources with higher quality in order to make the dispersion positive, and consequently improve the agronomic efficiency. Since long time ago, the agronomic
efficiency of products with elemental sulfur combined
with bentonite is markedly recognized in the worldwide (CECCOTTI, 1994; BROCKLEY, 2004).
for corn crop including immediate and residual effects, concluding that those sources can show high
potential of application in our soils along the successive crops, mainly due to the generalized deficiency of the nutrient in the agricultural systems, as
well as the big importance of gradual release of the
nutrient due the high lixiviation of sulfate in tropical
soils.

Damato et al. (2008) evaluated the oxidation rate of pastillated sulfur with bentonite in comparison to conventional powder product, in three
types of Brazilian soils, and concluded that both
physical forms of the product had the same efficiency in the increasing of sulfate content in the soils.

Jena & Kabi (2012) carried out field experiment in India in the period from 2006 to 2009, in
order to evaluate the effect of pastilles of elemental
sulfur + bentonite in comparison with the application
of gypsum and single super phosphate on the production and absorption of nutrients by the system
of successive cropping of rice and potato followed
by the avaliation of the residual effect on the production of green grass. The sulfur application significantly increased the yields of grains and straw,
besides the absorption of the nutrients. The rate of
60 kg ha-1 of sulfur applied through the pastilated
source increased the production of rice and potato,
in comparison with the control, in 34 and 21% respectively. The residual effect of pastillated source
on the production of dry matter of green grass was
higher for gypsum and single super phosphate. The
source with elemental sulfur + bentonite was con-
Lectures
sidered the most adequate, due to its high concentration of sulfur, gradual release, and minimal loses
by leaching process.

FERREIRA, et al. (1977), obtained acidification curves of two oxisol (Red and Dark Red)
through the application of increasing doses of elemental sufur, and observed linear reduction of pH,
with the maximum depression with 50 days of incubation.
Key Words: Sulfur, elemental, oxidation, tropical
References
BOSWELL, C. C.; SWANNEY, B.; OWERS, W. R.
Sulfur/sodium bentonite prills as sulfur fertilizers. 2.
Effect of sulfur-sodium bentonite ratios on the availability of sulfur to pasture plants in the field. Fertilizer Research, Wageningen, v. 15, p. 33-46, 1988.
BROCKLEY, R.P. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, v.34, p.728-743, 2004.
CECCOTTI, S.P. Sulphur Fertilizers: An overview
of commercial development advances. Sulphur in
Agriculture, v.18, p.58-64. 1994
CRAIGHEAD, M.D.; BURGESS, W.B.; CLARK,
S.A.; DUFFY, R.G. Development of sunny-facing
high country using different forms of sulphur fertilizer. Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland
Association 52: 203-206, 1990.
DAMATO, H.; MORAES, M.F.; CABRAL, C.P.;
LAVRES JUNIOR, J.; MALAVOLTA, E.; ABREU
JUNIOR, C.H. Oxidao do enxofre elementar do
Sulfurgran em trs solos do Estado de So Paulo.
In: 16 Simpsio Internacional de Iniciao Cientfica da USP, 2008, Piracicaba-SP. 16 Simpsio
Internacional de Iniciao Cientfica da Universidade de So Paulo - Agropecuria. Piracicaba-SP:
EDUSP, 2008. v.1. p.1.
35
FERREIRA, M.E.; VITTI, G.C.; PERECIN, D; CASTELLANE, P.D. Uso do enxofre elementar na acidificao de solos. Cientfica, 5 (3), 1977.
HOROWITZ, N. Oxidao e eficincia agronmica
do enxofre elementar em solos do Brasil. 2003.
Tese (Doutorado) Programa de Ps-Graduao
em Cincia do Solo, Faculdade de Agronomia,
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto
Alegre, 2003.
JANZEN, H.H. Elemental sulfur oxidation as influenced by plant growth and degree of dispersion
within soil. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 70(3):
499-502, 1990.
JENA, D.; KABI, S. Effect of gromor Sulphur Bentonite sulphur Pastilles on Yield and Nutrient uptake
by hybrid rice - potato- green gram Cropping System in an Inceptisol. International Research Journal
of Agricultural Science and Soil Science, 2(5): 179187, May 2012
PROCHNOW, L.I.; FAIRCHILD, D., OLSON, R.;
LAMBAIS, M., PEREIRA, J. Agronomic Effectiveness of Sources of Sulfur in Four Brazilian Soils.
ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings,
New Orleans, Lousiana, - USA, 2007.
TISDALE, S. L.; NELSON, W. L.; BEATON, J. D.;
HAVLIN, J. L. Soil and fertilizer sulfur, calcium and
magnesium. In: Soil fertility and fertilizers. 5. ed.
New York: MacMillan, 1993. p. 266-303.
36
SILICON FERTILIZERS FOR PLANT DISEASE PROTECTION

LAWRENCE E. DATNOFF1 AND JOSEPH R. HECKMAN2
1
Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803,
USA (ldatnoff@agcenter.lsu.edu); 2Department of Plant Biology & Pathology, Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520, USA
(heckman@AESOP.Rutgers.edu)
Introduction

Silicon (Si), the second most abundant element in the earths crust after oxygen, is a beneficial
element for plant growth and development (Datnoff et
al., 2001). Unfortunately, the benefits from Si were
largely overlooked until the beginning of 20th century
partly due to the elements abundance in nature and
also due to the lack of visible symptoms of either Si
deficiency or toxicity. However, in field and greenhouse environments, plants are constantly exposed to
different stresses, especially plant diseases. Although
an awareness of Si deficiencies in soils has become
recognized as being a limiting factor in overall plant
development and crop production, the use of Si as a
fertilizer or protectant by growers in many countries
has been slow to materialize.

There are a number of solid and liquid Si
sources that have been used as soil conditioners,
amendments or as fertilizers for agronomic and
horticultural crops grown in the field or greenhouse
(Sebastain et al., 2013). For these materials to be
useful, they must meet a number of criteria that include a relatively high soluble Si content, a physical
state that will facilitate storage ability and ease of
application, and uncontaminated with heavy metals. Solid sources that have been used successfully when soil incorporated include wollastonite a
naturally occurring mined CaSiO3, calcium silicate
- a by-product of the phosphate or steel industries,
thermo-phosphate, and cement. Crop residues (e.
g. rice hulls) also are a potential source, but the
slow soil solubility usually will not provide for the
crops immediate needs. Many of these materials
are pre-plant applied at rates ranging from 300 to
800 kg elemental Si ha-1. Further, some of these
materials used as Si fertilizers, besides adding Si,
act as liming agents when applied to acid soils.
For example, wollastonite, when applied at similar
rates, is comparable to calcite limestone in terms of
raising soil pH and increasing exchangeable Ca.

A Si fertilizer like CrossOverTM (CaMgSiO3,
HARSCO) similarly raises soil pH but is more com-
parable to dolomite limestone since it increases

both exchangeable Ca and Mg. Amendments that
may both supply plant available Si and serve as effective liming agents should be applied at rates that
consider their full impact on soil fertility. On acid
soils, a dual purpose Si fertilizer/liming agent may
also improve the economics of Si fertilization.

Liquid sources include potassium or sodium silicates which are primarily used in hydroponic plant production at concentrations ~1.7 to
2mM Si. Liquid silicates also have been used as a
foliar spray primarily for suppressing plant diseases. However, for different host:pathogen systems
(wheat/cucumber:powdery mildew; soybean:rust;
rice:brown spot) tested to date where foliar application of Si has been compared to soil application,
plants always responded better, e. g. reduced disease development and/or severity, when Si was applied for root uptake. In 2007, potassium silicate
(Sil-MATRIX, PQ Corporation) was registered by
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
certified by Organic Materials Review Institute
(OMRI) as an organic pesticide for preventative
control of powdery mildewand control of mites and
aphids on high-value crops.

In 2013, a 5-day method for determining the
soluble Si concentrations in solid fertilizer products
was developed using a sodium carbonate-ammonium nitrate extractant followed by visible spectroscopy with heteropoly blue analysis at 660 nm and was
approved by AAPFCO after single-laboratory validation (Sebastain et al., 2013). This method was
shown to correlate well with plant Si uptake and can
now be used for production quality control, accurate
fertilizer labeling, label content compliance monitoring and in the selection of an appropriate Si fertilizer
source to meet crop production needs. Fertilizers
are now labeled to contain beneficial substances
such as Si and may be sold in the U. S. As an example, CrossOverTM is currently registered to contain the beneficial substance Si and is marketed in
33 U. S. states for use in the horticultural, turf and
Lectures
37
general agricultural markets.

Many crops supplied with Si may gain
protection from either foliar or soilborne diseases
caused pathogenic fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and
viruses (Datnoff et al., 2007). Silicon affects a number of components of host plant resistance that includes delaying the incubation and latent periods,
reducing lesion expansion rates, lesion size, lesion
number, and conidial production. Subsequently, disease progress and/or final disease severity is dramatically reduced, and the resistance of susceptible
cultivars may be augmented to almost the same
level as those with complete or partial resistance.
Silicon may even suppress plant disease as effectively as a fungicide. As the Si concentration (insoluble or soluble) increases in plant tissue, plant
phenoxidases after fungal infection. Glycosidically-bound phenolics extracted from Si-amended

plants when subjected to acid or B-glucosidase hydrolysis displayed strong fungistatic activity. Flavonoids and momilactone phytoalexins, low molecular
weight compounds that have antifungal properties,
were found to be produced in both dicots and monocots, respectively, fertilized with Si and challenged
inoculated by the pathogen in comparison to nonfertilized plants also challenged inoculated by the
pathogen. Furthermore, 1-3 glucanase, peroxidase and PR-1 proteins were demonstrated to
be associated with disease suppression. These
studies suggested additional mechanisms may be
involved in Si-mediated resistance to plant diseases. For example, higher levels of salicylic acid,
disease suppression greatly improves. However,

the Si supply to the plant must be continuous or
disease suppressive effects are reduced or non-existent. In addition, this observed disease resistance
is greatest when Si is applied to the soil and is root
absorbed (Rezende et al., 2009). Foliar Si sprays
will not work as well as root applied since Si transporters are not expressed in the leaves. Consequently, the disease suppressive affects observed
are probably due to Si being deposited on the leaf
surface and having an osmotic or pH effect.

The underlying mechanisms that govern
disease protection when Si is root absorbed are
still not well understood. However, the effect of Si
on plant resistance to disease is considered to be
due to either an accumulation of absorbed Si in the
epidermal tissue or an expression of metabolic or
pathogenesis-mediated host defense responses.
Accumulated monosilicic acid polymerizes into polysilicic acid and then transforms to amorphous silica,
which forms a thickened Si-cellulose membrane. By
this means, a double cuticular layer protects and
mechanically strengthens plants. Silicon also might
form complexes with organic compounds in the cell
walls of epidermal cells, therefore increasing their
resistance to degradation by enzymes released by
plant pathogenic fungi or bacteria. Research also
points to the role of Si in planta as being active,
suggesting that silicon might be a signal in mediating defense reactions to plant diseases. Silicon
has been demonstrated to stimulate chitinase activity and rapid activation of peroxidases and poly-
jasmonic acid, and ethylene have been reported

to be induced by Si supplements in a number of
host:pathogen interactions and confirmed by microarray analysis. Recently, genome-wide studies for
tomato, rice, and wheat grown in soil amended with
Si and compared to non-amended control plants
has shown a differential and unique expression of
a large number of genes involved in host plant defense mechanisms or metabolism.
Conclusion

Silicon is a vital and quantitatively major
component of the soil-plant system that occurs in
nature and in agriculture. This element plays many
important roles in a plants life especially in alleviating plant diseases. However, Sis potential has only
begun to be realized commercially as a fertilizer for
crop performance or as a protectant in an integrated disease/pest management strategy. Given the
low Si content now being found in numerous soil
types including soilless potting mixes and the fact
that many plant species contain some Si in their
plant tissue, it seems prudent to consider soluble
silicon supplementation as a simple, inexpensive
method to help maintain and enhance plant health.
References
Datnoff, L. E., Rodrigues, F. A. and Seebold, K. W.
2007. Silicon and plant disease. Pgs. 233-246. In:
Mineral Nutrition and Plant Disease, Datnoff, L. E.,
Elmer, W. H. and Huber, D. M., Eds., APS Press, St.
Paul, MN.
38
Datnoff, L. E., Snyder, G. H., and Korndorfer, G. H.

2001. Silicon in Agriculture, Elseveir Science, The
Netherlands, 403 pgs.
Rezende, D. C., Rodrigues, F. A., Carre-Missio, V.,
Schurt, D. A., Kawamura, I. K., and Korndorfer, G.
H. 2009. Effect of root and foliar applications of
silicon on brown spot development in rice. Austral.
Plant Path. 38:67-73.
Sebastian, D., Rodrigues, H., Kinsey, C., Korndorfer, G., Pereira, H., Buck, G., Datnoff, L., Miranda,
S., and Provance-Bowley, M. 2013. A 5-day method for determination of soluble silicon concentrations in nonliquid fertilizer materials using a sodium
carbonate-ammonium nitrate extractant followed
by visible spectroscopy with heteropoly blue analysis: single-laboratory validation. J. AOAC Intern.
96:251-259.
Lectures
39
USE OF NON-CONVENTIONAL PHOSPHATE FERTILIZERS

IN TROPICAL AGRICULTURE1
LUS IGNCIO PROCHNOW
International Plant Nutrition Institute, Brazil Program Director, Av. Independncia no. 350, Sala 141, Edifcio Primus Center, 13.419160, Piracicaba, SP. E-mail: lprochnow@ipni.net; website: brasil.ipni.net.
Introduction

This paper describes use of non-conven-
tional phosphate (P) fertilizers by focusing in new

techniques to improve the efficiency of conventional
sources, as well as the use of non-conventional
P sources. By conventional P sources the author
means totally acidulated P fertilizers, like SSP, TSP,
MAP and DAP.
Improving Efficiency of Conventional

Phosphorus Fertilizers Using
Alternative Techniques

It is known that water-soluble P can be converted to water-insoluble P after reaction with soil
minerals that can result in a decrease of P availability. Several terminologies such as P sorption,
adsorption, retention, fixation, precipitation, immobilization, etc. have been used to describe this process. The forms of reaction products depend on P
sources and soil minerals. There has been some
interest in research and development on modifying
the physical characteristics of conventional watersoluble P fertilizers in order to reduce P fixation
by soil, and thereby increasing the P efficiency for
plant uptake. Some of the recent findings are discussed below.
Coated water-soluble phosphorus

fertilizers

Recently, some fertilizer companies have
developed thin-coating of water-soluble P fertilizers
(DAP, MAP, TSP) with S or polymers as a slowrelease water-soluble P source to reduce rate of
P conversion to water-insoluble P by soil fixation.
Some claim that a polymer with a high-charge density can inhibit P precipitation by acting as a platform for sequestration of P fixing cations such as
Ca and Mg in high pH soils and Fe and Al in low pH
soils. However, there is little information on the soil
chemistry of this polymer-coated P fertilizer published in the peer-reviewed scientific journals. If the
P release meets the crop need and at the same
time minimizes P fixation, the coated water-soluble
P can be an effective P fertilizer for crop production
provided the cost/benefit is feasible as compared
with the uncoated water-soluble P fertilizers.
Urea supergranule containing

phosphorus and potassium nutrients

Results of several farmer-managed field trials conducted especially in India demonstrate that
the USG-DAP management can make the fertilizer
agronomically more efficient, economically more attractive with less risk, and reduced losses of nutrients as compared with conventional use of prilled
urea and water-soluble P fertilizers. Although no information is available on plant-available K of deepplaced USG containing K nutrient for flooded rice, it
is expected that USG containing DAP + KCl should
also be agronomically as effective as or even better than deep-placed USG with incorporated DAP +
KCl. The deep-placed USG containing DAP + KCl
should perform better than split-applied prilled urea
with incorporated DAP + KCl due to N availability.
Thus urea-based NPK compound fertilizers can be
agronomically and economically feasible in supergranule form by deep placement for flooded rice
production. Future work will be needed to test this
supposition.
Fluid versus granular water-soluble

phosphorus fertilizers

A comparison of fluid with granular WSP
fertilizers in agronomic effectiveness depends
on many factors. Some of them are (1) chemical
compounds of P sources, (2) proportion of watersoluble P and water-insoluble P in P sources, (3)
soil pH, (4) soil P-fixing capacity, (5) soil biological
Adapted from Chien, S.H.; Prochnow, L.I.; Cantarella, H. Recent Developments on Fertilizer Production and Use to Improve
Nutrient Efficiency and Minimize Environmental Impacts. Advances in Agronomy, 102:261-316, 2009.
1
40
activity, (6) soil moisture or rainfall, (7) crop species

(e.g., rooting system), (8) rate of P applied, (9) P
placement method (e.g., incorporation versus band,
no-till versus till), (10) initial versus residual P effect,
and (11) cropping systems. One benefit of applying
fluid ortho- or polyphosphate sources as compared
with solid P sources is that fluid P sources can increase soil concentration of available P with depth.
This implies that application of fluid P sources to
soil surface after crop harvest will move into the soil
profile where it will be less subject to loss in runoff
or by erosion that may minimize P environmental
impact during the winter months, and yet be available to plants the following growing season. In lieu
of recent renewal interest in research on comparing
the agronomic effectiveness of fluid with granular
ing in reactivity for different crop species. Based on

this model, FAO/IAEA has posted the PRDSS on
IAEA web site (http://www-iswam.iaea.org/dapr/srv/
en/resources).

Recently eutrophication of aquatic environments (creeks, ponds, rivers, lakes, etc.) caused
by excessive P from soil surface run-off has drawn
many researchers to find strategies to mitigate the
P pollution problem. Preliminary studies done in
New Zealand and U.S.A. have suggested that use
of reactive PR not only can sustain crop productivity
but also may minimize eutrophication problem compared with the use of water-soluble P sources because of lower P availability of PR for algal growth.

Another new field of PR research is that
PR has been increasingly used for organic farm-
WSP fertilizers for alkaline and calcareous soils in

Australia, it may be worthwhile to renewal similar
research for acid or neutral soils in other countries.
ing worldwide since chemical P fertilizers are not

allowed to be used. Organic farmers should be
aware of that not all the PR sources are the same
in reactivity. The general rule is that the higher the
reactivity of PR, the better is for organic farming as
P source. In fact, most of igneous PR sources are
high in P content but very low in reactivity due to
little carbonate substitution for phosphate in apatite
structure and therefore, they are not suitable for direct application.
Use of Non-Conventional Phosphorus

Fertilizers
Phosphate rock for direct application

Direct application of phosphate rock (PR)
can be an effective agronomic and economic alternative to the use of more expensive water-soluble
phosphate (P) fertilizers for crop production under
certain conditions, especially in acid soils of tropical and subtropical developing countries. The agronomic use of PR has been extensively studied or
reported during the past 50 years. The major factors affecting the agronomic effectiveness of PR are
chemical and physical properties of the PR, which
affect solubility, soil properties, management practices, climate, and crop species. Despite hundreds
of agronomic trials that have been conducted worldwide in the past, there is a need to integrate all of
these factors in a comprehensive system to understand how these major factors affect the agronomic
effectiveness of PR. Use of a phosphate rock decision support system (PRDSS) is a means to solve
this problem. Because it is designed to be practical,
PRDSS can be used in developing countries, especially those countries with endowed indigenous
PR deposits to assist in making decision to use
water-soluble P fertilizers or PR to supply P need
by crops. Recently, IFDC has developed and published its own PRDSS model for PR sources vary-
Mixture of phosphate rock and watersoluble P

Under certain conditions such as low PR
reactivity, high soil pH, or short-term crop growth,
etc., agronomic use of PR may not be feasible as
compared to water-soluble P. Mixing PR with water-soluble P sometimes can be an agronomic and
economic effective alternative under these conditions. Partial acidulation of low-reactive PR (PAPR)
which consists of un-acidulated PR and acidulated
water-soluble P (WSP) can be one way to achieve
this goal. Another way is to mix PR with WSP by dry
granulation (compaction). The results of many studies done by researchers have provided valuable
information on the factors affecting the agronomic
effectiveness of mixtures of PR and WSP. These
include: (1) PR reactivity, (2) degree of acidulation,
(3) degree of Fe and Al impurities of PR, (4) effect
of soil properties such as pH and P-fixing capacity
(more favorable for soils with high P-fixing capacity), (5) starter effect of water-soluble P on PR ef-
Lectures
fectiveness, (6) effect of crop species, and (7) initial

and residual P effect.
Calcined Non-Apatite Phosphate Rock

for Direct Application

Most of phosphate rocks used for chemical acidulation process or direct application contain
Ca-P minerals in the form of apatite. There are limited PR deposits in the world that contain Ca-FeAl-P minerals in the form of crandallite. Because
of its high Fe and Al content, the non-apatite PR is
not suitable for conventional chemical acidulation
process. The natural crandallite PR are very low in
reactivity and therefore, not suitable for direct application. The reactivity, however, can be significantly
increased upon calcination at temperature ranging
from 450 to 700 C after the hydrated water molecule of the crandallite structure is driven off and
the structure becomes amorphous.
Agronomic Effectiveness of NonConventional Acidulated Phosphate

Fertilizers

Amounts of high premium quality PR to
produce conventional acidulated phosphate fertilizers (SSP, TSP, MAP, DAP) are rapidly decreasing worldwide. As the phosphate industry becomes
more dependent on lower quality PR ore, higher
levels of phosphate impurity compounds can be expected in the final acidulated phosphates. These
impurities are generally water-insoluble forms of
Ca-P or Fe-Al-P and their composition is determined by the mineralogical constitution of the ore
and also by the process of fertilizer production. Preliminary agronomic studies showed some Fe-Al-P
compounds in acidulated P fertilizers to be, when
applied per se, less-effective when compared to the
water-soluble phosphate (WSP) compounds normally found in superphosphates and ammonium
41
phosphates. Legislation in some parts of the world

has established the minimum legal content of water-soluble P in acidulated P fertilizers. When impurity compounds are mixed with reagent-grade MAP
or MCP, under experimental conditions to simulate
acidulated P fertilizers, the results suggested that
these fertilizers may contain higher proportions of
impurity compounds than expected and normally
used. Research has provided already valuable information regarding the possible agronomic use of
some non-conventional acidulated phosphate fertilizers. As a result, legislation was modified as to
make the presence of water insoluble phosphate
compounds more flexible. It is necessary to recognize that a great variety of new non-conventional
products may be offered in the future due to differences in PR chemical composition and process
of production. Due to distinct chemical composition
the fertilizers will have to be tested and approved
individually. A better understanding of how the water insoluble P compounds will form, the final chemical composition of the P fertilizers, and also how
these different non-conventional fertilizers will react
in the soil is essential for P fertilizer producers, legislators and final users to obtain and manage these
heterogeneous fertilizers in a cost-effective manner.
Only agronomic research will provide the necessary
guidance. Better utilization of PR is anticipated as a
result of this type of research.
Keywords: Phosphate Fertilizers, Non-Conventional P Fertilizers, Phosphate Sources, Plant Nutrition
with Phosphorus.
References

Several agronomic examples and references are quoted in the original paper as per the
footnote in the first page of this abstract.
42
RECYCLING PHOSPHORUS FOR EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE

PHILIP J. WHITE
Ecological Sciences Group, The James Hutton Institute, Dundee DD2 5DA, UNITED KINGDOM (philip.white@hutton.ac.uk)
Introduction

Food security was defined by the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) as having sufficient, safe and nutritious food
to meet the dietary needs of an active and healthy
life (FAO 2000). Obtaining sufficient, safe and nutritious food is contingent upon appropriate husbandry and mineral nutrition of edible crops (White
et al. 2012). It is anticipated that adequate food
production in the future must be achieved through
greater crop yields per hectare of land by reducing the gaps between actual and potential yields
(Bruinsma 2003). Large proportions of these yield
gaps are attributed to water stress and to soil properties, such as salinity, alkalinity and acidity, and
their associated nutrient deficiencies and imbalances (Lobell et al. 2009; White et al. 2012; Mueller et al. 2012). To address yield gaps, the use of
soil amendments and mineral fertilisers has risen,
and such inputs must continue to be supplied for
crop production to keep pace with the growth of
human populations (IFA 2014). Simply, to maintain
soil fertility, the inputs of mineral elements required
for crop production must, in most situations, at least
equal the offtakes of these elements in produce.
However, there are sociological, economic and environmental consequences for the use of mineral
fertilisers (White et al. 2012).

Much attention has focussed on the availability, manufacture and use of conventional inorganic phosphorus (P) fertilisers. These are produced
from phosphate rocks using sulphuric acid (Lgreid et al. 1999). Both phosphate rocks and sources
of sulphur for the manufacture of sulphuric acid are
finite resources, although they might last for several
centuries depending upon their rates of consumption, the discovery of new sources, and the development of technologies to utilise inferior sources
(Dawson and Hilton 2011). The manufacture and
transport of conventional inorganic P-fertilisers is
also energy intensive, their price can represent a
significant proportion of production costs, especially in regions remote from their origin of manufac-
ture, and vagaries and uncertainties in prices can

prohibit their use (Cordell et al. 2009; White et al.
2012). It has been argued, therefore, that to sustain
agricultural production in the future it will be necessary to utilise P-fertilisers produced from phosphate rocks sparingly and supplement them with
alternative P-fertilisers derived from the recycling
of P-containing wastes, not only within farms but
also throughout the food chain (Dawson and Hilton
2011). Such wastes include crop residues, manures
and slurries, municipal composts, mineral fertilisers
recovered from biosolids, meat and bonemeal, and
industrial by-products (Roy et al. 2006; Hargreaves
et al. 2008; Defra 2010).

This presentation seeks to provide a brief
overview of the alternative P-fertilisers that might
be used for crop production and their advantages
and disadvantages in the contexts of (1) crop mineral nutrition, (2) the biofortification of edible crops
with essential mineral elements required for human
and animal nutrition and (3) minimising the entry
of harmful elements into the food chain. It focuses
primarily on the potential for recycling P-containing
by-products in UK agriculture.
Crop Production

Phosphorus is essential for plant growth
and fecundity (White and Hammond 2008). The
phytoavailability of P limits crop production in most
agricultural soils and the application of P-fertilisers
is required for maximal yields in both intensive and
extensive agricultural systems (Kirkby and Johnston 2008; Fageria et al. 2011). Global consumption of conventional inorganic P-fertilisers was estimated to be 40.7 Mt P2O5 in 2013 (Heffer and
Prudhomme 2013) and the conventional inorganic
P-fertiliser applied to tilled crops and grassland in
Great Britain in 2013 approximated 198 kt P2O5
(Defra 2014). It is envisaged that at least some of
this P-fertiliser demand could be replaced by alternative P-fertilisers (Dawson and Hilton 2011; White
et al. 2012). It is evident that, in countries such as
the UK, considerable quantities of P-fertiliser might
Lectures
43
be recycled from various sources and utilised for

the production of alternative P-fertilisers. For example: (1) It is estimated that about 10,000 kt municipal green waste compost was produced in the UK
in 2005/2006 (Barth et al. 2008), which, assuming
that green waste compost has a concentration of 3
kg P2O5 t-1 (Defra 2010), equates to 30 kt P2O5 or
15% of the P2O5 applied as conventional inorganic
P-fertiliser in the UK. (2) It can be estimated from
UK census data of cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and
horses (White and Hammond 2009) and the composition of their manures (Defra 2010) that these
animals produce about 766 kt P2O5 each year,
which exceeds the P2O5 applied as conventional
inorganic P-fertiliser in the UK. About 70% of UK
farms utilise animal manures, most of which is ap-
majority of these enter the food chain either directly, or indirectly, though plants (White et al. 2013).
Unfortunately, mineral malnutrition is common
throughout the world (White and Broadley 2009).
Amongst the many reasons for mineral malnutrition,
crop production on soils with low phytoavailability of
the mineral elements required for human nutrition
features significantly (White and Broadley 2009).
Since alternative P-fertilisers, such as crop residues, composts, manures and biosolids, contain
many of the mineral elements essential for human
nutrition, they can increase the concentrations of
these elements in the soil and, often, also increase
their phytoavailability by improving soil properties
(White et al. 2012), thereby improving human and
animal nutrition. However, both organic and inor-
plied to grasslands (Defra 2014), but more manure

could be used if infrastructures for its distribution
between farms were developed. (3) It can also be
estimated from census data (White and Hammond
2009) and the composition of biosolids (Defra 2010)
that more than 120 kt P2O5 might be produced by
humans each year in the UK, which approximates
60% the P2O5 applied as conventional inorganic
P-fertiliser. About one third of this is recycled to agriculture (Dawson and Hilton 2011) and much effort
is being invested to develop struvite (magnesium
ammonium phosphate) recovered from sewage
treatment works as a slow-release inorganic Pfertiliser for UK agriculture (Farming Online 2013).
(4) Meat and bonemeal, which is currently incinerated in the UK, also represents a potential source of
P-fertiliser for agriculture and could replace about
10% of the P2O4 applied as conventional inorganic
P-fertiliser. (5) Industrial by-products, such as paper
crumble, mushroom compost and food processing
waste, could also be used as sources of P for alternative P-fertilisers (Defra 2010). Furthermore, if
utilised judiciously, crop residues, animal manures,
sewage sludges, municipal composts and industrial
wastes can also contribute to soil conditioning, carbon sequestration, and the delivery of the mineral
elements required for crop nutrition in both intensive and extensive agricultural systems (Roy et al.
2006, Hargreaves et al. 2008; Defra 2010; White et
al. 2012).

Humans require sufficient amounts of at
least 22 mineral elements for their wellbeing. The
ganic P-fertilisers can also contain elements harmful to plants and animals. For example, inorganic
P-fertilisers can contain cadmium (Cd) or the radionuclides uranium and radium, depending upon
their origins and processing (Kirkby and Johnston
2008). Similarly, alternative P-fertilisers, especially
sludges and manures, can contain significant concentrations of undesirable elements such as Cd,
lead and chromium (White et al. 2012). Many countries legislate for maximum applications of products
containing potentially harmful elements to agricultural land and, therefore, the sources and amounts
of P-fertilisers applied to crops should be chosen
appropriately.
Perspective

Inorganic P-fertilisers derived from phosphate rocks are a finite and, increasing, costly
resource. Thus, sustainable agricultural production will require, amongst other things, alternative
sources of P-fertilisers and the efficient recycling
of P-containing wastes not only on farms, but also
throughout the food chain. It is clear that a variety
of alternative recycled P-fertilisers are available.
These include, for example, crop residues, composts, manures and slurries, biosolids and struvite,
meat and bonemeal, and industrial by-products. All
these can contribute P for crop production, but, for
optimal agricultural production, it is likely that their
use must be combined with conventional inorganic
P-fertilisers and further studies of their utility must
be undertaken. In addition, the advantages and dis-
44
advantages of using alternative P-fertilisers in the

context of safe and nutritious food should also be
considered.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations [FAO] (2000) The Strategic Framework For
FAO: 2000-2015 A Summary. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Keywords: Crop Production - Alternative Fertilisers

- Phosphorus Nutrition United Kingdom
Hargreaves JC, Adl MS, Warman PR (2008) A review of the use of composted municipal solid waste
in agriculture. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 123, 1-14.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) of the Scottish Government through Workpackages 3.3 and 7.2 (2011-2016).
References
Barth J, Amlinger F, Favoino E, Siebert S, Kehres
B, Gottschall R, Bieker M, Lbig A, Bidlingmaier W
(2008) Compost Production and Use in the EU. European Compost Network, Weimar, Germany.
Bruinsma J (2003) World Agriculture: Towards
2015/2030. An FAO Perspective. Earthscan Publications, London, UK.
Cordell D, Drangert JO, White S (2009) The story
of phosphorus: global food security and food for
thought. Global Environmental Change 19, 292305.
Dawson CJ, Hilton J (2011) Fertiliser availability in
a resource-limited world: Production and recycling
of nitrogen and phosphorus. Food Policy 36, S14S22.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [Defra] (2010) Fertiliser Manual (RB209). The
Stationery Office, London, UK.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [Defra] (2014) The British Survey of Fertiliser
Practice - Fertiliser Use on Farm Crops for Crop
Year 2013. Defra, London, UK.
Fageria NK, Baligar VC, Jones CA (2011) Growth
and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops. CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL, USA.
Farming Online (2013) Water treatment plant
makes eco-fertiliser from human waste. Thursday 07 November 2013. http://www.farming.co.uk/
news/article/9146
Heffer P, Prudhomme M (2013) Fertilizer Outlook

2013-2017. International Fertilizer Industry Association, Paris, France.
International Fertiliser Industry Association [IFA]
(2014) IFA Statistics. http://ifadata.fertilizer.org
Kirkby EA, Johnston AE (2008) Soil and fertilizer
phosphorus in relation to crop nutrition. In: The Ecophysiology of Plant-Phosphorus Interactions, pp.
177-246. White PJ, Hammond JP, eds. Springer,
Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Lgreid M, Bckman OC, Kaarstad O (1999) Agriculture, Fertilizers and the Environment. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.
Lobell DB, Cassman KG, Field CB (2009) Crop
yield gaps: their importance, magnitudes, and causes. Annual Review of Environment and Resources
34, 179-204.
Mueller ND, Gerber JS, Johnston M, Ray DK, Ramankutty N, Foley JA (2012) Closing yield gaps
through nutrient and water management. Nature
490, 254-257.
Roy RN, Finck A, Blair GJ, Tandon HLS (2006) FAO
Fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin 16. Plant Nutrition for Food Security. A Guide for Integrated Nutrient Management. FAO, Rome, Italy.
White PJ, Broadley MR (2009) Biofortification of
crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in
human diets iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and iodine. New Phytologist 182,
49-84.
White PJ, Hammond JP (2008) Phosphorus nutrition of terrestrial plants. In: The Ecophysiology of
Plant-Phosphorus Interactions, pp. 51-81. White
PJ, Hammond JP, eds. Springer, Dordrecht, The
Netherlands.
Lectures
White PJ, Hammond JP (2009) The sources of

phosphorus in the waters of Great Britain. Journal
of Environmental Quality 38, 13-26.
White PJ, Broadley MR, Gregory PJ (2012) Managing the nutrition of plants and people. Applied
and Environmental Soil Science, article 104826.
(doi:10.1155/2012/104826).
45
White PJ, George TS, Gregory PJ, Bengough AG,

Hallett PD, McKenzie BM (2013) Matching roots to
their environment. Annals of Botany 112, 207-222.
46
POTENTIAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN CROP FERTILIZATION: CURRENT

STATE AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
CHRISTIAN DIMKPA
Virtual Fertilizer Research Center, 1331 H Street, NW Washington, DC, 20005 USA

Nanotechnology is the exploitation of materials at the nano (1-100 nm in any dimension) scale.
The high reactivity of nanomaterials (nanoparticles)
is related to their small size and, thus, the possession of a large surface area which confers them
with superior attributes over larger-sized (so-called
bulk or micro) particles of similar chemistry. This improved quality of materials at the nanoscale has led
to the use of nanomaterials in a variety of applications. For example, zinc oxide nanoparticles are in
heavy use in personal care products such as sunscreen, cosmetics, textile, paintings, industrial coatings, dye-sensitized solar cells, antibacterial agents
and optic and electronic materials. The magnetic
properties of iron oxides are exploited at the nano-scale for enhanced environmental remediation
of both organic and inorganic contaminants. It has
been estimated that more than $50 billion worth of
nano-enabled products have been sold globally,
with recent projections that some 1300 products
including agriculture and food-related products worth $2.9 trillion, will be in the market by 2014.

Studies of nanomaterials in plant systems
have demonstrated that dependent on dose, nanotechnology can be leveraged in developing novel
fertilizers to enhance agricultural productivity. For
instance, in wheat, ZnO nanoparticles cause the
stimulation of lateral roots and change the root architecture, which could contribute in the overall uptake of nutrients. In bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), a low
dose (100 mg/kg) of ZnO nanoparticles stimulated
shoot growth, similar to findings in chickpea and
green pea. At relevant concentrations, iron oxide
(magnetite/hematite [Fe3O4/Fe2O3]) and Mn nanoparticles have shown beneficial effects on plants
through the stimulation of chlorophyll production or
the enhancement of the rate of photosynthesis. In
addition to boosting chlorophyll formation, iron oxide nanoparticles also could reduce the severity of
chlorosis in plants. Other nanoparticles synthesized
from non-mineral nutrients have also demonstrated
positive effects on plants. Work with spinach report-
ed improved physiological and growth responses

to TiO2 nanoparticles, wherein increases in rubisco activase activity and chlorophyll production are
thought to result in enhanced photosynthesis, consequently stimulating spinach growth. CeO2 nanoparticles show root growth stimulation in soybean
and cilantro (Coriandrum sativum). In maize, CeO2
nanoparticles induced significant activity of antioxidative enzymes, helping to prevent membrane
peroxidation and leakage in the plants. Collectively,
the application of these nanoparticles, as well as
of CuO, permit high uptake of the cognate element
into the plant, helping to improve crop nutrition in
the case of the essential nutrient elements. Given
these reports, it is strongly anticipated that in the
near future, the crop fertilizer industry will join in the
nanotechnology revolution.

The delivery of mineral nutrients in nano
form is predicated on a variety of beneficial features, including timing of nutrient release, sustained
release of nutrients, synchronization or targeted
environmental response, and directed nutrient delivery. Two strategies for nanomaterial delivery into
plants can be envisaged. On the one hand, micronutrients from metallic elements (Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn,
Mg, Ni) can be delivered as nanoparticles which
can either be taken up directly by the plant or be
solubilized in the rhizosphere prior to uptake of the
cognate ion. Bulk rock phosphate particles can be
prepared as nanoformulations by grinding, and supplied to the plant as nanoparticles. On the other
hand, mineral nutrients can be encapsulated in nanopolymers that also could either be directly absorbed by the plant, releasing the cognate nutrient
in planta, or be engineered to timely dissolve in the
rhizosphere, releasing the encapsulated nutrients
in sync with the plants need. In addition to the individual mineral nutrients, composite nanoparticles of
different but compatible nutrients also can be delivered via soil or foliar application into plant tissues,
where they slowly dissolve to release the cognate
ions for plant assimilation, goaded by specific envi-
Lectures
ronmental signals. Irrespective of the uptake mechanism, the cognate nutrients in nanoformulations
are supposed to be released for plant use in a more
efficient manner than those from bulk fertilizers.

The plant use efficiency of the current
bulk fertilizers is marred by high leaching of nutrients away from the rhizosphere, their fixation in
the soil to forms that are not readily bioavailable
to the plant, as well as other forms of losses such
as volatilization. Nanotechnology offers a great opportunity to enhance the use efficiency of fertilizers.
Slow release of fertilizers implies that both leaching and fixation of nutrients could be reduced, with
such release permitting a better timing of nutrient
availability and plant nutrient need. This aspect of
nano application could be useful in agro-ecologies
experiencing the negative consequences of fertilizer overuse. In the case of nutrient-deficient soils,
because nanoparticles inherently release soluble
ions faster than bulk particles, enhanced and sustained release of nutrients from nanomaterials will
be important in supplying nutrients in a quick and
timely manner, in contrast to slow release.

Despite these potential benefits, the application of nanotechnology in plant fertilization could
47
come with risks for the environment: non-target

plants, plant-beneficial soil microbes and other life
forms could be affected if nanomaterials are misused. Slow release of nutrient element negates the
possibility of attainment of biotoxic levels of mineral nutrients and reduces loss due to leaching or
fixation. However, nanoparticle-specific effects are
also observed, demonstrating the intrinsic toxicity
of any nano formulation unrelated to their solubility.
Therefore, a better understanding of the agro-ecological ramifications of nanotechnology, especially
as it relates to dose response, release of ions, and
nanoparticle-specific effects of mineral nutrients is
important to fully harness its promised benefits in
nano-fertilizer applications.
Keywords: nano; nanotechnology; nanofertilizers;
nanoparticles; nano-enabled products; nanoencapsulations
Acknowledgements
International Fertilizer Development Center; United
States Department of Agriculture; United States
Agency for International Development.
48
PLANT PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE OF HUMIC SUBSTANCES AND

PROTEIN HYDROLYZED-BASED PRODUCTS
SERENELLA NARDI, ANDREA ERTANI, DIEGO PIZZEGHELLO
Universit di Padova, Dipartimento di Agronomia Animali Alimenti Risorse Naturali e Ambiente (DAFNAE), Viale dellUniversit 16,
Agripolis, Legnaro - Italy. Email: serenella.nardi@unipd.it
Abstract

Contemporary society is evolving towards
a sustainable agricultural production in the light of
the requests from consumers for food quality, food
safety and environmental friendliness. The use
of pesticides and mineral fertilizers is therefore
becoming increasingly restricted because these
chemicals often cause significant levels of soil and
groundwater contamination.

In recent years, there has been increasing use of biostimulants obtained from different
organic materials. These products, generally comprising humic acids, peptides and amino acids, are
directly absorbed by plants that expend less energy
in the absorption process. The application of these
products therefore not only leads to an increased
content of macro- and micro-nutrients, but also a
significant activation of plant metabolism. For these
reasons, the development of biostimulants has become a focus of interest in research.

Humic substances (HS) are the most investigated of the biostimulants. HS refers to a category of naturally occurring materials found in, or
extracted from, soils, sediments and natural waters,
and constitute one of the most abundant forms of
organic matter on the earths surface. Amongst the
different functions of HS, their influence on plants is
of great interest. The effects of HS were investigated on root apparatus, mainly because roots are the
first target organ for humus in soil. Several authors
found a significant increase in root hair length and
density, suggesting that these substances induced
a nutrient acquisition response that favored nutrient uptake via an increase in the absorptive surface
area.

The physiological activity of HS is in part
explained by the presence of physiologically active
amounts of indoleacetic acid, the presence of which
has been confirmed by a combination of genetic

and molecular biology techniques and gas-chromatography mass spectrometry.

It is believed that the properties of the biostimulating protein hydrolysates are related to the
fraction with smaller molecular size and free amino
acids. It has also recently been seen that biostimulants positively influence the activity and gene expression of enzymes in the metabolic pathway of
carbon and nitrogen. The activation of the primary
metabolism was followed by that of the secondary
metabolism with a stimulation of the activity of the
enzyme phenylalanine (tyrosine)-ammonium lyase,
which catalyzes the first step in the biosynthesis
of phenolic compounds. In fact, higher chlorogenic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic, p-coumaric contents
and antioxidant activity were found in fruits of chilli
plants treated with biostimulants. A metabolomic
approach on the same fruits showed the presence
of high carbohydrate content and NADP+, in line
with the biosynthetic reactions of the Calvin cycle.
Other biologically active compounds such as ascorbic acid, -carotene and capsaicin were also found
to be strongly increased by the treatment.

Systematic and coordinated research combining different approaches in functional genomics
may thus help to overcome the complexity of HS
and biostimulants influence on plant biology, and allow new technologies that increase plant growth to
be developed. Indeed, the use of HS and biostimulants should be encouraged because this would reduce excessive mineral fertilizer inputs, and from a
management perspective, cultivation wastes might
be turned into raw materials, thus permitting a reduction in disposal costs.
Keywords: humic acids; biostimulants, indoleacetic
acid; plant metabolism
Lectures
49
CROP RESPONSES TO ORGANIC FERTILIZERS, AND THEIR EFFICIENCY

FRANCESCO MONTEMURRO1, MARIANGELA DIACONO1
1
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura CRA-SCA, Research Unit for Cropping Systems in Dry Environments
(Experimental Farm Metaponto), SS 106 Jonica, km 448.2, Metaponto (MT), 75010, ITALY (francesco.montemurro@entecra.it)
Introduction

Agricultural production would need to in-
crease on average by 70% by 2050 (Bruinsma,

2009) to cope with the raising of world population,
which is projected to reach 9.6 billion persons by
that date (United Nations, 2013). According to the
FAO, the growth in crop production would derive
from higher yields and increased cropping intensity. This agricultural intensification will have to be
done against a backdrop of rising energy prices,
and taking into account the widespread conditions
of soil degradation/desertification, water resources
pollution and atmosphere contamination. Therefore, since higher yields will increase the demand
for agricultural input, more sustainable fertilization
strategies (e.g. organic fertilizers and amendments
application) should be used.
Organic fertilizers overview

There is increasing interest in alternative
soil fertility building strategies because conventional inputs, such as synthetic fertilizers, should be excluded or reduced for sustainable crop production.

Organic sources of nutrients consist of
animal manures, food processing wastes and municipal biosolids, sewage sludges, wastewaters,
pomace and vinasse. As highlighted by Mondini
and Sequi (2008), both the utilization of non-renewable resources and excess of energy expenses are
avoided by recycling organic residues as fertilizers and soil amendments on cropland. Indeed, this
approach can also play a positive role in climate
change mitigation by carbon sequestration in the
soil.

Many positive effects of raw and composted
organic materials, e.g. release of nutrients, evolve
slowly, thus requiring more time to be assessed.
As reported in our review (Diacono and Montemurro, 2010), soil organic carbon increased by about
90% in respect to unfertilized soil, and by more than
100% as compared with chemical fertilizers. These
benefits are present only when repeated applica-
tions of organic nutrient sources occurred. Such applications can also store soil organic N for mineralization in the following cropping seasons. Moreover,
depending on the quantity and type of materials applied, addition of exogenous organic matter to cropland can improve the biological functions of soil,
even more than 15 years after spreading. According
to Van-Camp et al. (2004) increased soil physical
fertility, mainly by improving aggregate stability, can
also be obtained. Stabilized organic amendments
can achieve the best agronomic performance with
the highest rates and frequency of application, particularly if combined with mineral fertilizers, leading
to residual effects as slow-release N fertilizers (Diacono and Montemurro, 2010). On the other hand,
there is no tangible evidence of negative impacts of
heavy metals applied to soil with raw and composted wastes, particularly when high quality materials
are used.
Vegetable, industrial and cereal crop

responses: towards a better fertilizer
efficiency

An effective agro-ecosystem management, including the application of organic fertilizers,
can both improve yield quality of crops and obtain
high-yielding crop production at a sustainable level.
There is a considerable amount of literature that
has investigated this topic, showing that improving
fertilizer efficiency is a fundamental challenge for
sustainable production of horticultural, industrial
and cereal crops. Selected studies are summarized
in a comparative table (Table 1), focusing on the
experimental agronomic results of organic fertilizers
utilization in Mediterranean conditions. The findings
offer powerful evidence on the potential of organic
fertilizers in sustaining crops performance, as partial substitute for mineral fertilization. These studies highlighted the relevance of the application time
and the monitoring of plant and soil N indicators, to
help farmers to program organic fertilizer application. It can also be stressed how important is the
50
composted materials application when high mineral

fertilization (i.e. sandy soils) is not environmentally
sound. In addition, crop rotation and cover crops
could represent important agronomical tools to increase N utilization and decrease the N losses occurrence, especially when high fertilizer levels are
applied.
Diacono M., Ferri D., Ciaccia C., Tittarelli F., Ceglie

F., Verrastro V., Ventrella D., Vitti C., Montemurro
F. (2012). Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section
B - Soil & Plant Science 62:510-518.
Conclusions
Montemurro F., Diacono M., Vitti C., Ferri D. (2011).

Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis
42:2594-2603.

The above results can be taken into account to develop strategies for organic fertilizer application to crops in order to optimize quantity and
quality of production and to reduce pollution risks.
Taken together, these studies suggest that the
mixed fertilization determines good balance among
productive parameters, N utilization efficiency indices, soil N deficit and, consequently, lower pollution
risks.
Keywords: Sustainable agriculture; fertilization
strategies; mixed fertilizer; crop rotation.
References
Montemurro F., Fiore A., Campanelli G., Tittarelli F.,

Ledda L., Canali S. (2013). Hortscience 48:10271033.
Montemurro F. (2009). Journal of Plant Nutrition

32:1-18.
Montemurro F., Maiorana M., Ferri D., Convertini G.
(2006). Field Crops Research 99:114-124.
Montemurro F., Convertini G., Ferri D., Maiorana M.
(2005). Compost Science & Utilization 13(4):234242.
Tejada M., Gonzalez J. L. (2004). Agronomy Journal
96:692-699.
Bruinsma J. (2009). The resource outlook to 2050:

by how much do land, water and crop yields need
to increase by 2050? FAO Expert Meeting, 24-26
June 2009, Rome.
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2013). World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision. Volume I:
Comprehensive Tables ST/ESA/SER.A/336.
Canali S., Ciaccia C., Antichi D., Brberi P., Montemurro F., Tittarelli F. 2010.
Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment 8: 537-543.
Van-Camp L., Bujarrabal B., Gentile A.-R., Jones

R.J.A., Montanarella L., Olazabal C., Selvaradjou
S.-K. (2004). Reports of the Technical Working
Groups Established under the Thematic Strategy
for Soil Protection, EUR 21319 EN/3, 872 p.
Diacono M., Montemurro F. (2010). Agronomy for

Sustainable Development 30(2):401-422.
Lectures
Table 1. Summary of experimental trials on organic fertilizers (selected data)

Crop
Organic zucchini
Organic fertilizers
and amendments
(i) Municipal solid waste
compost (MSW), (ii) anaerobic
digestate and (iii) commercial
organic fertilizer
+
vetch residues
(two termination strategies: a.
green manure, GM; b. rollercrimping, RC)
Main findings
Reference
Using RC combined with the application of

organic fertilizers could be an effective
approach to modulate N availability to crop.
Moreover, the application of organic
fertilizers in vetch management plots
significantly increased marketable zucchini
yield. This result is crucial, because the
organic fertilizers were applied taking into
account the biological N fixation of vetch
Montemurro et al.,
2013
Emmer
Different OPC
The emmer protein content in the matured

compost treatment with low C/N, was
comparable with that of the commercial
fertilizer, suggesting a good performance
on crop yield quality. The findings about
total N, total P and exchangeable K in soil
suggested that the composts obtained from
olive pomace may supply macronutrients to
crop
Diacono et al., 2012
Ryegrass, proteic pea,

and clover
Olive mill wastewater (OMWW):

at 80 m3 ha1 (80_OMWW), and
120 m3 ha1 (120_OMWW)
Ryegrass yield increased on average by

40.8% than in CONTR. A significant
increase by 27% was found at 80_OMWW
for proteic pea. Clover showed a speciesspecific sensitiveness, but the OMWW
increased protein content. The OMWW
enhanced total organic content in the soil
than CONTR
Montemurro et al.,
2011
Organic potato
Subterranean clover green

manure
+
farmyard cattle manure or green
compost
Green manure and farmyard manure

increased crop yield of 22.5% and 25.1%,
respectively. The highest dose of organic
amendments enhanced N use efficiency by
16.9%, compared with CONTR. However,
the combination of clover green manure
and amendments distribution did not
increase soil mineral N at the end of the
cropping cycle
Canali et al., 2010
Winter wheat
MSW and MIX
MIX increased yield by 8 and 33%, and N

uptake by 2 and 31%, compared to MIN
and CONTR, respectively
Montemurro, 2009
Maize
OPC
Organic fertilizer as a partial substitution of

MIN achieved the same yield of the highest
MIN treatment (8.8 and 8.9 t ha-1,
respectively), ensuring the highest increase
of total organic carbon and the least N
mineral soil deficit at the end of the
experiment
Montemurro et al.,
2006
Tomato
MSW and mixed treatment

(MIX, 50% of compost with 50%
of mineral fertilizer, MIN)
Montemurro et al.,
MIX and deeper soil tillage can serve as a
suitable N source. No significant difference 2005
was found in MIX treatment for total yield,
marketable yield and quality compared to
the MIN alone, also ensuring the least N
deficit in the soil and a positive effect on soil
organic carbon
Maize
By-product of two-step olive oil

mill process
The application to the soil improved the soil

chemical, physical, and biological
properties. Mineralization of organic matter
increased N uptake by plants, therefore,
better maize yield parameters were
obtained. A residual effect of the organic
matter after first season application was
detected.
Tejada and
Gonzalez, 2004
51
52
GUIDELINES TO ACCESS PLANT PHYSIOLOGY MODIFICATION

BY FERTILIZERS CLAIMED AS BIOSTIMULANTS
DANIEL B. ZANDONADI1, LZARO EUSTQUIO P. PERES2, ARNOLDO R. FAANHA3
Laboratory of Cell Biology, Embrapa Vegetables, Rodovia BR-060, Km 09 (Braslia/Anpolis), Fazenda Tamandu Caixa Postal:
218, Braslia - DF, 70359-970, BRAZIL (daniel.zandonadi@embrapa.br); 2Laboratory of Hormonal Control of Plant Development,
Department of Biological Sciences, Esalq, Universidade de So Paulo (USP) - Av. Pdua Dias, 11, CP 09, Piracicaba - SP, 13418900, BRAZIL (lazaro.peres@usp.br); 3Laboratory of Cell and Tissue Biology, State University of Norte Fluminense (Uenf), Av.
Alberto Lamego, n 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes - RJ, 28016-620, BRAZIL (arnoldo@uenf.br)
1

Long before the discovery of plant hormone
auxin, exogenous organic substances were already
described as complementary to mineral nutrientes
(Bottomley, 1915). In fact, even before Went in
1926 named the transmittable influence, observed
by Darwin, as auxin, Bottomley (1915) suggested
the term auximones to designate organic extracts
from peat able to promote growth. These so-called
`humic-acids` are likely to be the first descrided fertilizer with biostimulant proprieties, as we know today. However, since they were the result of an incubation with soil microrganisms, they differ from the
humic acids modern concept. Currently there are
numerous products claimed as biostimulants, much
of them still lacking scientific evaluation, whilst others have already proved to work only in controlled
conditions . Moreover, several works showing crop
yield enhancement by biostimulants, have not accessed the mode of action of such a products (for a
review see Calvo et al., 2014). Many biostimulants
categories have been tested, including: bacterial or
microbial inoculants, biochemical materials, amino
acids, humic substances and seaweed extracts.
However, most of these products required mineral fertilizer amendments to provide relevant plant
production improvements in field conditions. In this
regard, it is worthy to mention the potential of organomineral fertilizers, which could result not only in
satisfactory plant yield, but also in enhancing plant
ability to cope with stress and other environmental
challenges, through some unclear stimulant effects
from its organic matter portion.

While there are legal definition of plant protection products and fertilizers, an equivalent legislation for plant biostimulants remains to be defined.
In adittion, although there are guidelines on efficacy evaluation for the utilization and registration
of plant products such as fertilizers, pesticides and
herbicides, little has been done for defining plant bi-
ostimulants. Recently, private counsel from Europe

(European Biostimulant Industry Council, EBIC)
and United States (Biostimulant Coalition, BC) have
mobilized efforts to address the requirements of the
biostimulants market and the nature of biostimulant
products. Both EBIC and BC have alerted about
the urgent need for scientific descriptions and validation of the biostimulants products. However, the
lack of a standard protocol have lead to contrasting
results being published in the specialized literature.
How to certify whether a putative biostimulant is effective or not? In order to answer this question and
to establish a guideline to access biotimulants activity with simple protocols it is worthy to use both
reproducible plant models and suitable biological
markers.

Here we present a proposal to a standard
protocol for assays of biostimulants efficacy. This
protocol is based on the tomato model system Micro-Tom and the proton pumps activity, combined
as a tool kit. What are the benefits of such standard protocol over the usual hormonal analysis?
Both identification and quantification of plant hormones mainly when used as biomarkers are timeconsuming and expensive. In addition, the structure-biological activity relationships of biostimulants
are still a matter of controversy due to conflicting
results regarding similar substances referred to
as biostimulants. Rather than proving whether the
substances are phytohorrmones/plant regulators or
not in a given evaluation of a biostimulant, treatments of a plant model provides a more reliable
and less inconsistant results. Micro-Tom is a model
plant with short size and life cycle, comparabele to
Arabidopsis thaliana, and with the additional addvantage of its high agronomic relevance (Carvalho
et al., 2011). There are several hormone deficiency
or insensitivity mutants avaliable in `Micro-Tom`
(Carvalho et al., 2011). Plant hormones can reg-
Lectures
53
ulate the activity of the plant proton pumps (e.g.

H+-ATPase), eliciting key physiological responses
(Marr and Ballarin-Denti, 1985). These enzymes
are important in plants reponse to environmental
challenges. Also, the optimal metabolic conditions
for growth and development is dependent on proton
pump activity (Gaxiola et al., 2007). Not surprisingly, most biostimulants tested changed the electrochemical gradient of protons formation across the
cell membranes via modulation of proton pumps. In
the case of humic substances from vermicompost,
PM H+-ATPase activity, protein abundance, proton
extrusion in vitro (Faanha et al., 2002) and in vivo
(Zandonadi et al., 2010) and mRNA levels (Quaggiotti et al., 2004) are regulated similary to the plant
hormone auxin, reported in maize (Fras et al.,
purple and potentiometric pH measurements of a

medium containing plants pretreated with biostimulants as described in Zandonadi et al. (2010). The
proposed standard protocol revealed the characteristic relationship between the plant growth with the
H+-ATPase activation measured by classical biochemical protocols.

The suggestion to use Micro-Tom mutants,
combined with H+-ATPase-drived rizosphere acidification as a reference bioassay is mainly focused on
biostimulants claimed as root growth promoters. Nevertheless, given the major role of this enzyme (along
with the H+-PPase) on so many important physiological processes, further refined protocols using proton
pumps as biochemical marker for other plant tissues
and other biostimulants effects, such as stress resist-
1996). This enzyme plays a crucial role on nutrient

uptake and root growth, as confirmed by its abundance in root tissues (Palmgren, 2001). Intriguingly,
the vacuolar H+-PPase (type 1 H+-PPase, AVP1)
has been reported as important to the regulation of
auxin transport and root acidification (Yang et al.,
2014). The PM H+-ATPase is implicated as a biochemical marker of biostimulant activity (reviewed
by Zandonadi et al., 2013). Nevertheless, each research group utilizes a different type of plant, a different period of treatments and other experimental
discrepances that make the results dificult to compare (Table 1).

Biostimulants extracted from humus are
part of an important group of products encompassing the needs of both industry and small farmers
(Zandonadi & Busato, 2012), for which, there is a
body of evidence of its positive effects in laboratory
and field conditions (Zandonadi & Busato, 2012;
Zandonadi et al., 2013; Calvo et al., 2014). The
box and whisker plot of H+-ATPase activity stimulated by different humic substances (Figure 1) may
vary from 28 to 435%, when comparing mean (plus
signs) and median (horizontal line) results from different research groups (Figure 1). Only when the
same plant, after the same period of treatment, will
be adopted in different analysis, it will be possible
to achieve consistent and accurate results. This will
help biostimulant councils and government agriculture ministry all over the word to establish a reference bioassay quickly and easy. Briefly this assay
is performed by using pH indicator bromocresol
ance will have a great potential and thus need to be

continuosly developed and validated.
Conclusions

It is important to have a reference protocol
with standard plant and treatments in order to identify whether a biostimulant is efficient or not and can
reproduces consistent results in field condition. The
standard protocol for biostimulants claimed as root
growth promoters should be both technically accessible and economically viable. This is the case of
rizosphere acidification assay of `Micro-Tom` plants
with hormone deficiency or insensitivity.
Keywords: Auxin, Rooting, Proton Pumps, Rizosphere
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Richard Lamar for
revision and helpful discussion of the manuscript
and the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) for financial support.
References
Bottomley, W. B. (1915). A Bacterial Test for Plant
Food Accessories:(Auximones). Proceedings of the
Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character, 89(610), 102-108.
Calvo, P., Nelson, L., & Kloepper, J. W. (2014). Agricultural uses of plant biostimulants.Plant and Soil,
1-39.
54
Carvalho, R. F., Campos, M. L., Pino, L. E.,

Crestana, S. L., Zsgn, A., Lima, J. E., ... & Peres, L. E. (2011). Convergence of developmental
mutants into a single tomato model system:MicroTomas an effective toolkit for plant development research.Plant Methods,7(1), 1-14.
Quaggiotti, S., Ruperti, B., Pizzeghello, D., Francioso, O., Tugnoli, V., & Nardi, S. (2004). Effect of low
molecular size humic substances on nitrate uptake
and expression of genes involved in nitrate transport in maize (Zea mays L.).Journal of Experimental Botany,55(398), 803-813.
Faanha, A. R., Faanha, A. L. O., Olivares, F. L.,

Guridi, F., SANTOS, G. D. A., Velloso, A. C. X., ... &
Canellas, L. P. (2002). Bioatividade de cidos hmicos: efeitos sobre o desenvolvimento radicular e
sobre a bomba de prtons da membrana plasmtica.Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira,37(9), 13011310.
Yang, H., Zhang, X., Gaxiola, R. A., Xu, G., Peer,

W. A., & Murphy, A. S. (2014). Over-expression
of the Arabidopsis proton-pyrophosphatase AVP1
enhances transplant survival, root mass, and fruit
development under limiting phosphorus conditions.Journal of experimental botany, eru149.
Fras, I., Caldeira, M. T., Prez-Castieira, J. R.,

Navarro-Avi, J. P., Culiaez-Maci, F. A., Kuppinger, O., ... & Serrano, R. (1996). A major isoform of the maize plasma membrane H (+)-ATPase:
characterization and induction by auxin in coleoptiles.The Plant Cell Online,8(9), 1533-1544.
Gaxiola, R. A., Palmgren, M. G., & Schumacher, K.
(2007). Plant proton pumps.Febs Letters,581(12),
2204-2214.
Marr, E., & Ballarin-Denti, A. (1985). The proton pumps of the plasmalemma and the tonoplast
of higher plants.Journal of bioenergetics and biomembranes,17(1), 1-21.
Palmgren, M. G. (2001). Plant plasma membrane
H+-ATPases: powerhouses for nutrient uptake.Annual review of plant biology,52(1), 817-845.
Zandonadi, D. B., Santos, M. P., Dobbss, L. B.,

Olivares, F. L., Canellas, L. P., Binzel, M. L., ... &
Faanha, A. R. (2010). Nitric oxide mediates humic acids-induced root development and plasma
membrane H+-ATPase activation.Planta, 231(5),
1025-1036.
Zandonadi, D. B., & Busato, J. G. (2012). Vermicompost humic substances: technology for converting
pollution into plant growth regulators.International
Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering
Research,3(2), 73-84.
Zandonadi, D. B., Santos, M. P., Busato, J. G., Peres, L. E. P., & Faanha, A. R. (2013). Plant physiology as affected by humified organic matter. Theoretical and Experimental Plant Physiology, 25(1),
13-25.
Lectures
55
ROCKS FOR CROPS: THE USE OF LOCALLY AVAILABLE MINERALS

AND ROCKS TO ENHANCE SOIL PRODUCTIVITY
PETER VAN STRAATEN
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Canada N1G 2W1, pvanstra@uoguelph.ca
Introduction

Rocks are the starting materials for most
soils. Physical, chemical and biological weathering
has over time transformed rocks to soils. In
tropical climates weathering of rocks to soils is especially intensive. Nutrients are leached and have
to be replenished. In natural systems and geological time frames, geological processes, such as
mountain building, erosion and sedimentation, as
well as volcanism have been and are fundamental
agents of soil rejuvenation.

Various strategies to replenish soil nutrients
for increased crop production have been developed
in recent decades and have transformed agriculture
in many parts of the world. To increase nutrient use
efficiencies in modern conventional fertilizers and to
reduce environmental problems a trend is emerging to slow down the process of soluble nutrient
release. On the other side, the kinetics of geological
weathering processes are too slow to release and
replenish nutrients to provide sufficient nutrients
for annual crops. Mimicking natural processes by
physically, chemically and biologically accelerating nutrient release from fertile rock and mineral
phases is seen as an additional, pragmatic and inexpensive option to contribute to soil fertility management, especially in the tropics (Leonardos et al.
1987). Reference will be made to development and
potential of agromineral use in tropical countries,
specifically sub-Saharan Africa.
Phosphate rock

Numerous phosphate rock (PR) deposits
are located in sub-Saharan Africa but only few of
them are currently being mined and processed (van
Straaten 2002, 2011). Direct application of phosphate rocks of igneous origin, composed mainly of
fluor-apatites, has been largely unsuccessful due to
the mineral composition and low reactivity of these
forms of apatites. Only three PR deposits show
relatively high reactivity in sub-Saharan Africa, all
of them being fossil bone deposits. Most unreac-
tive igneous PR deposits are carbonatite related,

located in Eastern and Southern Africa along the
Rift Valley.

The unreactive fluor-apatites of these deposits are not suitable for direct application in soils,
even in acid, P deficient soils. A number of modification techniques are known to enhance the nutrient use efficiencies of these phosphates, including
mechanical, biological and chemical modification.
Biological/chemical modification techniques include
acidification and complexation using organic acids
e.g. oxalic and citric acids. An example of enhanced
biosolubilization of igneous PR will be provided illustrating the potential of using organic acids produced from cassava waste citric acid production.
Mechanical activation has shown to be a promising
modification technique.

Worldwide, research has shown several effective modification techniques of phosphate rocks
other than commercial acidulation, but so far only
few of these methods have been applied on a commercial scale. In Brazil and China thermally modified phosphates are produced. In Brazil > 150,000
tpa of agronomically effective thermo-phosphates
have been sold in recent years. In Indonesia, biologically modified phosphate fertilizers are produced on a commercial basis. In Tanzania, approximately 20,000 tpa of local phosphates products, in
natural, modified and blended forms, are sold.
K-silicate rock, and silicate rock

powder
Direct application

The direct application of silicate rock powders to soils in the tropics has shown variable results
largely due to the complexity of the rock and mineral chemistry and mineralogy (Harley and Gilkes
2000) and the interaction with different soils and
crops. In general, the application of large amounts
of weatherable minerals, e.g. from mafic igneous
rock types (e.g. basalt) or ultramafic-ultrapotassic
volcanic rocks or other easily weatherable nutrient-
56
bearing minerals to the soil increases the pool of

weatherable minerals. The interplay between rocks
and minerals of different chemical and mineralogical composition with biota and organic acids results in slow rates of mineral dissolution and nutrient release. The kinetics of the release is enhanced
in tropical environments, in acid, low fertility soils
(Leonardos et al 1987).

Basaltic rock powders have been tested
for many decades - with variable results. Best results of dissolution, nutrient release and raising of
pH from finely ground basaltic rocks are achieved
under tropical conditions, on soils with very low fertility, low CEC, and low pH. In well designed and
characterized experiments, the application of large
tonnages of basaltic rocks from the quarry industry
increased the pH of the soils and released Ca, Mg
and Si and trace elements, such as Zn and Cu (Gillman 1980, Gillman et al. 2002, Melo et al, 2012).

There are a number of other mafic nutrient
bearing rock resources that have potential for direct
and modified application in agriculture. Extensive
and voluminous geological complexes of quartzfree, K-mineral rich (nepheline and/or leucite) alkaline volcanic rocks (ultrapotassic-ultramafic volcanic rocks) exist in many parts of the world. Some of
these resources have been tested and have shown
a good potential to provide extractable K along with
Ca, Mg and Si and trace elements. Other potential
K resources include glauconite and biotite/phlogopite bearing rocks as well as biotite concentrates
from existing quarry operations. Several thousand
tonnes of volcanic K-Mg-Ca-Si rock amendments
are currently sold in Europe for specialty markets,
and organic agriculture. In Brazil, finely ground
K-silicate rock fertilizer (phonolite) is successfully
applied as K (+Si) form on several crops including
maize and sugarcane.

Research to enhance the efficacy of silicate rock materials is currently underway making
use of biological, chemical and physical modifications techniques. Biological modification techniques
include blending with organic wastes, chemical
modification techniques aim at acidification and
complexation of minerals using organic acids, e.g.
oxalic and citric acids. Physical modification techniques are mainly restricted to liberation of nutrients through mechanical activation. These modi-
fied silicate rock materials have a potential use for

perennial crops, fruit trees, and forestry. Modified
ultrapotassic-ultramafic volcanic rocks should also
be tested on crops requiring Si like sugar cane and
rice.
Ca-Mg and S resources

Other well known rocks for crops materials to increase soil productivity include liming materials. These rocks are commonly sedimentary in
nature but also igneous (carbonatite) and widely
distributed. Sulphur-bearing rocks include gypsum
and elemental sulphur, some of which are naturally
occurring or by-products of industrial processes,
e.g. phospho-gypsum.
Future

There is a considerable potential for using
low grade and non-conventional nutrient-bearing
mineral resources to contribute to increased global crop production. The resource base of these
agromineral resources is very large but the principal
barrier of slow nutrient release from minerals has
to be overcome. Laboratory and field studies have
shown variable results using direct application of
certain rocks and minerals on tropical soils. However, research has demonstrated that modification
techniques can enhance the nutrient release of
some of the agromineral resources. Some of these
promising techniques that mimick natural processes
(e.g. organic acids that are commonly exuded from
roots, or mechanical activation) aim at enhancing
nutrient release from minerals need more rigorous
evaluation.

It is paramount that mineralogical studies
are integral part of scientific experiments to provide
answers to pertinent questions of nutrient release
for increased soil and crop productivity. To improve
the efficacy of nutrient release from rocks and minerals an extra step further processing - is required
using biological, chemical and physical modification
techniques. Existing modification techniques such
as biosolubilization, mineral activation through high
energy milling as well as thermo-treatment have to
be advanced and new methods have to be developed to increase nutrient release from agrominerals to the arsenal of techniques to produce more
food for the coming generations. Pragmatic new ap-
Lectures
57
proaches are needed to contribute to more sustainable agricultural practices to feed more people from
the existing agricultural land base.
Leonardos OH, Fyfe WS and Kronberg BI 1987.

The use of ground rocks in laterite systems: an improvement to the use of conventional soluble fertilizers? Chem Geol 60:361-370.
References
Gillman GP 1980. The effect of crushed basalt scoria on the cation exchange properties of a highly
weathered soil. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44: 465-468.
Melo VF, Ucha SCP, Dias FO, and Barbosa GF

2012. Doses de basalto modo nas propriedades
qumicas de um Latossolo Amerelo distrfico da savanna de Roreima. Acta Amazonica 42(4):471-476.
Gillman GP, Burkett DC and Coventry RJ 2002.

Amending highly weathered soils with finely ground
basalt rock. Appl Geochem 17:987-1001.
Van Straaten P 2002. Rocks for Crops: Agrominerals of sub-Saharan Africa. ICRAF, Nairobi
Kenya,338p.
Harley AD and Gilkes RJ. 2000 Factors influencing the release of plant nutrients from silicate rock
powders: a geochemical overview. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 56:11-36.
van Straaten P 2011. The geological basis of farming in Africa. In: Bationo et al. (eds). Innovations as
key to the green revolution in Africa, Springer Science + Business Media BV,31-47.
58
LONG TERM EXPERIMENTS WITH REACTIVE PHOSPHATE ROCKS

FOR GRAIN CROPS IN CERRADO SOILS
DJALMA M. GOMES DE SOUSA, THOMAZ A. REIN, RAFAEL DE SOUZA NUNES,
JOO DE DEUS G. S. JUNIOR
Embrapa Cerrados, PO Box 08223, Brasilia, DF, 73310-970, BRAZIL (djalma.sousa@embrapa.br)
Introduction
Solubility and agronomic effectiveness

The Brazilian Cerrado (savannas) comprises aproximatelly 200 million ha in central Brazil
with a large predominance of acid low-fertility soils,
with Oxisols (Ferralsols) accounting for nearly 50%
of the area. Considered waste land for agricultural
purposes until the mid 1970s, with the widespread
use of limestone and chemical fertilizers the Cerrado has become the countrys main producing region for grain crops and Brazil the largest soybean

Figure 1a shows the relationship between the
relative agronomic effectiveness (RAE) of seven unground RPRs evaluated for soybeans in a clayey Cerrado oxisol and the solubility of finely ground samples
(< 0.063 mm) in 2% citric acid (1/100 w/v) (Sousa et
al., 2009). Granular triple superphosphate (TSP) was
the reference source (RAE=100%). The fertilizers
were broadcast and incorporated at 240 kg/ha total
P2O5 in the first year, and their residual effect evaluated for five years. Average RAE for the seven RPRs
increased from the first to the fourth year. RAE was
directly related to the citric acid solubility for the first
three years, but no relationship was found in the fourth
year when the average RAE was nearly 125% (higher
residual effect compared to TSP). In the fifth and sixth
years inverse relationships were found, with the lowest soluble sources exhibiting higher residual effects.
Cumulative yields of the six soybean crops were similar for the seven RPRs and the TSP treatments, 11.26
t/ha on average, whereas the cumulative yield of the
control (-P) treatment was 1.05 t/ha. The relationships
between agronomic effectiveness and solubility in two
extractants are also shown for RAE calculated from
the cumulative yields of the first three crops (Figure
1b).

Therefore, solubility can be used to predict
the fresh and residual effects of RPRs in Cerrado
soils. Because of the good relationships observed,
any of these extractants can be used as an indication of RPR effectiveness in the early years.
producer and exporter.

Under natural conditions phosphorus (P)
deficiency is the most limiting factor for crop production in these soils, and P fertilizers are essential
to achieve satisfactory yields. With the increasing
costs of chemical fertilizers it has become more important to identify alternative sources with good agronomic and economic effectiveness. Products with
such characteristics are the reactive phosphate
rocks (RPR), used in Brazil since many decades.
RPRs are of sedimentary origin exhibiting high degree of isomorphous substitutions, mainly PO43- by
CO32- and F-. Their reactivity expressed by solubility
in extracting solutions, the dissolution rates in soils
and P utilization by crops are directly associated
with the degree of isomorphous substitutions.

In finely ground form as used in the past
the first-year effectiveness of highly reactive phosphate rocks is nearly equivalent to water-soluble P
sources for annual crops when broadcast and incorporated to Cerrado oxisols with pH below 6.0
(Sousa et al., 1999; Sousa and Lobato, 2004). Current interest and the subject of this work are the
unground (as received) RPRs marketed in Brazil
since the beginning of the 1990s, with most particles between 0.15 mm and 0.50 mm. Studies with
different crops have shown that unground RPRs
exhibit satisfactory agronomic effectiveness in Cerrado soils, with the possibility of partially replacing
water-soluble sources when properly used (Sousa
et al., 1999, 2010; Sousa and Lobato, 2004).
Management of reactive phosphate

rocks in soils

When broadcast and incorporated at high
doses the RPRs currently marketed in Brazil (unground form) exhibit RAE of roughly 50% in the
first year increasing to nearly 100% or above in the
following one or two years compared to fresh and
residual effects of water-soluble P sources. Since
the performance of the RPRs quickly increase with
Lectures
time, these products are suitable alternatives to water-soluble sources for corrective (build up) P fertilization. Sousa et al. (unpublished data) performed
a benefit-cost analysis of the corrective fertilization
with RPR and TSP broadcast and incorporated at
240 kg/ha P2O5 in the first year of an ongoing experiment in a clayey Oxisol under no-tillage. Soybeans
and corn were grown for a period of 15 years with
millet as winter cover crop. TSP was applied in the
seed furrow at 80 kg/ha/year P2O5 as maintenance
fertilization. The accumulated yield of soybeans and
corn was 95.7 t/ha without corrective fertilization.
With corrective fertilization using TSP and RPR the
accumulated yields were, respectively, 99.2 and
101.0 t/ha, with benefit/cost ratios of 4.4/1 and 7.6/1
considering the unit cost of RPR P2O5 as 75% com-
pared to TSP.

Considering the use of RPRs for maintenance fertilization, since short term agronomic effectiveness is very low for band application in the
seed furrow or surface broadcast in the case of notill systems (Sousa and Lobato, 2004; Sousa et al.,
1999, 2010), these products are not recommended
for soils responsive to P. This was shown in a soybean experiment with TSP and Gafsa phosphate
rock broadcast and applied in the seed furrow at 80
kg/ha/year P2O5 in a clayey oxisol under conventional tillage and no-till systems (Figure 2). Annual
plowing, by incorporating broadcast RPR before
planting or thoroughly mixing unreacted RPR previously applied in the seed furrow increases the fresh
and residual effects, whereas under no tillage soybean yields with either broadcast or banded RPR
were significantly lower compared to TSP for the
first five crops.

On the other hand, if maintenance fertilization with RPR is anticipated (pre-applied) to the
winter cover crop, RAE for the following cash crop
(not fertilized with P) can be improved. This was
shown in the 15-year not-till experiment previously
mentioned, for treatments starting with adequate
(near critical level) soil P. When TSP was applied at
80 kg/ha/year of P2O5 in the seed furrow of the cash
crops, cumulative grain yield was 99.2 t/ha (average yields of 3.6 t/ha for soybeans and 11.2 t/ha
for corn). With RPR applied the same way cumulative yield was 94.9 t/ha (average yields of 3.3 t/ha
for soybeans and 10.9 t/ha for corn). On the other
59
hand, when the maintenance application of RPR

was anticipated, banded in the seed furrow of the
millet cover crop, cumulative yields were equivalent
to that of TSP applied to the cash crops (99.2 t/ha,
with average yields of 3.6 t/ha for soybeans and
11.2 t/ha for corn).

Lower agronomic effectiveness of surface
broadcast RPR compared to band application in the
seed furrow has been observed during the first two
years after surface application of limestone in notill systems. The high soil pH of the surface layer,
around 7, should decrease the dissolution of RPR.
Therefore, in such situation it is recommended
maintenance application in the seed furrow rather
than surface broadcast.
Soil testing

One aspect that should be considered when
using RPRs is soil testing since these sources react
slowly in the soil, even when broadcast and incorporated. Mehlich-1 extractant (0.0125 mol/L H2SO4
+ 0.05 mol/L HCl) adopted by most of the laboratories in the region partially dissolves unreacted
phosphate rocks in soil samples taken the year
after application, overestimating the availability of
soil P for the subsequent crop. Bray-1 (0.03 mol/L
NH4F + 0.025 mol/L HCl) and resin extractants, the
later routinely used in many soil testing laboratories
in Brazil, could be a solution to this problem, not
dissolving less soluble (non-reactive) phosphate
rocks in soil samples (Sousa and Lobato, 2004).

The suitability of soil P extractants was
evaluated in a clayey oxisol under no-tillage with
soybeans fertilized with RPR and TSP at 80 kg/ha/
year P2O5 during five years (Sousa et al., 2010).
The relationships between grain yields and soil P
were not satisfactory for Mehlich-1 as well as for
resin methods as used in Brazil, which overestimated soil P availability when fertilized with RPR.
This did not occur with Bray-1 extractant, although
the prediction of soil P availability was also not very
satisfactory, apparently slightly underestimated in
the presence of RPR. It makes knowledge of the
fertilization history even more important when interpreting soil analysis results and making recommendations for RPR fertilized systems.
The agronomic effectiveness of RPRs during the first
years after broadcast application with incorporation in
60
Cerrado oxisols is directly related to the solubility in citric

and formic acids. In the medium term (>3 years), the residual effects of the least soluble RPRs are equivalent or
even slightly higher than water-soluble sources and the
most soluble RPRs.
RPRs are suitable for corrective (build up) fertilization
of Cerrado soils. RPRs can also be recommended for
maintenance fertilization of grain crops in soils with adequate (near or above critical level) P, being more effective under conventional tillage. The agronomic effectiveness is enhanced when the application of RPR is anticipated to the winter cover crop in no-till grain production
systems.
Mehlich-1 and resin extractants as used in Brazil overestimate the availability of soil P when RPRs are used,
which does not occur with the Bray 1 extractant.
References
SOUSA, D.M.G.; LOBATO, E. Adubao fosfatada
em solos da regio do Cerrado. In: Simpsio sobre
fsforo na agricultura brasileira. In: YAMADA, T.;
ABDALLA, S.R., eds. Fsforo na Agricultura Brasileira. Piracicaba, Associao Brasileira para Pesquisa da Potassa e do Fosfato, 2004. p.157-200.
SOUSA, D.M.G., REIN, T.A.; GOEDERT, W.; LOBATO, E.; NUNES, R.S. Fsforo. In: PROCHNOW,
L. I.; CASARIN, V.; STIPP, S.R., eds. Boas prticas
para uso eficiente de fertilizantes: nutrientes, v.2.
Piracicaba, IPNI, 2010. p.71-132.
SOUSA, D.M.G.; REIN, T.A.; LOBATO, E. Solubilidade e eficincia agronmica de fosfatos naturais
reativos avaliados com a cultura da soja em um
latossolo de Cerrado. In: FALEIRO, F.G.; FARIAS
NETO, A.L. Simpsio Nacional sobre o Cerrado, 9 /
Simpsio Internacional sobre Savanas Tropicais, 2.
Menes honrosas. Planaltina, Embrapa Cerrados;
Braslia, Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2009.
p.232-237.
SOUSA, D.M.G.; REIN, T.A.; LOBATO, E.;
SOARES, W.V. Eficincia agronmica de fosfatos
naturais reativos na regio dos cerrados. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE CINCIA DO SOLO,
27, Braslia, 1999. Annals... Planaltina, Embrapa
Cerrados, 1999. CD-ROM.
(a)
(b)
Figure 1. (a) Relationship between the 2% citric acid solubility of seven RPRs broadcast and incorporated in the first year and their
relative agronomic effectiveness (RAE) during six years with soybeans. (b) Relationship between RAE calculated from the cumulative
yields during the first three years and solubility in 2% citric and formic acids (Source: adapted from Sousa et al., 2009).
Lectures
61
Figure 2. Soybean yields in response to triple superphosphate (TSP) and Gafsa phosphate rock (RPR) broadcast (B) or applied in
the seed furrow (F) at 80 kg/ha/year P2O5 during nine years in a clayey oxisol under conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) systems
(Source: D.M.G. Sousa and R.S. Nunes, unpublished data).
62
THE EFFICIENCY OF NATURAL PHOSPHATES

IN TROPICAL AGRICULTURE
S. H. CHIEN1
1
Formerly with International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), P. O. Box 2010, Muscle
Shoals, Alabama 35630, USA (nchien@comcast.net)
Introduction

In many acid soils in the world, especially
in the tropics, soil fertility limitations constrain successful crop production. These soils usually are low
in plant-available P. These soils frequently have a
high P-fixing capacity that can result in a low efficiency of water-soluble P (WSP) fertilizers by crops.
Application of un-acidulated phosphate rock (PR)
to soil can be an attractive alternative to more expensive WSP fertilizers in some circumstances.
Considerable research on the use of PR for direct
application has been reported in literature. This report reviews the important factors that influence the
agronomic effectiveness of PR.
Source of Phosphate Rock

The best predictor of the agronomic performance of PR is solubility, which is normally measured
with neutral ammonium citrate (NAC), 2% citric acid
(CA), or 2% formic acid. The solubility of PR reflects
the chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the
specific P minerals. The principal mineral in most PR
sources is apatite, but this varies widely in physical,
chemical, and crystallographic properties.

In general, the NAC solubility increases as
CO3-2 substitution for PO4-3 in the apatite structure
increases. The solubility of PR is known to correlate
well with crop response. In some PR sources such
as Bayovar (Peru), additional substitution of OH- for
F- in apatite structure occur that further increases
PR solubility. Table 1 shows examples of empirical
formulae of apatite and solubility.

The solubility of PR generally increases
with decreasing particle size. However, the agronomic effectiveness of ground and unground of
highly reactive PR sources does not strictly follow
the solubility pattern. For example, the solubility of
unground PR (-0.5 mm) from North Carolina (USA)
is less than that of the ground PR (-0.15 mm), but
their agronomic effectiveness is similar under field
conditions (Chien and Friesen, 1992). A solubility
database of many PR sources around the world

has been compiled by Smalberger et al. (2006).
Soil Properties
Soil pH

Among the soil properties, pH has the greatest influence on the agronomic effectiveness of PR.
Chien (2003) reported that the relative agronomic
effectiveness (RAE) of a highly reactive Gafsa PR
(Tunisia) compared to TSP (RAE = 100%) increases
as soil pH decreased in 15 soils with widely varying
properties. However, soil pH alone was able to explain only 56% of variability of RAE in this study. By
also considering the clay content (related to soil pH
buffering capacity and cation ion exchange capacity), it is possible to explain 74% of variability of RAE.
Since pH is a logarithmic scale of acidity, the agronomic effectiveness of PR sharply decreases at soil
pH increases above 5.5, therefore PR application is
not generally recommended above this pH.
Soil P-fixing capacity

The release of P from PR generally increases with a greater P-fixing capacity of the soil.
Adsorption and precipitation of soluble P provide
a sink that favors PR dissolution. However, as the
soil Pfixing capacity increases, the concentration of
soluble P released from PR may initially decrease
more rapidly than that from WSP sources, despite
the fact that the dissolution of PR increases with an
increase of soil Pfixing capacity. The negative effect
of soil P-fixing capacity on RAE of PR may only
apply to the initial P effect for short-term crops. For
long-term crops or residual short-term crops, RAE
of PR compared to WSP tends to increase with increasing soil P-fixing capacity. The RAE of all PR
sources varying in reactivity increased from the first
bean crop to the third crop grown on an Andosol
which has a high P-fixing capacity (Chien, 2003).
This is due to the fact that (1) the residual effect of
TSP decreased rapidly in the soils with high P-fixing
Lectures
capacity and (2) slow dissolution of PR in the soils

with time.
Presence of calcium and organic matter

Since dissolution of PR also releases Ca,
soils with high initial Ca content typically have slower PR dissolution, according to the mass action law.
For many tropical acid soils, exchangeable Ca is
low and thus provides favorable conditions for PR
dissolution. The positive influence of soil organic
matter on increasing the agronomic effectiveness
of PR has also been reported (Chien, 2003). Formation of a chemical complex between soil organic
matter and Ca+2 ions, resulting in enhanced dissolution of PR is considered the mechanism for this
effect.
Management Practices

The most effective way to apply PR is
broadcast it onto the soil, followed by incorporation
with tillage. This technique maximizes the reaction
of PR with the soil and minimizes interaction between PR particles. Band application of PR is not
recommended because it limits the contact of PR
particles with the soil, resulting in reducing PR dissolution (Chien, 2003a).

Management of PR application for flooded
rice requires special attention because soil pH generally increases upon flooding. The agronomic effectiveness of reactive PR can be drastically reduced when
the PR is applied at or after flooding the soil, whereas
the PR can perform well when it is applied to the soil 2
weeks before flooding (Chien, 2003).

Adding limestone to acid soils is a common practice to raise soil pH and decrease Al toxicity. However, the increased pH and additional Ca
from the lime are both detrimental to PR dissolution. Therefore, liming practices should balance the
need to alleviate the Al toxicity with reducing PR
dissolution (Chien and Friesen, 1992). It is recommended that liming to increase soil pH be limited
to pH 5.2-5.5, in order to optimize the agronomic
effectiveness of PR.
Crop Species

The usefulness of PR as a nutrient source
varies with the crop species. In general, the effectiveness of PR is higher for long-term or perennial
63
crops than for short-term or annual crops. PR has

been used extensively for many tree crops in Asia,
including rubber, oil palm, and tea. Use of PR for
perennial pastures has been successful too.
Acidification in the plant rhizosphere accounts for
the differences in some crop species to utilize PR.
In a study using different plant species, Bekele et al.
(1983) found that Gafsa PR (Tunisia) was equivalent to TSP for buckwheat, which produced much
lower rhizosphere pH than did other plant species.

Among the crop species, rape (canola) is
known to be efficient in utilizing PR. Root exudation of organic acids is thought to contribute to PR
dissolution. Habib et al. (1999) reported that rape
was able to utilize a medium-reactive Ain Layloun
PR (Syria), even in calcareous soils. Subsequently,
Chien et al. (2003) found that the RAE of nine PR
sources for rape grown on an alkaline soil (pH 7.8)
increases from 0% to 88% as the 2% citric acid
(CA) solubility of PR increases from 2.1% to 13.1%
P2O5.
Use of Phosphate Rock for Organic

Farming

A new use of PR involves direct soil application in organic farming systems. The success of
PR for organic crop nutrition largely depends on its
reactivity in the soil. The total P2O5 content provided on the package label is irrelevant to PR reactivity
in the soil. In fact, most igneous PR sources are
high in P2O5 content (>34%) but very low in reactivity due to minimal CO3/PO4 substitution in apatite mineral structure, and therefore not suitable for
direct application in organic farming (Chien et al.,
2009).

Factors affecting the effectiveness of PR
for organic farming should be considered more or
less the same way as for conventional farming. One
exception is when PR is added during composting,
where conditions may result in an alkaline, instead
of acidic environments (Chien et al., 2009) and the
chelation of organic matter with Ca ions derived
from apatite may be important.
Phosphate Rock Decision Support

System (PRDSS)

Hundreds of global agronomic trials with
PR have been integrated into a single tool to predict
64
its agronomic effectiveness in specific situations.

The International Fertilizer Development Center
(IFDC), in collaboration with FAO/IAEA, developed
and published a PRDSS model for PR sources
(Smalberger et al., 2006; >http://www-iswam.iaea.
org/dapr/srv/en/dapr/home<. The PRDSS can be
used in making decisions between use of WSP fertilizers and PR to meet crop nutrition needs. The
PRDSS also provides assistance to determine conditions where the use of PR is more economical
than WSP as a source of plant nutrients.
Conclusions

The use of PR for crop production can be
agronomically and economically as effective as or
more effective than WSP fertilizers in some circumstances. Unlike WSP fertilizers, which can be widely used, there are specific factors including the reactivity of PR sources, soil properties, management
practices, and crop species, that must be taken into
account in order to maximize the utilization of PR.
Use of the PRDSS model is an effective means to
predict the best use of this resource.
Keywords: Phosphate rock, solubility, soil pH, crop
species, agronomic effectiveness
References
Bekele, T. B., P. A. Cino, A. A. Ehlert, A. van der
Maas, and A. Van Diest. 1983. An evaluation of
plant-borne factors promoting the solubilization of
alkaline rock phosphate. Soil Plant 75:361-378.
Chien, S. H. 2003. Factors Affecting the Agronomic

Effectiveness of Phosphate Rock for Direct Application. In Direct Application of Phosphate Rock and
Related Technology: Latest Development and Practical Experiences, pp.50-62, (S. S. S. Rajan and S.
H. Chien, ed.). Special Publications IFDC-SP-37,
IFDC, Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Chien, S. H., and D. K. Friesen. 1992. Phosphate
Rock for Direct Application, In: Workshop on Future
Directions for Agricultural Phosphorus Research,
pp. 47-52, TVA Bull. Y-224. Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, U.S.A.
Chien, S. H., G. Carmona, J. Henao, and L. I.
Prochnow. 2003. Evaluation of rape response to
different sources of phosphate rock in an alkaline
soil. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 34:1825-1835.
Chien, S. H., L. I. Prochnow, and H. Cantarella.
2009. Recent development of fertilizer production
and use to increase nutrient efficiency and minimize
environmental impacts. Adv. Agron. 102:261-316.
Habib, L., S. H. Chien, G. Carmona, and J. Henao.
1999. Rape response to a Syrian Phosphate rock
and its mixture with triple superphosphate on a
limed alkaline soil. Commun. Soil Sci.Plant Anal.
30:449-456.
Smalberger, S. A., U. Singh, S. H. Chien, J. Henao,
and P. W. Wilkens. 2006. Development and validation of a phosphate rock decision system. Agron. J.
98:471-483.
Table 1. The solubility and empirical formula of apatite in some PR sources.
PR Source1
N. Carolina, U.S.A.
Gafsa, Tunisia
C. Florida, U.S.A.
Tennessee, U.S.A.
Patos Brazil
Jamarkotra, India
Lumphun, Thailand
Bayovar, Peru
1
2% CA2,% P2O5
15.9
12.7
9.7
3.7
2.5
1.8
14.7
15.1
Finely ground (<0.15 mm or 100 mesh), 22% citric acid
Apatite Empirical Formula

Ca9.53Na0.34Mg0.13(PO4)4.77(CO3)1.23F2.49
Ca9.54Na0.32Mg0.12(PO4)4.84(CO3)1.16F2.46
Ca9.74Na0.19Mg0.07(PO4)5.26(CO3)0.74F2.30
Ca9.85Na0.11Mg0.04(PO4)5.54(CO3)0.46F2.18
Ca9.96Na0.03Mg0.01(PO4)5.88(CO3)0.12F2.05
Ca10(PO4)6F2
Ca10(PO4)6F0.57OH1.43
Ca9.03Na0.74Mg0.13(PO4)4.88(CO3)1.12F1.23OH0.72
Lectures
65
FERTILIZER-USE TECHNOLOGIES THAT MINIMIZE

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ANDREW SHARPLEY1
1
Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciecnes, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
(sharpley@uark.edu)
Introduction
Nutrient source management

The accelerated eutrophication of freshwaters and to a lesser extent some coastal waters is
primarily driven by phosphorus (P) inputs. While efforts to identify and limit point source inputs of P
to surface waters have seen some success, nonpoint sources have remained elusive and more difficult to identify, target, and remediate. Attention has
focused more on nonpoint source reduction, particularly the role of agriculture. This attention has
heightened over the last 10 years due to the fact
that impaired water quality has not seen as great
an improvement as expected after adoption of conservation practices. Thus, there has been a shift to
targeted management of critical sources of P loss in
a given watershed.

Careful nutrient management planning on a
field-by-field and farm basis is a major component
of any remedial action plan to minimize the risk of
nutrient loss from agricultural lands. This basically
follows the traditional 4R nutrient management
approach, which is adding P at the Right rate to
match crop needs, in the Right form, at the Right
time, and in the Right place (Figure 2).

There have been tremendous changes
and growth of agricultural production systems in
most developed countries, with crop and animal
operations evolving into spatially separate production systems. In Brazil there has be a 4.5-fold
increase in fertilizer P use on agricultural lands
since 1975 (Figure 1). Along with this, there
has been a 128% increase in the amount of P
produced in manure by beef, 13% increase for
swine, and 88% increase for poultry numbers
(BIGE, 2014). While grazing based beef production is an extensive system where the manure
is deposited over grazed pastures, confined or
housed swine and poultry are intensive systems,
producing large amounts of manure in localized
areas. The large increase in size and number of
animal production systems creates localized surpluses of P-rich manure because of the major input of nutrients in animal feed from grain-producing areas. This accumulation leads to an overall
increase in the risk of P runoff. Management of
fertilizer to maximize grain and livestock production, while minimizing environmental impacts has
evolved into nutrient source management and
conservation management strategies (Figure 2).
The Right Rate

Fertilizer P rates are usually established by
crop need and modified by the amount already in
the soil, as determined by established soil test P
methods. In the case of commercial fertilizer P, applications can be tailored to match crop needs and
minimize excessive soil P accumulation, because
an economic disincentive exists to avoid applying
too much costly fertilizers.
The Right Form

Fertilizer nutrients can be formulated to
match crop needs; however, manures have more
P than N compared with crop needs. For instance,
the ratio of N:P in manure (2 to 4:1) is three to four
times lower than that taken up by major grain and
hay crops (8:1). As a result, application of manure
to meet crop N needs, applies three to four times
more P than the crop needs annually. Repeatedly
applying N-based manure will increase soil P levels
and the risk of P runoff. On the other hand, application of manure to meet crop P needs will apply insufficient N, putting an economic burden on farmers
to purchase costly mineral N.
The Right Time

Many studies show the loss of P in runoff relates directly to the rate and frequency of
applied P (Sharpley et al., 2007). Avoiding applications within a few days of expected rainfall
can minimize runoff losses due to the sorption
of added P with soil. While soil P is important in
determining P loss in surface runoff, the rate and
frequency of applying P to soil can override soil P
66
in determining P loss (Sharpley et al., 2007).

The Right Place

Because of the relative immobility of P in
soil, placement of fertilizer P generally is more critical for plant availability than in the case of fertilizer
N. The incorporation of manure into the soil profile,
either by tillage or subsurface placement, reduces
the potential for P runoff. For example, Mueller et
al. (1984) showed incorporation of dairy manure by
chisel plowing reduced total P loss in runoff from
corn 20-fold, compared to no-till areas receiving
surface applications.
Conservation and transport

management

Transport management refers to efforts to
control the movement of P from soils to sensitive locations such as bodies of fresh water. Phosphorus
loss via surface runoff and erosion may be reduced
by conservation tillage and crop residue management, buffer strips, riparian zones, terracing, contour tillage, cover crops and impoundments (e.g.,
settling basins). These practices tend to reduce
rainfall impact on the soil surface, reduce runoff volume and velocity, and increase soil resistance to
erosion. However, none of these measures should
be relied on as the sole or primary practice to reduce P losses in agricultural runoff.
Legacies of past management

Past land use or land management activities
can lead to a long-term legacy of P in watersheds,
stored in surface soils, ditches, riparian zones, wetlands, stream, and lake sediments (Figure 3). The
stored P can be subsequently re-released as the P
storage capacity gradually becomes saturated, or
after a change in land use, or land management.
Lag times associated with release of P from legacy
P stores may help explain difficulties in detecting
water quality improvements at a watershed scale.
For example, where soil test P levels have risen to
more than 10 times crop sufficiency levels, it can
take a decade or more to draw down soil P reserves to levels where dissolved P in runoff is substantially reduced.

Beyond the field boundary, legacy and water quality response times are variable and highly
dependent on sediment and water residence times.
Legacy P and the associated time lags for recovery,

often mask the effectiveness of conservation measures on the quality of receiving water. However, by
developing watershed-scale monitoring that identifies local-scale improvements and associated time
lags in water quality as they occur, watershed planners can start to better understand and plan mitigation strategies.
Conclusions

The broken cycle of P from mining, fertilizer
production, and land application as an essential
plant nutrient to the remediation, recovery, reuse,
and recycling of P (the new 4Rs) in human waste,
livestock manure, and food waste is the underlying problem limiting sustainable P use and is the
root cause of P related use-impairments of water
from accelerated eutrophication. Thus, increasing
the efficiency of P use within agricultural systems
that include intensively concentrated and spatially
separated livestock and arable operations is a critical component of closing the broken P cycle.
Keywords: Conservation management, eutrophication, fertilizer use, manures, soil runoff, watershed
management.
References
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.
2014. http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/listabl.asp?z=t&c=73
Mueller, D.H., R.C. Wendt, and T.C. Daniel. 1984.
Phosphorus losses as affected by tillage and manure application. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 48:901-905.
Sharpley, A.N., S. Herron, and T.C. Daniel. 2007.
Overcoming the challenges of phosphorus-based
management in poultry farming. J. Soil Water Conser. 62:375-389.
Sharpley, A., H.P. Jarvie, A. Buda, L. May, B. Spears,
and P. Kleinman. 2013. Phosphorus legacy: Overcoming the effects of past management practices to
mitigate future water quality impairment. J. Environ.
Qual. 42:1308-1326.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research
Service, 2013. Fertilizer use and prices. Available
at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/fertilizeruse-and-price.aspx#
Lectures
67
Figure 1. Fertilizer P consumption in Brazil and

U.S. and P produced by livestock annually. Data
from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics,
2014 and U.S. Department of Economic Research
Service, 2013.
Figure 2.
4R nutrient source
management and conservation
management of phosphorus in
agricultural production systems.
Figure 3. Conceptual representation of natural, managed,

soil and BMP processes influencing the lag time for system
response.
68
NITROGEN FERTILIZER SOURCE AND MANAGEMENT EFFECTS

ON NITROUS OXIDE EMISSIONS
ARDELL D. HALVORSON
U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2150 Centre Ave, Bldg. D, Ste. 100, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526 USA
(ardell.halvorson@ars.usda.gov)
Introduction

Agriculture contributes ~75% of U.S. total nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (Cavigelli et al.,
2013) as well as being a major contributor in many
other countries around the World. Applying N fertilizers (inorganic and organic) generally increases
N2O emissions from cropping systems. Nitrous
oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes
to depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and
to global warming. The global warming potential
of N2O is ~296 times greater than CO2. Nitrogen
fertilizer source can influence N2O emissions from
cropping systems and may be a management tool
to mitigate N2O emissions (Halvorson et al., 2014).
A meta-analysis by Akiyama et al. (2010) of 35 field
research projects (113 observations) evaluating nitrification inhibitors (NI) and polymer-coated fertilizers (PCF) showed that including a NI with a conventional N source reduced N2O emissions ~38%
consistently across sites. PCFs reduced N2O emissions ~35% averaged across soil and land-use type,
but showed contrasting results. Recent research in
Colorado USA shows that some enhanced-efficiency N fertilizer sources can reduce N2O emissions
up to 70% under sprinkler irrigation in a semi-arid
climate compared to urea (Halvorson et al., 2014).
Limited information is available on how management of N sources might affect N2O emissions, with
contrasting results reported in the literature. Developing management practices to reduce N2O emissions from agricultural cropping systems is important. Limited research shows contrasting results for
N source effects on N2O emissions. The objective
of this paper is to present results found in recently
published literature from field studies showing how
N source and management may affect N2O emissions from cropping systems.
products with characteristics that allow increased

plant uptake and reduce the potential of nutrient
losses to the environment (e.g. gaseous losses,
leaching, or runoff) when compared to an appropriate reference product. They are soluble fertilizer products before treatment by reaction, coating,
encapsulation, addition of inhibitors, compaction,
occlusion, or other means to make them an EEF
(Halvorson et al., 2014). Examples of enhanced
efficiency N fertilizers (EENF) are: Controlled-release, polymer-coated urea (PCU) such as ESN
or Polymer Sulfur Coated Urea (PSCU); Stabilized
urea containing urease and nitrification inhibitors,
such as SuperU; S-coated urea, a coated slowrelease urea; Anhydrous NH3 containing nitrapyrin,
a nitrification inhibitor, making it a stabilized EENF;
urea-ammonium nitrate (UAN)+AgrotainPlus, a
stabilized solution containing urease and nitrification inhibitors; Urea + DMPP, a nitrification inhibitor; UAN + Nitrapyrin; and UAN+Nfusion, a slow
release fertilizer.
Common Urease and Nitrification

Inhibitors

Two common urease inhibitors are:
NBPT [N-(n-butyl)-thiophosphorictriamide] and
hydroquinone. Common nitrification inhibitors include: DCD (dicyandiamide); nitrapyrin [2-chloro6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine]; DMPP (3,4-dimethyl
pyrazole phosphate); Ca-carbide; thiosulfate; and
neem.
Nitrogen Source Effects on N2O

Emissions
Definition of Enhanced Efficiency

Fertilizer (EEF)

Generally, anhydrous ammonia (AA) applied to corn results in greater N2O emissions than
with urea and UAN (Fernandez et al., 2014; Venterea et al., 2005, 2010; Fujinuma et al., 2011). Fernandez et al. (2014) found urea had 24% lower N2O
emissions than AA, and emissions from ESN were

Definition by Association of American Plant
Food Control Officials (AAPFCO, 2-13): fertilizer
39 and 20% lower than from AA and urea, respectively, in Illinois USA. Venterea et al. (2005, 2010)
Lectures
69
reported N2O emissions from AA were 2 to 4 fold

greater than from broadcast incorporated urea and
UAN in Minnesota USA. Other studies in Canada
have shown no differences between AA and urea at
lower N rates.

The source of N fertilizer often affects the
rate at which N2O is emitted from the soil, as shown
in the Figure 1 from work of Halvorson and Del
Grosso (2012) in Colorado USA. The conventional
fertilizers urea and UAN emit N2O within days after
application at a faster rate than for the enhancedefficiency N fertilizers (EENF) ESN, SuperU (contains NBPT+DCD), and UAN+AgrotainPlus (contains NBPT + DCD). N2O emissions from ESN
was slower than from the other fertilizers, however, subsurface banding ESN (ESNssb) resulted in
urea and 94 to 100% by applying DMPP with urea.

Application of a polymer sulfur coated urea (PSCU)
to the sugarcane resulted in a 35-46% increase
in N2O emissions compared to conventional urea
alone.

Migliorati et al. (2014) found that DMPP applied with urea reduce N2O emissions 38% compared
to conventional urea applied to wheat at 80 kg N/ha
and 69% compared to urea applied at 160 kg N/ha to
maize in a wheat/maize cropping system under subtropical conditions near Brisbane, Australia.

Omonode and Vyn (2013) tested a newly
available water-soluble nitrapyrin (Instinct) applied
with UAN to a corn crop on a moderately welldrained silt loam soils in Indiana USA (2 yr study).
They found that nitrapyrin applied with UAN at 200
higher emissions than from ESN surface banded in

a no-till corn production system. Using 2010 data
from the Halvorson and Del Grosso (2012) study,
the number of days it took to reach 80% of the total growing season N2O emissions was: urea 24d,
UAN 23d, UAN+AgrotainPlus 40d, SuperU 46d,
ESN 70d, and ESNssb 65d. This demonstrates
how various N sources affect N2O emissions from
a no-till, irrigated corn production system in a semiarid climate. Halvorson et al. (2014) summarized
N2O emissions data from N source studies (EENF
vs urea and UAN applied at 202 kg N/ha) conducted in Colorado USA from 2007-2012. They found
that UAN had 35% lower N2O emissions than urea;
ESN had 42 and 14% lower emissions than urea
and UAN, respectively; SuperU had 46 and 21%
lower emissions than urea and UAN, respectively;
and UAN+AgrotainPlus had 61 and 41% lower
emissions than urea and UAN, respectively.

Hyatt et al. (2010) found that a preplant application of PCU at 270 kg N/ha to irrigated potato
crop resulted in lower N2O emissions than multiple
split applications of urea applied 4 to 5 time during
the growing season at lower N rates on a loamy
sand soil in Minnesota USA. They concluded that
N management practices using PCUs can maintain
potato yields, reduce costs by not using split-applications, and reduce N2O emissions.

In a sub-tropical environment, Soares et al.
(2014) found that N2O emissions from urea applied
at 120 kg N/ha to sugarcane near Campina, Brazil
could be reduced 81 to 95% by applying DCD with
kg N/ha increased NH4-N retention 3 to 6 weeks in

the application zone and reduced N2O emissions
an average of 35% compared to conventional UAN
(28% N). In another Indiana study, Burzaco et al.
(2013) found that nitrapyrin applied with UAN (28%
N) to a corn crop lowered yield-scaled N2O emissions by 22% compared to UAN alone. Averaged
across 90 and 180 kg N/ha treatments, two application times, and 2 yr, nitrapyrin applied with UAN reduce growing season N2O emissions by 26% compared with UAN alone.

Other studies comparing EENFs with conventional N fertilizers in humid regions with high
SOC have shown no benefit from the EENFs in reducing N2O emissions. Sistani et al. (2011) found
no differences among inorganic N sources which
included EENFs applied at 168 kg N/ha, but did
find that N2O emissions from poultry litter applied to
rainfed no-till corn was greater than from inorganic
N sources in Kentucky USA. Parkin and Hatfield
(2014) also found no differences in N2O emissions
among EENFs and conventional N fertilizers (UAN
and urea) applied at 168 kg N/ha to rainfed, no-till
corn production systems in Iowa USA on a loam
with high SOC and highly variable growing season
rainfall patterns.
Nitrogen Placement Effects on N2O

Emissions

In a N placement and source study in Colorado USA, Halvorson and Del Grosso (2013) found
that surface banded N fertilizers had a 1.46 fold
70
greater N2O emissions than broadcast N when averaged over conventional urea, ESN, and stabilized
urea (SuperU) sources in an irrigated strip-till and
no-till corn production systems on a clay loam soil.
In this study, N2O emissions from urea were 1.48
and 1.74 fold greater than from ESN and SuperU,
respectively, when averaged across N placements.
Similarly, Maharjan and Venterea (2013) reported
that when conventional urea was applied using midrow banding, N2O emissions were 2 fold greater
than when urea was broadcast incorporated. When
ESN was the N source, mid-row banding increased
N2O emissions compared to broadcast incorporated
only in the wetter year. When SuperU was applied,
N2O emissions were low and not greatly affected by
N placement. Other studies not reported here have
shown no differences in N2O emissions between N
placement methods or more emissions with broadcast N placement that with band N placement.
Management of crop production practices and N

source selection is important for mitigating N2O emissions and N fertilizer impacts on global warming.
Keywords: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, N source, N placement
References
Akiyama, H., X. Yan, K. Yagi. 2010. Global Change
Biology 16:1837-1846.
Burzaco, J.P., D.R. Smith, T.J. Vyn. 2013. Environ. Res. Lett. 8 (11p) doi:10.1099/17489326/8/3/035031.
Cavigelli, M.A. et al. 2012. Front. Ecol. Environ.
10(10):537-546.
Fernandez, F.G., R.E. Terry, E.G. Coronel.
2014. J. Environ. Qual. In press. doi:10.2134/
jeq2013.12.0496.
Tillage System Effects on N2O

Emissions from N Fertilizers
Fujinuma, R., R.T. Venterea, C. Rosen. 2011. J.

Environ. Qual. 40:1806-1815.

Studies by Halvorson et al. (2010) found
58% lower N2O emissions from urea under no-till
(NT) than under conventional tillage (CT) irrigated
corn production in Colorado USA. Emissions from
urea and ESN were not different under CT, but
ESN had 49% lower emissions than urea under NT.
Venterea et al. (2005) also found greater emissions
from AA under CT than under NT. Other studies
have shown no differences in N2O emissions between tillage systems or more emissions with NT
than CT.
Halvorson, A.D., S.J. Del Grosso. 2012. J. Environ. Qual. 41:1349-1360.
Conclusions

Nitrogen source selection can significantly
affect N2O emissions from cropping systems.

Some EENF fertilizers have great potential
to reduce N2O emissions.
N2O emissions may vary considerably from
site to site and season to season with N application.

Soils, climates, precipitation distribution and
amount, N management practices, and crop production system can greatly affect N2O emissions.
Halvorson, A.D., S.J. Del Grosso. 2013. J. Environ. Qual. 42:312-322.

Halvorson, A.D., S.J. Del Grosso, F. Alluvione.
2010. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 74:436-445.
Halvorson, A.D.,C.S. Snyder, A.D. Blaylock, S.J.
Del Grosso. 2014. Agron. J. 106:715-722.
Hyatt, C.R., R.T. Venterea et al. 2010. Soil Sci.
Soc. Amer. J. 74:419-428.
Maharjan, B., R.T. Venterea. 2013. Soil Biol. Biochem. 66:229-238.
Migliorati, M.D., C. Scheer, P.R. Grace et al. 2014.
Agric. Ecosys. Environ. 186:33-43.
Omonode, R.A., T.J. Vyn.
105:1475-1486.
2013.
Agron. J.
Parkin, T.B., J.L. Hatfield. 2014. Agron. J. 106:694702.

Sistani, K.R., M. Jn-Baptiste, N. Lovanh, K.L. Cook.
2011. J. Environ. Qual. 40:1797-1805.
71
Lectures
Soares, J.R., H. Cantarella, V. Vargas et al.

2014. J. Environ. Qual. In press. doi:10.2134/
jeq2014.02.0096.
Venterea, R.T., M.S. Dolan, T.E. Ochsner. 2010.

Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. J. 74:407-418.
Cumulative Daily N2O flux (g N2O-N/ha)
Venterea, R.T., M. Burger, K.A. Spokas. 2005. J.

Environ. Qual. 34:1467-1477.
NT-CC, 202 kg N/ha, 5 May-29 Sept. 2009

Urea
1800
1600
N applied 19 May, DOY 139
1400
ESNssb
1200
SuperU
1000
UAN
800
ESN
UAN+AP
600
400
200
Check
0
121
151
181
211
241
J
A
S
Day-of-Year or Month
271
301
Figure 1. Source of N fertilizer affecting the rate at which N2O is limitted from the soil (Harlvorson and Del
Grosso, 2012)
72
AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF

N FERTILIZERS IN THE TROPICS: RELEVANCE OF LIFE-CYCLE
ASSESSMENT (LCA) APPROACHES
LUIS TORRES1, FRANK BRENTRUP1, ULRIKE LEBENDER1, JOO MAS2
1
Yara International ASA, Research Centre Hanninghof, Hanninghof 35, Duelmen, 48249, GERMANY (luis.torres@yara.com - frank.
brentrup@yara.com - ulrike.lebender@yara.com) ; 2Yara Brasil Fertilizantes, Av. Padre Cacique, 320, Porto Alegre, 90810-240,
BRAZIL (joao.macas@yara.com)
Introduction

The environmental footprint of crop pro-
duction in general, and of fertilizer use in particular,

includes several different processes such as nitrate
leaching, ammonia volatilization, or greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions, which in turn contribute to
different environmental effects
.
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches can be applied to analyse
the carbon footprint (CFP) of crop production, including fertilizer use. The CFP represents one aspect of the total environmental impact, which can be
defined as the total set of GHG emitted directly and
indirectly during the life cycle of products (Carbon
Trust, 2007). The analysis is based on an inventory and evaluation of all sources and sinks of GHG
emissions along the life-cycle of a product including
its manufacturing and use. This approach supports
the identification of hot-spots and development of
mitigation options (Brentrup et al. 2004). The agronomic performance as well as the GHG related environmental impact of main N fertilizers in selected
cropping systems of the tropics and subtropics is
reviewed. The CFP of corn production (soybeancorn rotation) for the agro-climatic conditions of
Brazil using either urea or ammonium nitrate (AN) is
assessed based on LCA principles and taking into
consideration fertilizer manufacturing technologies.
Materials and methods

The carbon footprint (CFP) of corn production (kg CO2 eqv/t grain)
using urea or ammonium nitrate (AN) was assessed up to farm gate,
and included: i) extraction and processing of raw
materials, ii) production and supply of seeds, pesticides and fertilizers, iii) on-farm activities (e.g. soil
tillage and crop protection), iv) grain yield and N
removal of crop produce, and v) direct and indirect
N emissions from soil, e.g. nitrous oxide (N2O) and
ammonia (NH3). The CFP calculations were performed considering: i) manufacturing technology for
urea (global average), and for ammonium nitrate

(AN) manufactured with/without best available technology (BAT, with catalyst abatement) (Jenssen &
Konghaug 2003), ii) manufacturing emissions from
other inputs were the same, iii) crop data based on
local literature (see references), iv) ammonia emis
sions for AN and urea (surface applied) were 1 and
30% of applied N, respectively (see references),
and v) N2O emission factor was set to 1% of applied
N for both fertilizer types (IPCC, 2007).
Results and discussion

The
use of AN for corn production is frequently reported to give higher yields as compared
to urea (increased average of about 6.8%, range
-10 to +23%), particularly when surfaced applied.
The advantage of AN is also reported in other crops
and agro-climatic systems (Fig. 1). Reasons for the
differences in the agronomic performances are
mainly related to the consistently lower NH3 volatilization losses from AN sources (Tab. 1). Reduced
rhizosphere acidification supporting root growth
and nutrients uptake can play a key indirect role
(Weligama et al. 2010). Information on direct soil
N2O emissions related to fertilizer N use, but particularly fertilizer type in the tropics is scarce but under
development (Stehfest & Bowman, 2006). Current
research shows that independently from the fertilizer N form applied, direct soil N2O emissions may
range from 0.06 to 6.7 % of total N applied, which
in turn strongly depends on soil type and climatic
condition (Signor et al., 2013, Steudler et al. 2002;
Zanatta et al. 2011).

The CFP was dominated by soil emissions,
followed by input manufacturing emissions (Tab. 2).
The CFP (kg CO2-eqv/t) of corn production using
AN (+BAT) was about 14% lower compared to urea.
From inputs manufacturing standpoint, the CFP using AN (+BAT) is fairly similar compared to urea.
The implementation of BAT reduces significantly
Lectures
the CFP for AN production by about 50% as compared to average technology (without BAT). In general, transport and on-farm activities had a relatively
minor impact on the total CFP.

The soil related-GHG emissions accounted
for the highest impact within the overall CFP (56-73
%) of corn production (Tab. 2). Lower soil related
CFP with AN was due to the increased yield/N uptake, and lower NH3 losses compared to urea. In
general, even though significant improvements in
fertilizer manufacturing have been achieved, emissions from soil still do represent a key hot spot to
focus on. Thus, any measure aiming at increasing
fertilizer and crop N use efficiency and reducing the
reactive nitrogen in agricultural systems will lead
to significant improvements of the CFP related to
crop production.
Conclusions

Mineral nitrogen fertilizers, depending on
their chemical and physical composition react differently in soils, thus can have distinct impacts on
crop yield and the environment.
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) approaches assess the environmental
footprint of product/process during its cycle (from
inputs production to final crop produce) aiming at
identifying hot-spots, thereby supporting implementation of mitigation options at both input manufacturing and agronomic level. In addition to the
manufacturing technology, both t
he GHG soil emissions, and the agronomic fertilizer N efficiency play
a key role in the CFP of crop production, and particularly the related soil GHG emissions represent a
priority target for mitigation option developments.
Keywords: Nitrogen, fertilizers, carbon footprint
References
Brentrup F., Kuesters J., Lammel J, Barraclough
P., Kuhlmann H. (2004). Investigation of the Environmental Impact of Agricultural Crop Production
using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Methodology. Part II: Application of the LCA methodology to
investigate the environmental impact of different N
fertilizer rates in cereal production. Europ. J. Agronomy 20, 265-279.
Cantarella H, Bolonhezi D., Gallo P., Martins A.,
73
Marcelino R. (2009). Ammonia volatilization and

yield of maize with urea tre
ated with urease inhibitor. 16th Nitrogen Workshop, Turin, Italy.
Cantarella H., Mattos D., Quaggio J., Rigolin A.
(2003). Fruit yield of Valencia sweet orange fertilized with different N sources and the loss of applied
N. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 67:215-223.
Cantarella H., Trivelin P., Contin T., Dias F., Rossetto R., Marcelino R., Coimbra R., Quaggio J. (2008).
Ammonia volatilisation from urease inhibitor-treated
urea applied to sugarcane trash blankets. Sci. Agric. (Piracicaba), 65: 397-401.
Faria L, Nascimento C., Vitti G., Luz P., Guedes E.
(2013).
Loss of ammonia from nitrogen fertilizers applied to maize and soybean straw. Rev.
Bras. Cinc. Solo, 37:969-975.
Fernandes A., Santinato R., Carvalho A., Silva R.
(2010).
Study of strategies to reduce losses of nitrogen in irrigated coffee. VIII Simpsio de Pesquisa
dos Cafs do Brasil, Novembro, Salvador BA.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
(2007). Technical Summary. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York,
NY, USA.
Jenssen T., Kongshaug G. (2003).
Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in fertilizer production. Proceedings International Fertiliser
Society 509, UK.
Kaneko F., Gitti D., Arf O., Vilela R., Anselmo J.,
Valderrama M. (2010). Fontes
e Modos de aplicao de Nitrognio na Cultura de Milho. XXVIII Congresso de Milho e Sorgo. Associao Brasileira de
Milho e Sorgo. Goiania-GO.
Lara-Cabezas A., Korndorfer G., Motta S. (1997).
NH3-N volatilization in corn crop: II-Evaluation of
solid and fluid sources under no-tillage and conventional systems. R. bras. Ci. Solo, Viosa, 21:489496.
Matiello, J., Santinato R., Garcia A., Almeida S.,
Fernandes D. (2010). Cultura de Caf no brasil.
Manual de Recomendaes. Ministrio da Agricultura, Pecuria e Abastecimento-SARC/PROCAFSPAE/DECAFFundao PROCAF.
74
Primavesi A., Primavesi O., Correa L., Cantarella

H., da Silva A., de Freitas A., Vivaldi L. (2004). Nitrogen fertilization in Coastcross grass: effects on
nutrient extraction and apparent nitrogen recovery.
R. Bras. Zootec.,33: 68-78.
Sanzonowicz C., Toledo P., Sampaio J., Guerra A.,
da Silva D. (2003) Abubao Nitrogenada em Caf
Decotado num Latossolo de Cerrado. Boletim de
Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento 104. Embrapa, Planaltina-DF.
Signor D., Cerri C. E. P., Conant R. (2013). N2O
emissions due to nitrogen fertilizer applications in
two regions of sugarcane cultivation in Brazil. Environ. Res. Lett., 8: 1-9.
Stehfest E, and Bouwman A. F. (2006). N2O and
NO emission from agricultural fields and soils under
natural vegetation: summarizing available measurement data and modeling of global annual emissions. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosyst., 74: 207-228.
Steudler P. A., Garcia-Montiel D. C., Piccolo M. C.,
Neill C., Melillo J. M., Feigl B. J., Cerri C. C. (2002).
Trace gas responses of tropical forest and pasture

soils to N and P fertilization. Global Biogeochem.
Cycles, 16: 102-108.
Vieira M., Mariano E., Leite J., Franco J., Trivelin P. (2010). Fontes alternativas de nitrognio na
adubao de soqueira de cana-de-acar em solo
coberto com palha. FertBio. Guarapari-ES, Brazil.
Vitti A., Trivelin P., Gava G., Franco H., Bologna I.,
Faroni C. (2007). Sugar cane yield as related to the
location of nitrogen fertilizers applied on top of unburnt sugarcane residues. Bras. Ci. Solo, 31:491498.
Weligama C., Tang C., Sale P., Conyers M. Liu D.
(2010). Application of nitrogen in NO3- form increases rhizosphere alkalisation in the subsurface soil
layers in an acid soil. Plant Soil, 333:403416.
Zanatta J., Bayer C., Vieira F., Gomes J. Tomazi M.
(2010). Nitrous oxide and methane fluxes in south
Brazilian gleysol as affected by nitrogen fertilizers.
R. bras. Ci. Solo, Viosa, 34: 1653-1665.
Figure 1. Relative crop yield differences of ammonium nitrate (AN=100%) in relation to urea in different cropping systems in Brazil.
Statistical differences at respective fertilizer N rates indicated by *(P<0.05) or ns (P>0.05) (see references).
Lectures
75
Table 1. Ammonia volatilization losses of urea and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources applied to soil surface in different
cropping systems in Brazil (see references).
Fertilizer types
Urea (global)
AN (+BAT)
AN (-BAT)
Manufacturing
Transport and on-field
Direct and indirect soil
(% of total)
activities (% of total)
emissions (% of total)
Total
---------------------------------- kg CO2-eqv/t corn grain --------------------------------------64.2 (19)
27.2 (8)
253.0 (73)
344.4
62.5 (21)
27.6 (9)
206.7 (70)
296.7
132.2 (36)
27.6 (8)
206.7 (56)
366.5
Table 2. Carbon footprint of corn production using urea (manufactured with global average technology) or using
ammonium-nitrate (AN) with/without best available technology (+/- BAT) (own calculation).
Fertilizer types
Urea (global)
AN (+BAT)
AN (-BAT)
Manufacturing
Transport and on-field
Direct and indirect soil
(% of total)
activities (% of total)
emissions (% of total)
Total
---------------------------------- kg CO2-eqv/t corn grain --------------------------------------64.2 (19)
27.2 (8)
253.0 (73)
344.4
62.5 (21)
27.6 (9)
206.7 (70)
296.7
132.2 (36)
27.6 (8)
206.7 (56)
366.5
Oral
presentation
papers
Oral presentation papers
79
AGRONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF PREMIUM FERTILIZERS

HU ZHENG-YI1, WANG YANFEN1, HANEKLAUS SILVIA2, SCHNUG EWALD2
1
College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A, Yuquan Road, Beijing, 10049, China
2
Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Julius Khn-Institut, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKI), Bundesallee 50,
Braunschweig, Germany
Introduction

Fertilizer use is one source of pollution of
soils, water, and air. The main environmental concerns associated with fertilizer use are emission of
greenhouse gases, leaching of nitrate into groundwater, and surface run-off of nitrogen and phosphorus causing eutrophication of water bodies. A
solution to overcome these problems is the use of
premium fertilizers which improve nutrient use efficiency and minimize negative environmental impacts. The article reviews the available literature on
innovative premium fertilizers and production technologies, and summarizes agronomic responses of
selected crops to premium fertilizers.
Premium fertilizers and

production technologies

Several premium fertilizers have been developed and are applied in agriculture and horticulture. Prominent premium fertilizers and basics of
their production are introduced as follows.

Peptide nitrogen fertilizer: Soil biological
activity plays an important role in improving nutrient utilization. However, unfavorable agricultural
management practices often result in a decrease
of soil biological activity. The key material of peptide nitrogen fertilizers are peptides as they unfold
a strong biological activity in soils. Peptides are
produced from silkworm chrysalis bodies extracts
through specific enzyme catalysis after fermentation, separation and purification. Peptides are
mixed with metalloproteinases of urine previously
depleted of nitrate and ammonium nitrate. Then the
solution is evaporated to produce peptide nitrogen
fertilizer. Total N in the fertilizer product is reported
to be higher than 42%, and the total peptide content
> 0.4%.

Chitosan coated urea: In the past decades, many kinds of slow/control release urea fertilizers were developed such as sulfur coasted urea.
Chitosan coated urea is prepared using chitosan as
a coating material. The chitsoan accounts for 2-3%
in the fertilizer. Add 0.1 ml emulsifier to mixtures,

and then emulsify at 50-60 C under stirring at 180
rpm, subsequently add 2.5 ml formaldehyde, 1.9 ml
epoxy chloropropane for cross linking at 70 C. The
total N content is 45.2% in the chitosan coated fertilizer product.

Biochar coated urea: Application of biochar to soils has been reported to decrease the loss
of N by leaching and NH3 volatilization. We used
biochar as a coating material. The total N content
in biochar coated urea depends on the ratio of
urea:biochar, and may exceed 40% in the fertilizer
product.

Biological enzyme activated phosphate:
Low solubility of phosphate rock is the main reason
for the low utilization efficiency of P if directly applied to soils. Organic complex and low molecular
weight organic acids were reported to decompose
phosphate rock. A biological activator is the key
material for producing biological enzyme activated
phosphate. The activator is separated from wastes
collected in gourmet powder factory, sugar refinery,
and alcohol plants. The activator (20%) is mixed
with ground phosphate rock (80%) to produce biological enzyme activated phosphate.

Long-acting slow-release diammonium
phosphate: Humic like substances (HLS) are produced mixing fulvic acid, ammonium thiosulfate and
dicyandiamide. Ammonium phosphate, ammonium
chloride and HLS are mixed, and then sulfuric acid
and liquid ammonia are added to the mixture. At 7080 C granulates are formed, and then the product
is dried at 140 C. Total N and P2O5 is 4% and 39%
in long-acting slow-release diammonium phosphate.

Organic K fertilizer: Organic K fertilizer is
prepared by organic acids and potassium chloride.
Total K and organic matter content are reported to
be > 18% and 35% in organic K fertilizer.

Water-Absorbent Slow Release Nitrogen Fertilizers: In arid regions, soil moisture is
an important factor affecting the nutrient utilization
80
efficiency. Some fertilizers were developed in the

past years for the retention of water and the supply of nutrients. Urea, monoammonium phosphate,
potassium chloride or potassium sulfate is mixed.
Then trace elements, filler (dolomite fines) and water retention agent (acrylamide and ultra-high molecular weight polyacrylamide) are added to produce granulates.

High-efficient nano slow-release fertilizer: Nano control-released carrier is prepared using silicon hydroxyl apatite, concave-convex rod,
hydrotalcite, montmorillonite, titanium dioxide, calcite, kaolinite, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, and potassium acetate. High efficient nano
slow-release fertilizer is produced by humic acid,
wood vinegar liquid, molasses, bran, rape stem,
yield by 15.4%, and spinach yield by 14.8% when

compared to ordinary urea. Application of biochar
coated urea increased vegetable yield by 9%. This
effect was attributed to decreases of ammonia volatilization of 7-21% and N leaching of 25-28%, respectively. The fertilizer effect of biological enzyme
activated phosphate was reported to be equal to or
better than the ordinary superphosphate. Application of biological enzyme activated phosphate increased rice yield by 10%-15%. Many field trials
investigated effects of long-acting slow-releasing
diammonium phosphate on crop yield. The application of long-acting slow-release diammonium
phosphate showed increases of yield by 8-19.9%
in corn, 8.3-21% in rice, 8-12.4% in winter wheat,
8.4-11.7% in cotton, 13.5-23.4% in apple, 9-13.3%
rapeseed cake, wheat straw, microbial fermented

liquid, the mixture of inorganic NPK, pig manure,
nano control-released carrier.

Multidimensional field energy concentrated organic fertilizer: Produced by livestock
and poultry manure, a variety of compounds (potassium dihydrogen phosphate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, magnesium sulfate, cobalt chloride,
germanium dioxide, sodium selenite), and organic
surfactants originating from plant saponins, magnetite powder are added. Organic surfactants from
plant saponins were extracted from plants used in
traditional Chinese medicine (Rhizoma coptidis,
Radix bupleuri).

Light carbon nuclear fertilizer (carbon
dioxide capturing agent): Increasing the efficiency of CO2 uptake in crops by a CO2 capture agent
will supposedly improve the efficiency of photosynthesis and crop yield. The 20 kinds of amino acids is main ingredients for carbon dioxide capturing
agent. The carbon dioxide capturing agent is prepared from micro algae, yeast, sugar, amino acids,
exchanger, adsorbent, activator and others.
in cucumber, 10.9-17.5% in sugarcane, 8.6-11.9%

in soybean, 9.2%-15.3% in millet, 11.2-15.6% in
sorghum, and 6.6-14% in sunflower. The yield-increasing effect due to application of organic potash
fertilizer is 3-5 times higher than that of inorganic
potash fertilizer. Application of organic potash fertilizer showed increase of yield by 10-20% in cereal crops, 30-120% in vegetables, and 25-48% in
melon and fruit crops. The fertilization costs for the
carbon dioxide capturing agent are 20% lower than
for chemical fertilizers. Spraying carbon dioxide
capture agent resulted in 20-80% increases of vegetable and fruit yield.
Agronomic effects of selected crops

to premium fertilizers

Peptide nitrogen fertilizer was reported to
increase crop yield by peptide increasing the N utilization efficiency from 40% to 80%. Application of
chitosan coated urea increased green vegetable
Conclusions and research needs

Positive yield effects by application of premium fertilizer have been documented. The causal
reasons for such positive yield response of individual crops to different premium fertilizers are often not
fully understood. Some premium fertilizers showed
an increase of N and P utilization efficiency. Environmental effects of premium fertilizer need to be
investigated in order to exclude undesired negative
impacts, possibly caused by micro-plastic structures entering the food chain. The agronomic and
environmental assessment should be carried out on
regional scale.
Keywords: Climate change, eutrophication, nutrient use efficiency, recycled fertilizers, water holding
capacity
81
NATURAL PHENOLIC ALDEHYDES AS PLATFORMS FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL UREASE INHIBITORS
LUZIA V. MODOLO1, LVIA P. HORTA1, IVANILDO E. MARRIEL2, NGELO DE FTIMA3
1
Departamento de Botnica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, BRAZIL (lvmodolo@icb.ufmg.
br - liviaphorta@gmail.com); 2Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Milho e Sorgo, EMBRAPA, Sete Lagoas, MG, 35701-970, BRAZIL
(ivanildo.marriel@embrapa.br); 3Departamento de Qumica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270901, BRAZIL (adefatima@qui.ufmg.br)
Introduction
Methods

Urea is one of the most common nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture worldwide due to
its high nitrogen content, relatively low price and
easy management. Ureases are key enzymes for
the global nitrogen cycle, occurring in plants, fungi
and bacteria. This type of hydrolase speeds up by
one-hundred-trillion-fold the hydrolysis of urea to
yield ammonia and carbon dioxide (Krajewska et
Tested Compounds
al. 2009). Thus, ureases from soil microbiota rapidly

hydrolyzes the urea applied to crop fields, causing
significant nitrogen losses due to ammonia volatilization when this process occurs on soil surface
(Follmer, 2008; Artola et al., 2011).

Urease inhibitors can be used as an alternative strategy to slow down urea hydrolysis,
increasing the chances of incorporation of this nitrogen fertilizer to soil either by rain, irrigation or
mechanical operations (Junejo et al., 2011). In this
context, urease inhibitors have received considerably attention by their ability to modulate ammonia formation in soil from urea (Artola et al., 2011;
Kawakami et al., 2012).

Nature is unequivocally a great source of
bioactive compounds that exhibit a wide variety of
benefits to human beings and animals as well (Silva
et al., 2014; de Ftima et al., 2014). Indeed, the
investigation of the potential of plant-derived natural products as urease inhibitors can be valuable
for the discovery and development of new urease
inhibitors of agricultural interest. The focus of the
work presented here was to obtain four compounds
derived from the plant natural products protocatechuic aldehyde, syringaldehyde and vanillin as prototypes and test them for the potential to inhibit (in
vitro and in soil) ureases and improve plant growth
in the presence of urea as fertilizer.

The compounds used in this study were
synthetized in high purity grade in one step, in
which PAD1 and PAD2 are derived from protocatechuic aldehyde, VD from vanillin and SD from syringaldehyde according to Modolo et al. (2013).
In vitro Assays

In vitro tests were performed with jack bean
urease in reactions containing urea 10 mM in presence or absence of PAD1, PAD2, VD and SD at
1.6 mM. The inhibition mode exhibited by the compounds tested was investigated from reaction with
jack bean urease by using compounds at concentrations in the range of 200-1600 M. Ammonium
production was determined using the indophenol
method (Krajewska and Ciurli, 2005).
Soil and Soil-Plant System Assays

The concentration of phenolic aldehydes
derivatives necessary to inhibit the activity of soil
microbiota ureases by 50% (IC50) was determined
by incubating topsoil (0.5 g), classified as Haplustox
(Brazilian cerrado region) in the presence of 72 mM
urea and different concentrations of compoundstest. The relative growth rate was determined according to the formula RGR = [ln(Ht2)ln(Ht1)]/T,
where Ht2 and Ht1 are the final and initial height,
respectively, and T is is the number of days between the initial and final measurements, i.e. 26
and 55 days, respectively (Gunaratne et al., 2011).

The best urease inhibitor was further tested
in the system soil-Pennisetum glaucum to evaluate
its effect on plant growth supplemented with urea
as nitrogen fertilizer.
82
Acknowledgements

The compounds PAD1 and PAD2 were
the most potent urease inhibitors in in vitro assays,
among the compounds tested in vitro (enzyme inhibition higher than 96%). Compounds VD and SD were
still found as promising inhibitors as they negatively
affected urease activity by 55% and 69%, respectively.

The jack bean urease kinetics was affected
by all compounds tested as described in Table 1.
The plant-phenolic aldehyde derivatives were found
to be mixed inhibitors as they affected both Km for
substrate and enzyme Vmax (Table 1).

The IC50 values for PAD1 and SD in experiments with topsoil were 3 mM. We have failed to
determined the IC50 value for PAD2 due to great
variations in the results obtained from distinct ex-
This work was made possible by the Network for

the Development of Novel Urease Inhibitors (www.
redniu.org) which is financially supported by the
Brazilian agencies CNPq, CAPES and FAPEMIG.
periments. Then, it is believed that this compound

might be biotransformed by the soil microbiota
in varied extents as it occurs for the commercial
urease inhibitor N-(butyl)thiophosphoric triamide
(NBPT) (Kawakami et al., 2012). The maximum inhibition of soil microbiota ureases was 16% when
VD was applied at concentrations equal or higher
than 50 M. The system top soil-Pennisetum glaucum (millet) was then used to assess the effect of
compound PAD2 on plants. The growth rate of millet plants upon treatment with urea plus 0.5% or
1.0% PAD2 (w/w) was found to be higher than that
of plants supplemented with urea solely (Fig. 1).
Conclusions

The results indicated that the plant phenolic
aldehydes derivatives PAD1, PAD2, VD and SD inhibited the urease activity in both in vitro and soil
assays at different extents. The compounds function as mixed inhibitors and the use of PAD2 in soilmillet system supplemented with urea improved the
growth of such crop.
References
Artola E, Cruchaga S, Ariz I, Moran JF, Garnica M,
Houdusse F, Mina JMG, Mina JMG, Irigoyen I, Lasa
B, Aparicio-Tejo PM (2011) Plant Growth Regul
63:73-79.
de Ftima A, Terra BS, da Silva CM, da Silva DL,
Araujo DP, Silva-Neto L, Aquino RAN (2014) Recent Pat Biotechnol 8:76-88.
Follmer C (2008) Phytochemistry 69, 18-28.
Gunaratne AMTA, Gunatilleke CVS, Gunatilleke
IAUN, Madawala-Weerasinghe HMSP, Burslem
DFRP (2011) Forest Ecol Manag 262:229-236.
Junejo N, Khanif MY, Hanfi MM, Wan Yunus WMZ,
Dharejo KA (2011) Afr J Biotechnol 10(18):35043514.
Kawakami EM, Oosterhuis DM, Snider JL, Mozaffari M (2012) Eur J Agron 43:147-154.
Krajewska B (2009) J Mol Catal B: Enzym 59:9-21.
Krajewska B, Ciurli S (2005) Plant Physiol Biochem
43: 651-658.
Modolo LV, de Fatima A, Frana MGC, Horta LP,
Faria CVN, da Silva DL, Morais VSS (2013) National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI), Patent
# BR1020130173568, Brazil.
Silva FG, Horta LP, Faria RO, Stehmann JR, Modolo LV (2014) Recent Pat Biotechnol 8:89-101.
83
Table 1. Effect of plant-phenolic aldehyde derivatives on jack bean urease kinetics.
Compound
Concentration (M)
Km (M)
Vmax (mol min-1 mg prot-1)
0
200
400
0
400
800
0
800
1600
0
800
1600
6.3
7.4
10.0
5.7
7.8
8.7
4.8
7.2
6.1
5.6
6.8
7.1
3.1
2.4
2.1
2.2
1.1
0.7
3.1
2.4
2.0
4.2
2.7
2.0
PAD1
PAD2
VD
SD
Relative growth rate
0.4
Fertilizer-free
Urea
Urea
+
PAD2 0.25%
Urea
+
PAD2 0.50%
Urea
+
PAD2 1.00%
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.25%
0.50%
1.00%
PAD2 concentration (w/w)
Figure 1. Effect of compound PAD2 on the growth of millet plants supplemented with urea. Values represent means + standard error
of experiments performed with four replicates.
84
NUTRIENTS SYNERGISM AS A NEXT STEP IN

EFFECTIVE PLANT NUTRITION
POLTORADNEV M.1, ANDREEV A.2 AND GREBENNIKOVA T.3
1.
URALCHEM OJSC, Presnenskaya naberezhnaya, 10, Moscow, 123317, RUSSIA (maksim.poltoradnev@uralchem.com);
URALCHEM OJSC, Presnenskaya naberezhnaya, 10, Moscow, 123317, RUSSIA (anton.andreev@uralchem.com); 3.URALCHEM
OJSC, Presnenskaya naberezhnaya, 10, Moscow, 123317, RUSSIA (tatiana.grebennikova@uralchem.com)
2.
Introduction

Rapidly increasing world population and restricted land availability for crop cultivation pushes
agriculture to increase its productivity. New plant
varieties, characterized among others with greater
yields, have stepped into the breach of mankind. To
maintain crop yields on high level adequate nutrition
is required. The only possibility to deliver vital nutrients to the plant is through fertilizers application.
In the meantime unwanted environmental impacts
under arable land treatment should be minimized
or completely avoided. The production challenge
can be solved in environment-friendly way only with
complex approaches, i.e. through developing alternative methods and instruments, able to fulfill recent fertilization needs.

In 2013 total fertilizer use reached 177 million metric tons. Nitrogen containing fertilizers world
consumption during the same period amounted to
110 million metric tons, which is 62%. Among nitrogen containing fertilizers anhydrous ammonia,
urea and ammonium nitrate (AN) are on the leading
positions in world consumption. They can be called
pioneers, or traditional. Nevertheless, there are certain disadvantages in their use, related to physical
and chemical properties, limiting its assimilation efficiency by modern highly productive crop varieties.
Losses of nitrogen due to volatilization can be huge
(Stanley&Smith, 1955) in 10 to 40 days. Nitrate
losses through leaching, immobilization and volatilization could make up to 30%. To summarize, only
about half of all nitrogen inputs to arable land are
taken up by harvested crops and their residues.
Premium fertilizers

Nowadays, a broad range of newly developed efficient fertilizers are available. These are
fertilizers with inhibitors that lead to slow/controlled
release, coated fertilizers, chelate fertilizers, etc.
However, not each of them can be called a premium fertilizer. A premium fertilizer is a universal
fertilizer, able to eliminate nutrient deficiency prob-
lem, possessing higher agronomical and fertilizer

use efficiency as that of its obsolete analogs and,
thus, able to completely replace them.

NS 30:7 and SAN 33:3 are relatively new
fertilizers that can be called premium. Sulphur is in
readily available for plants sulfate form. Phosphorous contained in SAN 33:3 is especially required
by weakened plants after winter time and is particularly relevant at the first stages of root system
development. Both fertilizers aim to decrease nutrient losses at the initial phase of plant development,
when they require small amounts of nitrogen. Combination of nutrients allows to provide the developing plant with vital nitrogen, and give a powerful
charge for intensive growth, higher roots absorptive
capacity and enhance accumulation of basic and
micro elements.
Agronomical efficiency studies

Tests on NS 30:7 and SAN 33:3 agronomical efficiency were performed for different crops,
under different climate and soil conditions. Below
the results of experiments are presented.
Wheat

Wheat is the major world cereal crop. Its
growing area exceeds 200 million hectares (Heffer, 2013). Over 16% of total amount of fertilizers is
consumed by wheat. Wheat is extremely sensitive
and highly responsive to nitrogen application.

In Brazil, state Rio Grande do Sul, NS 30:7
was compared with traditionally used urea and ammonium sulphate (AS). Field trials were conducted under wheat cultivation during winter period
2013/2014. The top dress fertilization scheme of
the experimental plots consisted of 200 kg/ha and
240 kg/ha of NS 30:7 and UREA/AS for treatments
A and B respectively. Application rates were split in
the way that half of the fertilizer was broadcasted
during planting and another half at the stem elongation phase. At each plot basal fertilizer was also
provided shortly before winter wheat sowing. The
85
experiment resulted in higher grain yields at the

plots fertilized with NS 30:7 (Figure 1, A, B). The
difference was 8% and 5% in the case of treatment
A and B, respectively.

SAN 33:3 was compared with AN in Lithuania in 2011. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with 5 replications. Fertilization scheme included application of 120 kg/ha of
SAN 33:3 and 120 kg/ha of AN. Application rates
were split in two. The first top dress application was
done at the regrowth stage (N90), the second at
the stem elongation phase (N30). Winter wheat fertilized with SAN 33:3, contributed to achieve greater
grain yield than that under AN treatment, figure 2.

The decrease of nitrogen leaching is among
the reasons of higher agronomical efficiency when
sued an idea to compare NS 30:7 and AN. The

scheme and dosage of applied fertilizers were the
same each year and is described as follows: 80,
120 and 160 kg/ha. Due to additional sulfur nutrition
both seed and oil yield were higher in case of NS
30:7 treatments, compared to AN (Figures 4, 5). In
2009 and 2010 best results were obtained at plots
fertilized at a rate of 80 and 120 kg/ha. In 2013,
best results were observed when applying 160 kg/
ha. This happened due to optimum amount of water
received along the vegetation period.
using SAN 33:3 compared to AN. Nitrogen losses

are 11% lower under SAN 33:3 treatment as compared to AN treatment.
ronomical and fertilizer use efficiency resulting from

empirically derived nutrient ratio, synergistic effect
and decreased nitrogen losses from the active root
layer. The results, described above, evidence high
potential of premium fertilizers over the traditionally
used ones.
Corn

Corn is on the second place in the list of
world crop production areas. Corn planting area
reached 180 million hectares in 2013 (Heffer, 2013).

The trial was conducted in 2013 in Brazil,
Paran state. The main objective of the research
was to prove the efficiency of the NS 30:7 under
corn cultivation and compare it with traditionally applied fertilizers. At each field MOP (80 kg/ha) and
DAP (160 kg/ha) were basally applied. Three different nitrogen sources, UREA, AN and NS 30:7
were selected and top dress spread at equal rate
of 120 kg/ha The experiment resulted in the greatest corn yield under NS 30:7 treatment (Figure 3).
There was no difference observed in the quality of
corn cobs and grains among the treatments.
Oilseed rape

Oilseed rape is grown for the production of
animal feed, human consumption, vegetable oil and
biodiesel production. The growing area reaches 34
million hectares (Heffer, 2013).

The three year experiment was conducted
in Poland in 2009, 2010 and 2013. The trial pur-
Conclusions

NS 30:7 and SAN 33:3 are the newly developed fertilizers including all characteristics of premium fertilizer. Their benefit is based on improved ag-
References
Heffer P. 2013. Assessment of fertilizer use by crop
at the global level 2010-2010/11. International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) - 28, rue Marbeuf
- 75008 Paris - France
Stanley F., Smith G. 1956. Effect of Soil Moisture
and Depth of Application on Retention of Anhydrous
Ammonia. Soil Science Society of America Journal,
Vol.20 (4): 557-561
Hardy D., Osmond D., Wossink A. 2003. An overview of nutrient management with economic considerations. 1/03JL, North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, and local governments
cooperating.
Doerge T., Rothe R., Gardner B. 1991. Nitrogen
Fertilizer Management in Arizona. College of Agriculture, University of Arizona. 87 pages.
86
Figure 1. Winter wheat grain yield (kg/ha), established under NS 30:7 vs urea application (A) and NS 30:7 vs ammonium sulphate
(AS) (B).
Figure 2. Winter wheat grain yield (t/ha), established under

SAN 33:3 vs ammonium nitrate (AN) application.
Figure 3. Corn yield (kg/ha), obtained under NS 30:7 vs urea

and ammonium nitrate (AN) application.
Figure 4. Seed yield of rape (t/ha), established under NS 30:7 vs ammonium nitrate (AN) application in 2009 (A), 2010 (B) and 2013
(C).
Figure 5. Oil yield of rape (t/ha), established under NS 30:7 vs ammonium nitrate (AN) application in 2009 (A), 2010 (B) and 2013 (C).
87
USE NANOPARTICLES OF CU, MN, AND ZN TO SUPPRESS

SOILBORNE DISEASES OF EGGPLANTS AND TOMATOES
WADE ELMER 1, ALIA SERVIN2, AND JASON WHITE3
Department of Plant Pathology and Ecology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, P. O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT
06504 USA. Wade.Elmer@ct.gov; 2Department of Analystical Chemistry, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, P. O.
Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504 USA Alia.Servin@ct.gov; 3Department of Analystical Chemistry, The Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station, P. O. Box 1106, New Haven, CT 06504 USA, Jason.White@ct.gov
Introduction

Materials at the nanoscale or nanoparticles
(NP) possess unique chemical and physical properties not observed in equivalent bulk materials (1).
Although the effect and fate of NP in plants has
only begun to receive attention, the literature clearly
demonstrates enhanced availability and transport
as a function of nanometer particle size (2). NP of
these metal oxides applied foliarly may allow a slow
release of ions and/or particles that may be loaded
into the phloem for transport to susceptible root tissues. Our preliminary evidence shows that foliar
applied NP (Ag and Ag-Si) behave differently from
their bulk oxide equivalents and confer resistance
to foliar pathogens in tomato. Although the literature
indicates significant intra plant NP translocation
(2,3), there is no information on how NP micronutrients might affect root pathogens. The mechanisms
of NP absorption in plant leaves and roots could
significantly impact crop health, yield and plant disease management. Our goals were to first examine
NP of metal oxides of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn on
tomatoes for effect on growth and Fusarium wilt.
NP of Cu and Mn were then compared to their bulk
oxide equivalents for their effect on Fusarium wilt.
Last, field studies were conducted to compare NP
of Cu, Mn, and Zn to their bulk oxide equivalents for
their effect on eggplant growth, yield and Verticillium wilt disease suppression.
Methods

Greenhouse trials were conducted with
healthy transplants of tomatoes. Foliar applications
to the above ground tissue were made by immersing the shoots into NP suspensions of the metal
oxides Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mn, Si, Ti, or Zn at rates of 0,
100, or 1000 g/ml. Care was taken so as to avoid
root exposure to the element solutions. Plants were
planted into silica sand in 10 cm pots. For the root
application treatments, transplants received 50 ml
of 0, 100, or 1000 g/ml of the NP suspensions.

Plants received 20-20-20 NPK applied weekly. One
week after treatment, plants were inoculated with
the tomato wilt pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f.
sp. lycopersici. Disease severity was monitored
based on a scale of 1-6 and integrated over time
to provide an Area-Under-the-Disease-ProgressCurve (AUDPC). Studies followed where bulked
equivalents of Cu and Mn were compared to NP on
tomatoes subjected to the same protocols. Plants
were harvested after 6 weeks for biomass determination. Roots were digested in acid, and analyzed
for Cu and Mn levels by ICP-MS.

Field studies were conducted with eggplant
transplants in soil infested with Verticillium dahliae.
NP of Cu, Mn, and Zn were compared to equivalent
bulk oxides at 1000 g/ml. Four week old transplants were treated not allowing any of the suspension to get on the roots and set into plots (3 plant/
plot) spaced 1.2 M apart in rows 1.2 M apart. There
were five replicates per treatment. Plants received
standard fertilization regiments. Pathogen growth
and crop yield was monitored weekly by visually inspection and estimation of disease progression as
described previously.

In a greenhouse study, NP Cu and Mn
treatment was associated with significant disease
suppression in tomato (Figure 1).Conversevely, the
higher rates of NP of Al, Fe, and Ni treatment were
associated with increased disease progress estimates and may have had a toxic effect on tomatoes
(Figure 1). Greenhouse trials show that NP of Cu,
Mn, and Zn were associated with plants exhibiting
reduced disease progress days when compared to
controls. The higher concerntation of (1,000 g/ml)
was more more conducive to disease for NP of Al,
Fe, and Ni.

When NP Cu and Mn were compared to
88
bulked equivalents on tomatoes inoculated with the

wilt pathogen, disease development was lowest
on plants treated with NP (Table 2). Interestingly,
higher root levels of Cu were detected in the NP
Cu-treated plant than with the bulked equivalent or
controls, suggesting basipetal transport is associated with the NP application.

Integrated estimates of disease were higher
in field plots of eggplants treated with NP of Cu and
Zn than with their bulked oxide equivalents (Table
2). On the other hand, only NP of Cu increase the
canopy development and yield. The increased disease in larger plants has been noted before (4).
Conclusions

Our findings have found that NP can have
positive and negative effects on plant growth. NP

of Cu were more effective in suppressing soilborne
diseases than equal quantites of the equivalent
bulked Cu oxide or NP of other elements. One
mechanism that may explain the effect with NP of
Cu is increased basipetal translocation of Cu ions
to roots (5) where activation of host defense products like ligin and phenolic prodcuts may be operating to block infection (5). These findings suggest
the unique size of NP may favor their entry and
transport in plants and may have a role in disease
mangement.
Acknowledgements

I thank Peter Thiel and Craig Musante for
techncial assitance.
References
Roco, M.C.; Mirkin, C.A.; Hersam, M.C. 2011. Nanotechnology research directions for societal needs
in 2020. Springer, Science Policy Reports, New
York.
Stampoulis, D; Sinha, S.K.; White, J.C. 2009. Assay-dependent phytotoxicity of nanoparticles to
plants. Environ. Sci. Technol. 43:9473-9479.
De La Torre-Roche, R.; Hawthorne, J.; Musante,
C. ; Xing, B. ; Newman, L.A.; Ma, X.; White, J.C.
2013. Impact of Ag nanoparticle exposure on p,pDDE bioaccumulation by Cucurbita pepo (zucchini)
and Glycine max (soybean). Environ. Sci. Technol.
47:718-725.
Elmer, W. H., and Ferrandino, F. J. 1994. Comparison of ammonium sulfate and calcium nitrate fertilization effects on Verticillium wilt of eggplant. Plant
Dis. 78:811-816.
Wang, Z.; Xie, X.; Zhao, J.; Li, X.; Feng, W.; White,
J.C.; Xing, B. 2012. Xylem- and phloem-based
transport of CuO nanoparticles in maize (Zea mays
L). Environ. Sci. Technol. 46:4434-4441.
12
100 g/ml
1000 g/ml
Disease progress (days)
10
Control
Al
Cu
Fe
Mn
Ni
Zn
Figure 1. Effect of application of different NP of

metal oxides on disease progress estimates of
tomato inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
lycopersici. Error bars represent the standard error
of the mean.
89
Table 1. Comparison of NP of Cu and Mn to their bulked equivalents on estimates of Area Under the Disease progress
Curve (AUDPC) and root tissue levels of Cu and Mn in tomates inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici
Element
Untreated Control
Form
-
AUDPC
72
Cu (g/g dry weight)

0.20
Mn (g/g dry weight)

0.10
Cu
Cu
Bulked
NP
55
41
0.21
0.33
0.07
0.10
Mn
Mn
Bulk
NP
60
53
0.20
0.17
0.12
0.13
Table 2. Comparison of NP of Cu, Mn, and Zn to their bulked equivalents on estimates of the Area Under the Disease
progress Curve (AUDPC), plant canopy progress (PCP), and yield per plant of eggplant grown in soil infested with
Verticllium dahliae. Values followed by differing letters are significant different by Tukeys test at P = 0.05
Element
Untreated Control
Form
-
AUDPC
500 a
PCP
21.2 b
YD (kg)
2.91 a
Cu
Cu
Bulked
NP
521 a
898 b
22.6 bc
24.2 c
3.20 a
4.14 b
Mn
Mn
Bulk
NP
455 a
533 a
20.6 b
23.6 bc
2.46 a
2.95 a
Zn
Zn
Bulk
NP
401 a
645 b
17.5 a
18.3 a
3.17 a
2.67 a
90
THE EFFECT OF SILICON ON THE ORGANICALLY GROWN

CUCUMBER TRANSPLANTS GROWTH AND QUALITY
MARGIT OLLE
Estonian Crop Research Institute, J. Aamisepa 1, Jogeva alevik, 48309, ESTONIA (margit.olle@gmail.com)
Introduction
Methods

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant
element after oxygen in soil. Silicon dioxide comprises 5070% of the soil mass. All plants rooting in
soil contain some Si in their cells and tissues. Still
the role of Si in plant growth and development was
overlooked until the beginning of the 20th century
(Shakoor & Bhat, 2014). However large amounts
of field studies have shown that supplying crops
with adequate plant-available Si can suppress

The experiments in the greenhouse were
carried out in the spring 2014 at the Estonian Crop
Research Institute. In experiment cucmber Landora
F1 variety was grown. There were two treatments: 1.
stabilized silicic acid treatment; 2. control. Cucumber seeds were sown on 21 of March 2014 in plastic
trays and seedlings were grown in a heated glassgreenhouse. Seedlings were transplanted once into
individual pot (9 cm diameter), (10 of April 2014).
plant disease, reduce insect attack, improve environmental stress tolerance, and increase crop productivity (Heckman, 2013). Silicon plays important
roles in mitigating the biotic (insects, pests, pathogens) and abiotic (metal, salinity, drought, chilling,
freezing) stresses (Guntzer et al., 2012; Thilagam,
2014). Silicon application could therefore improve
crop production under extreme climate conditions
(Shakoor, 2014). Several reports have reviewed
the benefits of silicon application on crop growth,
but the mechanisms of silicon action have not been
systematically discussed (Zhu & Gong, 2014). As
silicon nutrition reverses the succulence induced
by high nitrogen and enhances crop growth and
yield silicon fertilizers based on silicate minerals,
ashes and slags have come into vogue (Vasanthi et
al., 2014). The application of stabilized silicic acid
is called the silicic acid agro technology (SAAT).
This technology has shown to be very effective on
almost every crop: increase of root system, loner
stem/tillers, increase of leaves resulting in more
yield and higher quality. The product is safe (as well
for the plant, the soil, the farmer as the consumer) and ecologically friendly. The purpose of the
investigations was to look the effect of Silicon on
the cucumber transplant quality, because only few
investigations have been carried out on cucumber
transplants treated with Silicon. Another aim was to
see whether there is an effect of Silicon so early in
plant development.
Seedlings and transplants were grown in Novarbo

B2 Organic Biolan substrate (lime content 6 kg/m3,
fertilizer content 1.0 kg/m3, fertilizer N-P-K 12-6-22,
pH neutral) for organic cultivation.
Silicic acid treatment was carried through as followed: First spray,
when plants were growing and when 1 real leaf was
present (7.04.14); second spray was 2 weeks after
spray 1 (21.04.14); third spray as 2 weeks after spray 2 (05.05.14). Sprays were followed: First
spray: 1ml silicic acid was solved in 0,5 liter clean
(demineralized water, pH neutral) water; second
spray: 2 ml silicic acid was solved in 1 liters clean
(demineralized water, pH neutral) water; third spray:
2 ml silicic acid was solved in 1 liter (demineralized
water, pH neutral) water. pH of spray solution was
5,5. Control plants were untreated. Each treatment
consisted of 16 plants, within that one plot consisted of 4 plants in four replications. The experiment
was repeated at the same time, i. e. in the second
experiment seeds were sown on 21 of March 2014
and results were gathered on 12 of May 2014. The
greenhouse lighting at a plant level was approximately 12000 lux from high pressure sodium lamps.
The plants were additionally lighted in the period of
18 hours (23.00 16.00). All plants were grown with
a minimum day and night temperature of 20 oC and
18 oC, respectively. On 12.05.2014 the height and
stem diameter were recorded. The contents of Nitrates, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium
and Magnesium were determined. Analyses of variance were carried out on the data obtained using
programme Excel.
Results

The height of cucumber transplants was
significantly 35% (in first experiment) higher and
plants looked more dark in silicic acid treatment in
both experiments compared to control treatment
(Figure 1). The stem diameter of cucumber transplants was significantly 27% (in first experiment)
larger in silicic acid treatment in both experiments
compared to control variant (Figure 1). The content
of nitrates in raw cucumber transplants was significantly 53% (in first experiment) higher in silicic acid
treatment in both experiments compared to control
treatment (Figure 2). The content of nitrogen in cucumber transplants dry matter was significantly 26%
(in first experiment) higher in silicic acid treatment
in both experiments compared to control treatment
(Figure 2). The content of Phosphorus in cucumber transplants dry matter was significantly 16% (in
first experiment) higher in silicic acid treatment in
both experiments compared to control treatment
(Figure 3). The content of Potassium in cucumber
transplants dry matter was not significantly different
in both experiments between different treatments
(Figure 3). The content of Calcium in cucumber
transplants dry matter was not significantly different
in both experiments between different treatments
(Figure 4). The content of Magnesium in cucumber
transplants dry matter was significantly 13% (in first
experiment) higher in silicic acid treatment in both
experiments compared to control treatment (Figure
4).
Discussion

The literature search so far have given
only very few publications studying the effect
of Silicon on the growth and almost no findings
about contents of mineral nutrients of transplants of cucumber. The height of cucumber
transplants was significantly higher and silicic
acid treatment compared to control. As there
was no information available about Silicon effects on cucumber transplants quality it will be
given information about Silicon effects on the
growth of cucumber mature plants. Similarly
Miyake &Takahashi (1983) found that application of silicate fertilizer promoted the growth of
cucumber mature plants. Silicic acid increased
91
the stem diameter of cucumber transplants.

The stem diameter of cucumber transplants
was significantly larger in silicic acid treatment
in both experiments compared to control variant. The larger the stem diameter is better, because the plant can obtain more nutrients from
soil through a thicker stem. This is in accordance with the results of present investigation,
because Si treatment increased the content of
Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Magnesium in cucumber transplants dry matter. Si gives a good
start to cucumber transplants because it enhances growth of transplants, increases stem
diameter allowing to acquire more nutrients
from substrate and therefore it improves nutrient uptake.
Conclusion

Cucumber transplants were taller and stem
diameter was greater in silicic acid treatment compared to control. The content of NO3, N, P, Mg were
higher in Si treated plants.
Acknowledgements
The present research was carried through with financial support from Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board and with the help of the
Jaagume Agro O and Estonian Crop Research
Institute. ReXil Agro BV have supported by free of
charge silicic acid, provided the training for using
SAAT technology and issued a travel grant to attend 16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC.
References
Guntzer, F., Keller, C, Meunier, J.-D. 2012. Benefits
of plant silicon for crops: a review. Agronomy for
Sustainable Development, 32(1): 201-213.
Heckman, 2013. Silicon: A Beneficial Substance.
Better crops 97(4): 14-16.
Miyake, Y., Takahashi, E. 1983. Effect of silicon on
the growth of cucumber plant in soil culture. Soil
Science and Plant Nutrition, 29(4): 463-471.
Shakoor, S. A. 2014. Review
article; Silicon Biomineralisation in Plants: A Tool to Adapt Global Climate Change. Journal of Research in Biological
Sciences, 1: 1-3.
92
Shakoor, S. A., Bhat, M. A. 2014. Biomineralisation

of silicon and calcium in plants and its control: An
overview. Plant, 2(1): 6-13.
Vasanthi,N.,SaleenaLilly, M.,Raj,S. A. 2014. Silicon in crop production and crop protection -A review. Agricultural Reviews, 35(1): 14-23.
Thilagam, V. K., Mohanty, S., Shahid, M., Tripathi,

R., Nayak, A. K., Kumar, A. 2014. Role of Silicon
as Beneficial Nutrient for Rice Crop. Popular Kheti
2(1): 105-107.
Zhu, Y., Gong, H. 2014. Beneficial effects of silicon

on salt and drought tolerance in plants. Agronomy
for Sustainable
Figure 1. The height (cm; ***) and stem diameter (cm; ***) of cucumber transplants treated with silicic acid. Used signs: *** p<0,001;
** p= 0,001 - 0,01; * p= 0,01 - 0,05; NS not significant, p>0,05.
Figure 2. The content of nitrates (mg/kg, **) in raw cucumber transplants and the content of nitrogen (%, *) in cucumber transplants
dry matter (treated with silicic acid).
Figure 3. The content of Phosphorus (%, **) and the content of Potassium (%, NS) in cucumber transplants dry matter (treated with
silicic acid).
Figure 4. The content of Calcium (%, NS) and the content of Magnesium (%, *) in cucumber transplants dry matter.
93
EVALUATION OF ELEMENTAL SULFUR AND SULFATE-ENRICHED TRIPLE

SUPERPHOSPHATES IN A SOYBEAN-CORN ROTATION GROWN IN A
BRAZILIAN CERRADO OXISOL
DJALMA M. GOMES DE SOUSA1, THOMAZ A. REIN1, JOO DE DEUS G. DOS SANTOS JUNIOR1,
RAFAEL DE SOUZA NUNES1
Embrapa Cerrados, Caixa Postal 08223, Brasilia, DF, 73310-970, BRAZIL (djalma.sousa@embrapa.br)
Introduction

The Cerrado (savannas) biome comprises
an area of 204.7 million ha in central Brazil, with 80
million ha (39.5%) under different agricultural uses.
Cultivated pastures and crops occupy, respectively,
26.5% and 10.5% of the biome (Sano et al., 2008).
Incorporation of the acid low-fertility Cerrado soils
into the agricultural production process since the
mid 1970s can be considered as one the greatest
achievements of the Brazilian agricultural research
associated to targeted government programs (Resck
et al., 2008). Fertilization and soil acidity correction
guidelines are among the main agricultural technologies for the region (Sousa and Lobato, 2004).

Rein and Sousa (2004) reported that since
the 1950s, when the research on the fertility of Cerrado soils began, sulfur (S) deficiency have been
frequently observed, with significant increases in
crops and forage yields in response to S fertilization. The high annual rainfall, large distances from
the oceans, the small industrial activity in the region
and the frequent natural and human-made firing
of the savanna vegetation most likely explain the
widespread S deficiency of these soils.

Calcium and ammonium sulfates, including phophogypsum (CaSO4.2H2O) and gypsum
contained in single superphosphate, are the main
sources of S used in Brazil, with concentrations
ranging between 15 and 24% of S. Another S
source, much less used in Brazil, is the elemental
sulfur (S), with S content close to 100%. In this
context, fertilizers enriched with S can be promising sources supplying this nutrient (Santos Junior et
al., 2010), reducing transportation costs per unit of
S as well as the primary macronutrients N, P and K
in more concentrated formulations.

There is a need, however, of scientific studies evaluating the agronomic efficiency of fertilizers enriched with S, since its availability to plants
depends upon the rate of oxidation in the soil with
conversion to sulfate, which is the available form of

S for plants. Thus, it is likely that the fertilizer placement method providing different levels of contact
with the soil influences the ability to supply S to
plants, while the part of the fertilizer S in the form of
sulfate would attend the initial crop demand until S
is oxidized. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of triple superphosphates enriched
with elemental sulfur and sulfate on the yield of soybean and corn in a Cerrado Oxisol.
Methods

An experiment was conducted in the experimental area of Embrapa Cerrados in Brasilia, in a very
clayey pristine Oxisol. The experimental design is a
randomized complete block with eight treatments (S
fertilizers and placement methods) and three replications. Dolomitic limestone aiming to increase the soil
base saturation to 50% was applied as well as corrective fertilization (350 kg/ha P2O5 as powdered magnesium termophosphate; 150 kg/ha of K2O as potassium
chloride; micronutrients as 50 kg/ha of powdered FTE
BR-10), broadcasted and incorporated with disc harrow in May 2011.

Millet as a cover crop was sown in May
2011 (12 kg/ha of seeds, row spacing of 0.5 m), fertilized with KCl (150 kg/ha K2O) and urea (100 kg/
ha N) broadcasted on the soil surface and irrigated
for proper crop development. The aboveground biomass and sulfur were evaluated and removed from
the area in August 2011 to increase the chance of
response to this nutrient by the soybean and corn
crops. The millet regrowth was also fertilized with
KCl (100 kg/ha K2O) and urea (100 kg/ha N), with
irrigation. In October 2011 the millet was cut and
left on the soil as a mulch, with the following millet
regrowth killed with glyphosate. Seed furrows were
open with a planter at the no-tilled experimental
area, with row spacing of 0.45 m for soybeans (1st
and 3rd years) and 0.75 m for corn (2nd year). Plot
94
dimensions were 4.5 m wide and 8 m long.

The treatments consist of three S sources
(Table 1) broadcasted on the soil surface or banded
in the seed furrow at planting at the dose of 15 kg/
ha/year S, and a control (no S) treatment. Gypsum
powder (calcium sulfate) as phosphogypsum was
the reference S source. The two tested fertilizers
were developed by Shell Sulphur Solutions, consisting of granular triple superphosphates enriched
with micronized S and a mixture of S and sulfate
(Shell Thiogro TSP-S).

The phosphorus dose was the same for all
treatments, 80 kg/ha/year P2O5, balanced with the
regular TSP. Band treatments in the seed furrow
were applied with a manual equipment whereas
broadcast treatments were applied manually after
although there was a tendency for lower grain yields

with the S products (TSP-S1 and TSP-S2) compared to gypsum when banded in the seed furrow,
but not when broadcasted. These results show that
the tested S products exhibited good ability to supply S to the crop already in the year of application.
The fertilizer placement method affected the soybean (2011/20120) crop response to S contained
in TSP-S1 and TSP-S2, which did not occur with
gypsum. Soybean yields were higher for broadcast
than band placement, particularly for TSP-S1 with
nearly 100% S as S. These results are possibly
explained by the greater distance between fertilizer granules and larger contact area with the soil/
mulch in the case of surface broadcast application,
enhancing the oxidation process of S when com-
sowing, in October 2011 (soybeans cultivar MGBR

46), October 2012 (corn single hybrid 30F53H) and
October 2013 (soybeans cultivar BRS 8681). Potassium chloride was broadcasted after sowing at
80 kg/ha K2O for every crop. Soybean seeds were
inoculated with recommended Bradyrhizobium
japonicum strains, and corn was fertilized with 30
kg/ha N as urea in the seed furrow at sowing and
120 kg/ha N side-dressed as ammonium nitrate.
The crops were grown with supplemental irrigation, and harvested by hand after excluding 1.0 m
at each end of the plots and two or one row at each
side for soybeans and corn, respectively, with harvested areas of 16.2 m2 and 18 m2. Millet was sown
every year after harvesting as a winter cover crop,
providing mulch for the no-till system.
pared to band application in the seed furrow. The

presence of the millet mulch prior to soybean planting, providing a better environment for microbes at
the soil-mulch layer, likely favored the oxidation of
S for broadcasted TSP-S1 and TSP-S2.

With respect to the second crop
(2012/2013), corn yield gains reached 36.0% due to
the application of S. No significant differences were
observed between the S sources for each placement method. However, an opposite tendency was
found in relation to the first year, with grain yields
slightly higher for the S sources compared to gypsum when the fertilizers were banded in the seed
furrow. This behavior can be explained by the higher residual effect of TSP-S1 and TSP-S1 applied for
the previous soybean crop, which possibly had the
S fraction completely oxidized to sulfate, as well as
the quick oxidation of the S fertilizers freshly applied to corn.

Similar responses were observed with respect to the third crop (2013/2014), with soybean
yield gains of 49.4% in response to S, no significant differences in relation to the S sources and
placements but tendency of higher yields with TSPS1 and TSP-S2 compared to gypsum, particularly
when broadcasted.

Soybean and corn grain yields (13% moisture) in response to the fertilizer treatments are in
Table 2. Significant responses to S nutrient were
found for the three crops. Considering the first
(2011/2012) soybean crop, yield gains due to the
application of S reached 27.5%. Considering the
TSP (no S) and the TSP + gypsum treatments, both
at 80 kg/ha/year P2O5, the phosphorus fertilizer
placement did not affect the yields, which was expected at the high level of soil phosphorus availability provided by the corrective phosphate fertilization
before establishing the experiment. No significant
differences were observed in the first year between
the S sources for each fertilizer placement method,
Conclusions

1. Significant increases in grain yields in response to sulfur (S) fertilization were found for the
soybean and corn crops growing in the no-till Cerrado Oxisol.

2. The tested triple superphosphates enriched exclusively with micronized elemental S or
2/3 elemental S and 1/3 sulfate-S were similar to
gypsum as S sources for the soybean-corn rotation,
regardless of the placement method of the fertilizers (banded in the seed furrow or surface broadcasted).

3. In the first year of the experiment soybean yield with the elemental S-enriched triple superphosphate was significantly higher when broadcasted than when banded in the seed furrow.
Keywords: Broadcast application; band application;
no-tillage.
Acknowledgements
This research is funded by Shell Sulphur Solutions.
References
REIN, T.A.; SOUSA, D.M.G. Adubao com enxofre.
In: SOUSA, D.M.G.; LOBATO, E (Eds.). Cerrado:
correo do solo e adubao. 2 ed. Braslia: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2004. p. 227-244.
95
RESCK, D.V.S.; FERREIRA, E.A.B.; SANTOS

JUNIOR, J.D.G.; S, M.A.C.; FIGUEIREDO, C. C.
Manejo do Solo sob um Enfoque Sistmico. In: FALEIRO, G. F.; FARIAS NETO, A.L. (Org.). Savanas:
Desafios e estratgias para o equilbrio entre sociedade, agronegcio e recursos naturais. Planaltina:
Embrapa Cerrados, 2008, p. 417-473.
SANO, E.E.; ROSA, R.; BRITO, J.L.S.; FERREIRA,
L.G. Mapeamento semidetalhado do uso da terra
do Bioma Cerrado. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, v.43, n.1, p.153-156, 2008.
SANTOS JR, J.D.G.; REIN, .T. A.; SOUSA, D.M.G.;
MURAOKA, T.; BLAIR, G.J. Evaluation of sulphur
enhanced fertilizers in a soybean-wheat rotation
grown in a Brazilian Cerrado Oxisol. In:
World Congress of Soil Science, 2010, Brisbane. Soil Solutions for a Changing World, 2010.
SOUSA, D.M.G.; LOBATO, E. Cerrado: Correo
do solo e adubao. 2 ed. Braslia: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2004. 416p.
Table 1. Phosphorus and sulfur contents of the fertilizers evaluated in the experiment.
Total P2O5
Fertilizer
--------------%----------------
Triple superphosphate TSP
48.7
0.89
Triple superphosphate TSP-S1 (100% S)
44.5
10.2
Triple superphosphate TSP-S2 (2/3 S and 1/3 sulfate)
39.3
11.6
Gypsum (calcium sulfate)

1
Total S
15.3
Sulfur content in moist product.
Table 2. Grain yields of a soybean-corn rotation with three sulfur fertilizers and two placement methods in a
Cerrado Oxisol under no-till management.
P2O5
dose
S
dose
kg/ha/year
80
0
80
0
80
15
80
15
80
15
80
15
80
15
80
15
Fertilizers
TSP
TSP
TSP + gypsum
TSP + gypsum
TSP-S1 (100% S)
TSP-S1 (100% S)
TSP-S2 (2/3 S and 1/3
sulfate)
TSP-S2 (2/3 S and 1/3
sulfate)
Placement
method
Grain yields 1
Soybeans
Corn
Soybeans
2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014
Banded
Broadcasted
Banded
Broadcasted
Banded
Brodcasted
Banded
3.136 d
3.194 d
3.812 abc
3.902 ab
3.648 bc
3.999 a
3.548 c
t/ha
8.493 c
8.866 c
10.370 b
11.347 ab
11.008 ab
11.432 ab
11.309 ab
Broadcasted
3.814 abc
11.555 a
2.641 c
2.786 c
3.794 ab
3.731 b
3.890 ab
3.946 ab
3.904 ab
3.886 ab
Means for each crop followed by the same letter are not different (t test, p<0.05). Coefficients of variation were 2.74%, 6.05%
e 4.03%, respectively for 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 crops.
1
96
EFFECT OF RATES AND SOURCES OF ZINC IN SUGARCANE

ESTVO VICARI MELLIS1, JOS A.QUAGGIO1, LUIZ A. J. TEIXEIRA2, RENAN C. VIEIRA2
1
Agronomic Institute of Campinas, Soils and Environmental Resources Center, Av. Baro de Itapura, 1481,Campinas-SP, CEP
13020-902, Brazil (evmellis@iac.sp.gov.br); 2, Agronomic Institute of Campinas, Soils and Environmental Resources Center.
Introduction

The yield of sugarcane in Brazil is approximately 70 t ha-1, and is below the crop yield potential and needs to be improved to meet the market
demand for sugar and ethanol. Among several factors responsible for this low agricultural productivity, zinc deficiency has been implicated as a major
cause. This is because the culture has expanded
mainly in areas with low soil fertility (Orlando Filho
et al., 2001).

Currently it is recommended the application via soil between 5,0 kg ha-1 Zn in soils with
low levels of this nutrient available (Spironello et al,
1996). Although some fertilizer recommendations
for micronutrients, these are not yet part of the traditional operations of fertilizing sugarcane. This is
due to the fact that in many studies in which doses
of Zn within the ranges presented above were employed, showed no significant increases in the yield
of sugarcane (Franco et al, 2011; Farias et al, 2009;
Teixeira Filho, 2011). In contrast other studies have
demonstrated significant improved in the yield of
sugarcane with Zn application (Wang et al.,2005;
Mellis et all.; 2011). According to Lopes and Souza
(2001), studies of the residual effect of fertilizers
with micronutrients is crucial for the definition of
rates and ranges for reapplication.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the
effect of doses and sources of zinc at planting sugar
cane plant and its residual effects in the first ratoon
in two regions of the state of So Paulo, Brazil.
Methods

The study was conducted in two major producing regions of sugarcane in the State of So
Paulo, in the cities of Serra Azul (Oxisol) and Assis
(Ultisol). The soils were installed experiments have
sandy texture, low natural fertility and available Zn
concentration below 0.5 mg dm-3. The variety used
in the experiment was the RB 867515.

Treatments applied in the furrow were: control (without application of Zn), 5, 10 and 20 kg ha-1
Zn, testing three sources with different solubilities

(Zn-EDTA, sulfate (ZnSO4) and zinc oxide (ZnO)) .
The experiments were established in a randomized
block design with 5 replications in factorial (3 x 3)
+1 (3 doses and 3 more sources the control treatment), totaling 50 plots. The fertilizer plant sugarcane planting was done with the formula 05 30 20
+3% S at a dose of 500 kg ha-1. After 6 months was
performed to broadcast fertilization with 18-00-27
formula at a dose of 150 kg ha-1. Furthermore, we
applied 500 kg ha of 25-00-20 formula in the first
ratoon. The effect of the treatments was assessed
by chemical analysis of the leaves, stalk yield and
determination of total recoverable sugar (TRS) in
the cane plant and also in the first ratoon. Statistical analysis was performed with the SAS statistical
program, based on analysis of variance followed
by Dunnetts test to compare the treatment means.
Furthermore, regression analysis was performed
for doses and interaction with zinc sources.

The effect of Zn on leaf analysis of sugarcane is presented in Table 1. In relation to cane
plant, there was a significant interaction between
rate and the source in both study sites, Assis (Ultisol) and Serra Azul (Oxisol). In Assis, the interaction was significant rate x source and the linear
model was adjusted for Zn-EDTA (y = 0.2x + 10.2)
and ZnSO4 (y = 0.2x + 10.5) sources, with the latter
source was the one that provided the greatest accumulation of zinc in the leaves. In Serra Azul, the
dose x source interaction was also significant, but
only for ZnSO4, and Zn content in leaves increased
lineramente with the application of rates (y = 0.3x +
14.9). The residual effect in the first ratoon was significant only for dose, regardless of source applied
at the two sites. The application rates of Zn in the
furrow, increased linearly Zn concentration in diagnostic leaf of first ratoon, both in Assis (y = 0.17x +
13.54) and in Serra Azul (y = 0.15x + 13.52).

Production of sugarcane increased with Zn
application in the furrow at the two sites studied.
In the experiment conducted in Assis (Ultisol), the

stalk yield increased linearly with rates of Zn application in the furrow independent of source used
(Figure 1). In Serra Azul (Oxisol), a significant effect
was observed for rates and sources of Zn applied
(Figure 1). Application of rates of ZnSO4 increased
productivity of sugarcane fitting the quadratic
model, and maximum productivity was obtained
with the application of 10.9 kg Zn ha-1 in the furrow, 162.3 t ha-1, 11.6 ton more than in the control
treatment (without Zn application). Higher than this
dose decreased productivity of sugarcane. Application of ZnO also promoted significant increases in
the productivity of sugarcane, however it was observed as a linear effect on productivity with the
implementation of this source in the furrow. For the
same maximum productivity obtained by applying
ZnSO4, it is necessary to apply 4.16 kg ha-1 Zn as
ZnO, or, 5.5 kg ha-1 at most. Application of the Zn
chelate (Zn EDTA) did not increase the productivity
of sugarcane. The application of Zn in the furrow
provided residual effect on yield of the first ratoon
in both locations. It is observed in figure 2 that the
application rates of Zn provided quadratic increase
independent of the fertilizer source. The average
increase in production of the first ratoon stalk was
approximately 10 t ha-1 at both locations. In relation
to total recoverable sugar, applying rates of Zn in
the furrow did not provide significant increases in
both cane plant, as in the first ratoon in any of the
sources studied (Table 1).
Conclusions

Zinc fertilization in the furrow increases the
productivity of sugarcane in soils with low fertility.

The results indicate that the application of
the dose of 10 kg ha-1 of Zn at planting in sandy
soils with low levels of this micronutrient, can supply the need of the crop for various seasons, but
to define the most efficient source, it is necessary
to evaluate the effects of treatments for one more
sugarcane harvest.

Based on these results, we can conclude
that in general the source of zinc sulfate was more
effective than the other for plant cane. Despite being soluble, this unit has the quickest release the
oxide. Moreover, unlike the chelated zinc, zinc supplied by this source may be adsorbed by the soil,
97
which in the case of a sandy soil, it may be favorable because it reduces leaching losses. Regarding
the residual effect, although there was no difference
between the sources, the use of zinc oxide can be
considered as the best alternative due to lower cost
of this source in relation to others. Therefore, probably the most efficient way to provide zn for sugarcane, is the combined application of these sources
in the furrow, or the use of zinc oxy-sulfate.
Keywords: Fertilization, micronutrients, bioenergy.
Acknowledgements
To FAPESP for funding the project 2011/07459-3
Zinc and Votorantim Metais for the financial support
to participate in the 16th World Fertilizer Congress
of CIEC.
References
Farias, C.H.A., P.D. Fernandes, H.R. Gheyi, and J.
Dantas Neto. (2009). Qualidade industrial de canade-acar sob irrigao e adubao com zinco, em
Tabuleiro Costeiro paraibano. Revista Brasileira de
Eng. Agrc. Amb. 13: 419 428.
Franco, H.C. J.; Mariano, E. ; Vitti, A. C. ; Faroni, C.
E. ; Otto, R. ; Trivelin, P. C. O. (2011). Sugarcane
response to boron and zinc in Southeastern Brazil.
Sugar Tech, 13: 86-95.
Mellis, E.V.; Quaggio, J. A. ; Teixeira, L. A. J.; Heitor
Cantarella; Sugarcane response to zinc application.
In: 3rd International Zinc Symposium, Hyderabad,
India. 2011.
Orlando Filho, J. Rosseto, R. Casagrande, A. A.
(2001). Cana-de-acar. In: Ferreira, M. E.; Cruz,
M.C.P.; Raij, B. Van; Abreu, C A. (Eds). Micronutrientes e elementos txicos na agricultura. CNPq/
FAPESP/POTAFOS. Jaboticabal: 335-369.
Spironello, A.; Raij, B. Van; Penatti, C.P.; Cantarella, H.; Morelli, J.L.; Orlando filho, J.; Landell,
M.G.A.; Rosseto, R.. Cana-de-acar. In: Raij, B.
Van; Quaggio, J.A. e Furlani, A.M.C., eds. Recomendaes de adubao e calagem para o Estado
de So Paulo. Instituto Agronmico (Boletim tcnico, 100),1996, Campinas, 237-239.
Teixeira Filho, M.C.M. Doses (2011), Fontes e modos de aplicao de zinco na cultura da cana-de-
98
acar. 2011. 153 f. Tese (Doutorado) Faculdade

de Engenharia, Unesp Campus Ilha Solteira, Ilha
Solteira.
Wamg, J.J., Kennedy, C.W., Viajator, H.P., Arceneaux, A.E.; Guidry, A.J. (2005) Zinc fertilization
of sugarcane in acid and calcareous soils. Journal
American Society Sugar Cane Technologists, v.25,
p. 49-61.
Table 1. Effect of rates and sources of Zn applied in the furrow in the leaf content and total recoverable sugar content
of the cane plant and first ratoon
STR
Content Foliar
Ultisol
Oxisol
Ultisol
Oxisol
Cane Plant 1stRatoon Cane Plant 1stRatoon Cane Plant 1stRatoon Cane Plant
1stRatoon
--------------------kg t-1---------------------------------mg kg-1-------------0
161
135
145
145
10,5
12,8
15,1
13,8
5
158
139
150
150
10,8
13,2
15,9
13,9
Zn-EDTA
10
161
136
146
146
12,3
14,7
18,4
15,4
20
157
136
145
145
14,3
16,1
17,2
16,2
0
161
135
145
145
10,5
12,8
15,1
13,8
5
160
137
148
147
11,6
14,0
15,9
16,4
ZnO
10
158
137
143
143
10,7
15,4
18,4
15,5
20
163
133
151
151
11,9
15,4
17,2
17,0
0
161
135
145
145
10,5
12,8
15,1
13,8
5
160
135
153
153
11,6
14,4
15,0
13,3
ZnSO4
10
161
134
151
151
12,9
14,8
19,2
14,6
20
158
135
151
151
14,7
16,9
20,2
16,7
Causes of Variation
Analysis of Variance
Rates
ns
ns
ns
ns
*
ns
*
*
Source
ns
ns
ns
ns
*
ns
*
ns
Rates x Source
ns
ns
ns
ns
*
ns
*
ns
Sources
Rates
* = Significant at 10% level. ns = not significant.
Figure 1. Effect of
ratees and sources of
Zn applied the furrow in
stalk yield of cane plant
Figure 2. Residual effect

of rates and sources of
Zn applied in the furrow
in stalk yield of first
ratoon
99
AN EVALUATION OF THE USE OF A PHLOGOPITITE

AS A SLOW-RELEASE FERTILIZER
1
ISABELLA C. A. SOUZA, THAS F. M. B. DUQUE, MARISA B. M. MONTE, CLAUDIO L. SCHNEIDER

1
CETEM, Av. Pedro Calmon 900, Ilha da Cidade Universitria, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-908, Brazil (iamaral@cetem.gov.br)
Introduction
Methodology

Stonemeal is a technique for soil fertilization in which finely ground rock is applied directly
to the soil. Such rocks hold elements of interest for
plant growth and can minimize chemical inputs in
the soil as well. Brazil has a great deficiency of potassium for agriculture and has to import this nutrient from other countries such as Canada, Russia,
or Germany, which makes the country heavily dependent on imports thus causing a great loss to
the national economy (NASCIMENTO e LAPIDOLOUREIRO, 2004; MARTINS et al., 2008).

The 300 kg phlogopitite sample used in this
work was crushed below 3350 m, then homogenized
and split in representative subsamples of 20 kg. Mineralogical and chemical characterization were carried out by XRD and FRX. Physical characterization
included particle size distribution, density and aparent density. Closely sized fractions were prepared
by sieving in the following size ranges: +3350, -3350
+2000, -2000 +1400, -1400 +1000, -1000 +710, -710
+500, -500 +350, -350 +250, -250 +180, -180 +125,
-125 +90, -90 +63 and -63 +45 m. Dissolution tests
were carried out on a size by size basis.

The dissolution tests were performed with
water, nitric acid and two organic acids, fumaric and
oxalic. All sizes were tested with water and nitric
acid, and for the organic acids only the -63+45 m
particles were tested. The water tests were conducted in 250 mL erlenmeyers flasks (total volume),
containing 10 g of sample and 100 mL of water.
The flasks were subjected to agitation in a shaker
at 150 rpm and 24C for 48 hours. The nitric acid
tests were carried out with 100 mL, 1 mol.L-1 in
round-bottom volumetric flasks with a total capacity
of 250 ml, with 10 g samples and 100 mL of acid solution. The volumetric flasks were partially capped
and placed in a thermal blanket at 100C for 10 min.
The organic acid tests were conducted in 250-mL
(total volume) erlenmeyer flasks with 5 g samples
and 50 mL of solution. The flasks were subjected to
agitation at 150 rpm in the following times: 0; 0.5; 1;
2; 4; 6; 12; 16; 24 and 48 hours.

At the end of each test, the solutions were
filtered in ordinary filter paper, followed by filtration
on a 0.22 m Millipore membrane to remove colloids. The filtered solution was analyzed for potassium content through the technique of Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.

The characterization of the phlogopitite with
respect to crushing and grinding included the determinaion of population balance model (PBM) parameters for ball mill scale-up (Herbst-Fuerstenau
and Bond Work Index), high pressure grinding rolls
(HPGR) parameters, abrasion index and the spe-
There are minerals that have a significant
content of potassium, and may thus be used as a

slow-release fertilizer being applied directly to the
soil.Therefore, the phlogopitite, from an emerald
mining site located in Serra da Carnaba, municipality of Pindoba, Bahia, is being studied as a potential source of potassium in stonemeal techniques.
For this purpose, it is necessary to grind the rock to
a suitable size. The cost associated with rock comminution is a determining factor for the economic viability of the use of the rock as an agricultural input.
Thus, a complete characterization program to determine the economic crushing and grinding routes
for this rock can be found in the work published
by Schneider et al., (2014), at the 69th ABM Annual
Congress.

Solubilization of the potassium ion of this rock
is strongly related to the nature of the extractant solution and the particle size. Acidic solutions present
a much higher eficiency in solubilization due to the
greater availability of protons (H+), originating from the
dissociation of acids, which may be exchanged with
cations, e.g., potassium ion (K+), present in the crystalline matrix of the minerals that compound the rock
(BIGHAM, 2001). Another influential factor in the solubilization of this ion is the particle size used in stonemeal. Studies such as Souza et al. (2014) show that
the smaller the particle size, the greater the release of
potassium ion due to a greater exposed surface area
of the rock particles.
100
cific impact energy breakage function. With these

parameters it is possible to determine the energy
requirements for comminution of the phlogopitite.

Mineralogy by particle size is shown in Figure
1. From these diffractograms, the following minerals
were identified: Phlogopite - K2Mg6[Si6Al2O20](OH)4;
Hornblende - NaO5(Ca75Na25)2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2;
Chlorite - Mg25Fe3Al3O10(OH)8, Quartz - SiO2, Biotite - KMg3AlSi3O10 and Talc - Mg3Si4O10(OH)2.

It is possible to observe a predominance
of the peaks characteristic of the mineral of interest (phlogopite) present with great intensity in all
particle sizes, which shows no significant variations
in the mineralogy of the different sizes evaluated.
In all the size ranges studied peaks representing
impurities (talc, chlorite, quartz and hornblende,
among others) were observed, with similar intensities among them.

XRF analysis result on an average of 7.4%
K2O in its composition, corresponding to 3.7% of K+.
The dependence on particle size is shown in Table 1.

Figure 2 [A] shows the results for potassium disssolution using water and nitric acid as
extractants, and [B] shows the results for fumaric
and oxalic acids as a function of contact time. The
nitirc acid extractss significantly more potassium
than water alone in all particle sizes. Finer particles potentialize the efficiency of the acidic solution,
with 6900 mg K+/kg Ktotal for the largest particles and
48700 mg K+/kg Ktotal for the smallest (seven times
larger). In Figure 2 [B] it can be observed that fumaric acid performed better than the oxalic acid. The
rates of extraction are slightly higher than that of
water only.

The comminution characterization tests indicated that the phlogopitite tends to become ductil
at about 150 m, and the energy requirements for
grinding below that size are very high, for both ball
milling and HPGR. It is fairly safe to say that significant potassium dissolution starts at sizes smaller
than 150 m, by observing the results in Figure
2 [A]. This implies that the phlogopitite cannot be
used as an economical, short term, source of potassium in agriculture.
Conclusion

It can be concluded that particle size and
particle size distribution are important factors for
the efficiency of stonemeal techniques. Energy requirements for comminution will be decisive for thhe
economicity of the use of any rock as source of
nutrients, along with the solubility of the nutrient.

Different extractants present distinct performances. The choice of extractant may very well be
a function of the rock that is being tested. However,
in order to determine a suitable extractant for testing, green house tests are required. Even water
alone may be a suitable extractant for dissolution
tests.
Keywords: Comminution, Phlogopitite, Stonemeal,
Potassium Ion
Acknowledgements
We are greatful for funding from CNPq/MCTI
through a grant from CT-Mineral.
References
BIGHAM. J. M., BHATTI, T. M., VUORINEN, A.,
TUOVINEN, O. H. Dissolution and structural alteration of phlogopite mediated by proton attack and
bacterial oxidation of ferrous iron. Hydrometallurgy.
v.59. p.301309. 2001.
MARTINS, E. S.; OLIVEIRA, C. G.; RESENDE, A.
V.; MATOS, M. S. F. Agrominerais Rochas silicticas como fontes minerais alternativas de potssio
na agricultura. In: Rochas e Minerais Industriais:
Usos e especificaes. Editores: LUZ, A. B.; LINS,
F. A. F. - CETEM/MCT, Rio de Janeiro. 2008.
NASCIMENTO, M.; LOUREIRO, F. E. L. Fertilizantes e sustentabilidade: o potssio na agricultura
brasileira, fontes e rotas alternativas. Rio de Janeiro: CETEM/MCT, 66 p. (Srie Estudos e Documentos, 61). 2004.
SCHNEIDER, C. L.; DUQUE, T. F. M. B.; SOUZA, I.
C. A.; MONTE, M. B. M. Caractersticas de quebra
de um flogopitito para uso em rochagem. In: 69
Congresso Anual da ABM. Trabalho Completo. So
Paulo SP. 2014.
SOUZA, I. C. A.; COSTA, D. C.; SOUZA, M. M. V.
M; MONTE, M. B. M.; SCHNEIDER, C. L. Avaliao
da cintica de liberao do K+ em funo dos diferentes tamanhos de partcula da rocha flogopitito.
In: 37 Reunio Anual da Sociedade Brasileira de
Qumica. Resumo. Natal RN. 2014.
101
Table 1. Content of K2O analysed through X-Ray Fluorescence
Size
(m)
3350
2000
1400
1000
710
500
350
250
180
125
90
63
45
K2O
6.77
7.45
7.93
7.90
8.00
8.35
7.95
7.65
6.42
6.66
6.55
7.01
736
Figure 1. X-Ray Diffractogram for the different

particle sizes. [A] + 3350, [B] -3350 +2000, ... , [M]
-63 +45 m.
Oxalic
K+ release (mg K+.kg Ktotal -1)
Fumaric
Extraction time (h)
Figure 2. [A] K+ release per size range with water and nitric acid. [B] K+ release per contact time using fumaric and oxalic acid as
extractant solution.
102
PROCESSING OF POTASSIUM SILICATES FOR K-RELEASE

DAVIDE CICERI, TAISIYA SKORINA1, CAROLE GADOIS1, KEJING LI1 AND ANTOINE ALLANORE1,
1
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
77 Massachusetts Avenue - Rm. 13-5066, Cambridge, MA 021394307, USA (allanore@mit.edu)
Introduction

Brazil is a global agricultural leader, and
thus consumes an extensive amount of fertilizers,
K-fertilizers (potash) included. Soluble potassium
salts are currently the main source of potassium in
fertilizers. With only one potash mining operation in
Brazil (Sergipe site), more than 90% of the country
consumption is mined abroad and imported. Costeffective K-fertilizers in Brazil are mostly available
in regions close to the coast, due to the high cost
of in-land transportation. This situation has a significant impact on the countrys trade balance. Furthermore, fluctuation in potash market prices is likely
to prevent any significant local potash salt deposits
commercial operation in Brazil.

The Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) comprises important agricultural regions in Brazil and will
have significant expansion in near future. These
regions are far from the coast, and are particularly
poor in macro and micronutrients. In such regions,
traditional soluble potassium salts are not foreseen
as an optimal strategy for crops due to their excessive leaching, the lack of ion retention and their inability to provide a proper structure to the soil [1,2].

Therefore, Brazil has a need to develop a
sustainable option for K-fertilizers, produced from
sources of potassium close to the crop fields. The
ideal fertilizer will need to release the nutrient at
an acceptable rate for the specific soils and crops.
From that perspective, K-bearing silicate minerals
offer a possible solution [3,4], with a K2O-content
up to 16.9wt% and the ability to provide ancillary
beneficial micronutrients (Ca, Mg, Si).

Recognizing this opportunity, EMBRAPA,
the leading research institute for agriculture in Brazil, has advocated the amendment 12,890 (2013)
to the Brazilian Fertilizer Law 6,894 (1980), that defines officially rock powder with proven agronomic
efficiency as soil remineralizer and alternative potash fertilizer.

Terrativa Minerais, a Brazilian geological
exploration company, has screened since 2011
K-bearing silicates deposits close to important ag-
ricultural areas of the Cerrado. The company has

determined favourable sites from both a geological
and logistics perspective, including syenite rocks
with up to 14.5% potash content and high content
in other micronutrients. From such results, Terrativa Minerais is now developing five high grade
potash mines (with up to 14.5% K2O) and is planning the installation of four rock powder plants close
to important agricultural zones from the Cerrado.
EMBRAPA is currently running laboratory and agronomic efficiency tests to certify that such rock
powder products can fall into the category of soil
remineralizer and alternative potash fertilizer.

The Allanore Group at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology investigates the possible development of a K-releasing product from K-silicates
since 2012, with financial support from Terrativa
Minerais. The research program is dedicated to
the evaluation and development of the optimal processing techniques to convert the rocks available in
Brazil into products with controlled rate of nutrients
release. In particular, a hydrothermal process has
been developed to form a second-generation of Kreleasing powder, called hydrosyenite. The product
shows a controlled accelerated release of potash
and also other benefits for agriculture.
Method

As presented in Fig.1, the research program has addressed first the influence of the rocks
composition and geological origins on the rate of
dissolution of K-feldspar. Systematic characterization methods, from the original geological to the
powder materials have been devised, to provide
a fundamental insight into the underlying materials chemistry. In parallel, leaching benchtop experiments in inorganic acids have been performed,
as a mean to determine the underlying dissolution
mechanism. This allowed determining the rate of
Krelease as a function of the sample origin and
processing.
Leaching performances have also been evaluated
in different reactor configurations, as a mean to
study the role of fluid dynamics on the rate of mineral dissolution in soils conditions A dedicated paper
and presentation is proposed on this matter [see
this conference abstract from D. Ciceri et al.]. Several chemical processes of K-silicates transformation have been envisioned and evaluated from the
perspective of both environmental and economical
performance. In particular, a hydrothermal process
has been developed to form a second-generation of
Kreleasing powder, called hydrosyenite. The product shows a controlled accelerated release of K+
and additional benefits for agriculture. A dedicated
paper and presentation is proposed on this matter
[see this conference abstract from C. Gadois et al.].

Rock powders characterizations

One of the key questions behind the opportunity to use K-bearing silicate minerals as rockpowder fertilizer is: what is the role of the geological
origin of the sample on the rate of K dissolution?
Our results cover more than 25 samples from a single geological deposit of ultrapotassic syenites from
Brazil [TERRATIVA Ics Norte Project see this
conference abstract from Silveira Braga et al.]. Two
different grinding techniques have been tested.

Prior to launching long-lasting croptests and wait for agronomic evaluations, our
approach states that first a definite understanding of the original rock structure and chemical
composition is essential. Second, the characterization of the powders obtained after the
mineral grinding appears as a key element, in
particular to identify the physical properties that
govern dissolution. For the former, the image
analysis of thin-sections proved to be a mean
toward a quantification of the morphology of the
rocks, a first step toward the definition of the
most efficient mechanical treatment as a function of the rock origin. For the powders, laserdiffraction techniques (PSD) and gas adsorptions
(BET) have been used to determine respectively
the particle size and the specific surface area of
the samples. Their analysis allows first to identify
variability in their grinding process, a key qualitycontrol feature. The analysis allows classifying
original rocks in various categories, which ultimately can be used as statistical representations
103
of the variable geologic origin.

Dissolution mechanism and leaching tests

All samples have been tested for dissolution in inorganic acid (HNO3, pH=1, 25C) in batch
and flow configurations. Long and short-term dissolution allowed to confirm the fate of all of the elements composing the syenite rocks. Beyond the
fundamental mechanistic consequences, the influence of the processing method on the amount
of K available has been investigating, showing in
particular that the Kcontent in the rock is not the
only parameter that determines the 24hrs amount
of K dissolved in solution. The coupling between the
variables that characterize the rocks, the powders
and those leaching results is in progress and tested
for statistical representations. It is foreseen as the
ultimate tool to help in the best usage of K-bearing
silicate minerals as rock-powders fertilizers.
Possible processing
Many processes have been put forward since the
early 19th century to take benefit from the high Kcontent of silicate minerals [5]. However, most of
the attempts focused on making potassium salts
from Ksilicate, a process that is energy and chemical intensive because of the need to selectively precipitate the salt from a solution, which implies partial
if not total dissolution of the original rock. Those
approaches are hardly suitable for the economical
interest of the silicate endeavour and its sustainability. Our research has therefore been oriented
toward the development of methods that do not
involve the generation of by-products or the consumption of chemicals if those are not beneficial for
the final application. The hydro-syenite approach is
one of them, where the use of calcium as a chemical modifier of the original K-silicate leads to a material with the ability to release Ca ions in addition to
a faster rate of dissolution of silicate.
Conclusions

A long term research program has addressed comprehensively the materials processing
necessary to transform K-silicate bearing rocks into
K-releasing material that could be used as a fertilizer. Multiple options have been identified and are
currently under further testing and developments.
104
Keywords: Potash, powder processing, hydrothermal treatment, agromineral characterization
M. Dhanorkar, and K. Paranjape, The Fertilizer Encyclopedia. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
Acknowledgements
[3] Manning, D.A.C. Mineral sources of potassium

for plant nutrition. A review Agronomy for sustainable development 30.2 (2010) 281-294.
Terrativa Minerais S.A. is gratefully acknowledged

for funding this research.
References
[1] A. V. Barker and D. J. Pilbeam, Handbook of
Plant Nutrition. CRC Press, 2006.
[2] V. Gowariker, V. N. Krishnamurthy, S. Gowariker,
[4] Van Straaten, P. (2006). Farming with rocks and

minerals: challenges and opportunities. Anais da
Academia Brasileira de Cincias 78(4), 731-747.
[5] Noyes, R. (1965). Potash and potassium fertilizers, 1966.
Figure
1.
Research
program dedicated to
K-silicate
processing
toward K-release product
Figure 2. The y-axis is the ratio between the amount of K+ leached after 24hrs for
samples milled longer (black bar) or shorter (grey bar) and the amount of K+ obtained for
the same sample after an optimal time of milling. All other parameters being the same,
the amount of K+ is divided by the surface area of the sample. The x-label refers to the
location of the sample in the deposit, all samples being >90wt% Kfeldspar. The average
across all samples (dotted lines) are statistically different. We postulate that the chemical
and mechanical properties of the original material are responsible for such discrepancy.
105
A REVIEW OF INNOVATIONS IN MINERAL FERTILIZER PRODUCTION

LUDWIG HERMANN1
Outotec GmbH, Ludwig-Erhard-Strasse 21, 61440 Oberursel, Germany, ludwig.hermann@outotec.com
Introduction

High analysis, low impurity phosphate ore
bodies are gradually being replaced by ore bodies
containing all kind of impurities such as dolomite,
carbonates, organic matter, silicates, chlorines
and other substances presenting a challenge to
downstream processing by traditional technologies
(Prudhomme 2010). In addition, water solubility as
the one and only criteria for fertilizing efficiency is
starting to be questioned (Chien et al. 2009). And
finally, widespread efforts for phosphate recovery
from secondary resources entail new processes
and products which may gradually influence the fertilizer market (Hermann et al. 2014).
Current Methods
Wet Chemical Processing

With the exception of a few rocks classified as reactive, phosphate minerals as they exist
in the ground are not soluble and are difficult for
the plant to access. To provide the plant with the
phosphate it needs, in a form it can take up through
its roots, about 96% of mined phosphate rocks are
processed. More than 90% are acidulated by the
wet chemical route: converted with sulfuric acid to
phosphoric acid (72-78%), treated with sulfuric acid
to single superphosphate and partially acidulated
rock phosphate (10-14%) or converted with nitric
acid to nitrophosphates (2-4%). A few small plants
treat rock with hydrochloric acid a process which
may gain more importance in the future.
When sulfuric acid is reacted with phosphate rock
to produce phosphoric acid, the by-product calcium sulfate, known as phosphogypsum is also
produced. There are approximately five tonnes of
phosphogypsum produced for every tonne of P2O5
in phosphoric acid. Phosphogypsum, like natural
gypsum, is calcium sulfate, but it frequently contains
a relevant amount of radioactivity due to the radium
that naturally occurs in most phosphate rocks (Hilton 2010). Because of this radioactivity, a 1992 U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule bans
most uses of phosphogypsum in the country (Lloyd

2004).

Numerous applications for phosphogypsum, such as in agriculture as a soil conditioner,
or in construction as plasterboards, have been developed in all phosphate-producing countries. However, estimates suggest that currently some 3-4 billion tonnes of phosphogypsum are disposed of in
stacks in more than 50 countries. These stacks are
growing by 150-200 million tonnes each year (Hilton 2010).

Apart from the by-product phosphogypsum,
the chemical process produces gaseous emissions
in the form of hydrofluoric acid (HF) and silicon
tetrafluoride (SiF4), released during the digestion
of phosphate rock, which typically contains 24%
fluorine. In case the energy generated from the exothermic reactions in the process is not effectively
recovered, modest amounts of CO2 are released to
the air. Large amounts of CO2 are released, however, from carbonates as part of the crystal structure
of sedimentary apatite (francolite) or as impurities
in the form of calcite or dolomite, the latter being a
challenge to remove even with the latest beneficiation technologies available (Hermann, et al. 2014).
Thermal Processing

Less than 5% is converted by a thermal
process to elemental phosphorus which is further
transformed into chlorides, oxides and sulfides acting as the entry point to produce a multitude of (organo-) phosphorus compounds as well as to food
and cleanroom-grade phosphoric acid. The traditional electric arc process, which is used in the US,
China, Vietnam and Kazakhstan, consists of two
steps: The first step is an agglomeration of the rock
at 1,500C producing chunks up to 10 cm in size or
a wet granulation with a clay binder, followed by a
heating step at 800 which produces pellets of 12
cm in diameter. This step also serves to remove
carbonates and sulfates that are detrimental to energy use in the subsequent arc furnace process.
The rock pellets are mixed with cokes as a reducing
106
agent and as an option depending on the rocks

silica content pebbles (SiO2) for slag formation.
The mix is fed to a furnace heated to 1,500C by
means of electric resistance. Under these conditions, phosphate is reduced to P4, which leaves the
furnace as a gas, together with the by-product CO
and some dust. The dust is removed in an electrostatic precipitator and after calcination landfilled
or recycled into the process. The P4 is condensed
to a liquid. This is further processed (oxidized) to
phosphorus chlorides, sulfides and oxides which
serve as building blocks for a multitude of bulk and
fine chemicals, often in the form of organophosphorus compounds.

The calcium oxide which is left in the furnace after the phosphate has reacted, combines
for further upgrading to merchant grade phosphoric

acid without the need for vaporization. Apart from
processing low grade rocks, small and decentralized facilities can be designed and operated because of allegedly lower investment and operating
costs of the technology in comparison to conventional processes for phosphoric acid production.
The products regardless of DCP or phosphoric
acid are lower in heavy metals and other impurities than conventionally produced fertilizers. In addition, EcoPhos claims that secondary phosphate
sources such as sewage sludge ash can be used
as a feedstock without impairing the manufacturing process. Apart from a number of small industrial installations in various countries, an industrial
project is planned in Dunkerque, France, aiming
with the SiO2 to form a liquid slag, which is tapped

and either quenched directly with water or cooled
and then crushed. It may be landfilled or used for
road construction. Iron, present as an impurity in
the rock, is also reduced in the furnace. It forms
a separate, ferrophosphorus slag which contains
roughly 75% Fe and 25% P, with small amounts
of other metals. It is used as a steel additive (Hermann et al. 2014).
at processing a feedstock mix of low grade rock

phosphate (75 %) and sewage sludge ash from two
Dutch incineration plants to DCP (Sonveaux 2014).
NEW Processes

Although the invention and initial development of most processes presented hereafter dates
back to the last three decades of the past century,
they have only recently attracted relevant investments in pilot and smaller industrial plants. This
may be largely due to the recent changes in the geological, environmental and economical framework
of phosphate mining and processing as referred to
in the introduction.
EcoPhos Process

EcoPhos s.a., Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium,
a technology company founded 2008, has developed a modular wet chemical process by which
low grade phosphate rocks are digested with HCl.
HCl is internally recycled and its losses may be replaced by hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, depending
on the availability of either acid in the vicinity of the
EcoPhos plant. The process is designed to produce
DCP, as animal feed, as fertilizer or as feedstock
Improved Hard Process (IHP)

JDCPhosphates (JDCP), Bartow, Florida
has developed IHP to process low grade phosphate
rock, silica and petroleum coke to produce a relatively pure and concentrated form of phosphoric
acid (around 70% P2O5) suitable for use in solid
and liquid fertilizers and for use in technical and
industrial applications. JDCP expects that IHP, once
validated at scale, will: 1) significantly increase the
usable reserves of phosphate ore around the world;
2) reduce the operating costs associated with processing phosphate ore into high quality phosphoric
acid; and 3) have a smaller environmental footprint
than existing processes, without producing phosphogypsum or other high volume waste materials,
and with minimal emissions and minimal water usage requirements. JDCP claims that the process
has been designed to produce acid suitable for high
value industrial and technical applications (and in
many cases, without the need for additional purification), at much lower cost than existing processes.
The tolerance of IHP for common contaminants
found in phosphate ore holds the promise of significantly increasing global reserves of phosphate
(Fowler 2014). In addition, the process should be
highly appropriate for P-recovery from ash which
frequently contains part of the silica needed to pre-
vent the mix from melting during high temperature

treatment. Unlike in other processes, ash use would
neither increase the mass flow, nor significantly dilute the P2O5 concentration in the feed.
ASH DEC Process

Outotec Oyj, Espoo, Finland, has acquired the ASH DEC process which has been developed since 2004 to recover P from phosphorus
rich ashes produced by the thermal conversion of
sewage sludge, farmyard manure and animal byproducts. The process has been designed to cope
with extremely high impurity concentrations ash
frequently contains up to 30 % of iron, aluminum,
magnesium and silicon and to remove toxic heavy
metals such as arsenic, cadmium and lead. The
process is based on thermochemical reactions of
ash, rock phosphate (optional), a reducing agent
(e.g. dry sludge) and sodium based additives in a
rotary kiln at about 950C. The oxygen depleted
atmosphere in the kiln triggers the replacement of
calcium ions by sodium ions in the phosphate compounds, making these compounds plant available
and leading to the evaporation of targeted heavy
metals. The product is a low analysis (18% P2O5),
alkaline fertilizer which is insoluble in water but
highly soluble in neutral ammonium citrate. In pot
tests it has proven superior efficiency in acidic soils.
It contains all nutrients of the feedstock, including
potassium, sulfur and zinc (Nanzer, et al. 2014).
Struvite Crystallization Processes

Several manufacturers have developed
magnesium-ammonium-phosphate crystallization
processes from liquid flows with high P-concentrations, of which Ostara Nutrient Recovery Inc., Vancouver, Canada is the most prominent representative with several installations at wastewater treatment plants in Canada, USA and U.K. The processes are based on the crystallization of ammonium
phosphates on magnesium flakes added to liquid
side-streams in a reactor (frequently a fluidized bed
type) at wastewater treatment or food processing
plants. Similar to the ASH DEC process, it has been
developed to recover phosphates from secondary
resources. Its drawback is the low overall efficiency because it can only recover phosphates in solution, usually limited to 30% of phosphates being
removed at wastewater treatment plants where P-
107
solubilization with acids is not an economic option.

The product in case of Ostara being marketed
under the Crystal Green brand has proven its
efficiency in numerous pot tests and in practice, in
particular in turf and horticulture applications (Hermann 2009).
Conclusion

All process developments are driven by
high impurity feedstock presenting a number of
challenges to traditional processing techniques.
Lower grade ore bodies and secondary resources, although exhibiting quite different physical and
chemical characteristics are approached with novel
process solutions sharing certain characteristics:
minimized pollutant concentration and high material efficiency. Two of the new processes, being the
outcome of P-recycling initiatives, try to prove that
water solubility is not a prerequisite for high phosphate use efficiency in soils.
References
Chien, S. H., Luis I. Prochnov, and H. Cantarella.
Recent Developments of Fertilizer Production and
Use to Improve Nutrient Efficiency and Minimize
Environmental Impacts. Advances in Agronomy,
Volume 102, 2009: 268-306.
Fowler, Theodore P. Improved Hard Process (IHP)
for Phosphoric Acid Production: Status Report.
Phosphates 2014. Paris: CRU.
Hermann, Ludwig. Rckgewinnung von Phosphor
aus der Abwasserreinigung eine Bestandaufnahme. Umwelt-Wissen Nr. 0929, Bern: BAFU
Bundesamt fr Umwelt, 2009.
Hermann, Ludwig, Willem Schipper, Kees Langeveld, and Armin Reller. Processing: What Improvements for What Products? In Sustainable
Phosphorus Management - A Global Transdisciplinary Roadmap, by Roland W. Scholz, Amit H.
Roy, Fridolin S. Brand, Deborah T. Hellums and Andrea H. Ulrich, 183-206. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2014.
Hilton, J. Phosphogypsum (PG): Uses and Current
Handling Practices Worldwide. 25th Annual Lakeland Regional Phosphate Conference. Lakeland,
2010.
108
Lloyd, G.M. Jr. Phosphogypsum: Should We Just

Let It Go To Waste? - Part 1. Bartow: FIPR Phosphogypsum Research, 2004.
Nanzer, Simone, Astrid Oberson, Leslie Berger,
Estelle Berset, Ludwig Hermann, and Emmanuel
Frossard. The plant availability of phosphorus from
thermochemically treated sewage sludge ashes as
studied by 33P labeling technicques. Plant Soil, DOI
10.1007/s11104-013-1968-6 (Springer Science),
2014.
Prudhomme, Michel. World Phosphate Rock

Flows, Losses and Uses. Proceedings of the Phosphate 2010 Conference & Exhibition. Brussels: IFA,
2010.
Sonveaux, Marc. EcoPhos Process: The ultimate
technology to generate value from low grade phosphate sources. Phosphates 2014. Paris: CRU
Conference, 2014.
109
THE IMPORTANCE OF SINGLE SUPERPHOSPHATE

FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE
JOS FRANCISCO DA CUNHA1, ALFREDO SCHEID LOPES2,
LUIZ ROBERTO GUIMARES GUILHERME3
1
Tec-fertil Com. Rep. e Servios Ltda, Av. Benedito :Storani, 95 sl 09, Vinhedo SP, CEP 13280-00, Brasil (cunha@agroprecisa.
com.br); 2 Departmente of Soil Science UFLA, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brazil (ascheidl@dcs.ufla.br); 3 Departmente of Soil
Science UFLA, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brazil (guilherm@dcs.ufla.br)
Introduction
Methods

Brazil is the fourth largest consumer of fertilizer in the world, with a demand of 31.08 million
tons of products (13.43 mi. t. of N, P2O5, K2O) in
2013 and an average market growth of 6% per year
in the last 25 years. This requires large imports of
manufactured fertilizer (21,62 mi. t. in 2013), as well
as basic raw materials such as sulfur, rock phosphate, ammonia, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid.
Filling this gap with domestic production is thus relevant to attend the ever-increasing demand. Phosphorus is a key nutrient for sustainable production
of food, feed, fiber, and fuel worldwide, especially
in tropical agroecosystems, due to the high P-fixing
capacity of oxidic soils. Furthermore, low Ca content and high Al saturation are additional constrains
for adequate production in tropical soils due to the
limited development of the rooting system. Such
drawbacks are even worse in rainfed agriculture
settled in regions subjected to veranicos (short dry
spells during the rainy season), as it happens in
large portions of Brazil. Key issues in designing approaches for efficient use of P and its resources in
Brazil should include agronomic as well as logistical aspects. This papers intends to stress the benefits and the importance of single super phosphate
(SSP) as an efficient and environmentally friendly
source of P for Brazilian agriculture, emphasizing: i)
the importance of SSP as a source of P, S, and Ca,
as well as a potential carrier for micronutrients; ii) its
relevance for delivering an indirect effect in terms of
correction of subsurface soil acidity, thus providing
an improved environment for better root development and nutrient use efficiency; and, iii) the favorable spatial distribution of P resources and fertilizer
plants for production of SSP and other sulfuric-acid
based P fertilizers in Brazil.

Relevant data for assessing the contribution of SSP and other sulfuric-acid based P fertilizers (hereafter called SSP for simplicity) for Brazilian
agriculture was gathered from statistical surveys
regarding production, import, and consumption of
such fertilizers, as well as from information concerning production technology/capacity and location of
fertilizer plants. We also evaluated the benefits of
such fertilizers vis-a-vis the available production
and their positive effects on soils and crops in the
tropics.

Table 1 gives an overview on the availability of SSP (exports data not shown) and its relative share in total fertilizer consumption in Brazil.
It is clear from this data that despite the availability and capacity to produce SSP, the market share
of these products has declined in recent years in
Brazil, which justifies an effort to recover SSP production and use in Brazilian agriculture in order to
achieve a better use of our existing resources. Adequate spatial distribution of fertilizer production is
key in a country with continental dimensions and
spatially dispersed agricultural production. In Brazil,
such conditions exist only for SSP, which is significant to reduce logistical costs. Figure 1 shows the
spatial distribution of SSP plants in Brazil, which
currently provides a total installed capacity of 8.75
million tons, an important contribution to fulfill the
increasing demand of P fertilizer in Brazilian agricultural frontiers. A relevant aspect of such spatial
distribution is the more efficient use of P resources,
since production has been positioned close to local phosphate rock deposits or to ports of imports,
targeting the markets with a focus on decreasing
the distance to consumers. It is also noteworthy to
stress that the Brazilian legislation recognizes alternative sulfuric-acidulated P fertilizers (other than
110
single super phosphate) as having a similar efficiency of SSP, even if they have lower water solubility than that required for SSP production. In fact, in
order to prove their agronomic efficiency, these new
superphosphates should have a water solubility
at least close to 60% of the P solubility found in
neutral ammonium citrate extracting solutions. This
condition increases the scope for using less noble
Brazilian phosphatic rock mineral resources, which
otherwise could not be used for production of phosphoric acid, making it feasible the use of natural
resources that would not be adequate for economic
production of high-grade fertilizers.

Another point to consider is that the dependence of imported sulfur (S), a basic raw material used in the main production chain of soluble P

One of the disadvantages inaccurately
mentioned in relation to the use of SSP, which is a
low-grade fertilizer, is logistical costs. Nonetheless,
this is significantly attenuated taking into consideration the need of gypsum in most cultivated soils in
Brazil, due to its effectiveness in ameliorating subsoil acidity in highly weathered soils, as well as its
role as a source of S to plants. A continuous use of
SSP yields gradual but effective results in terms of
subsoil ammelioration, which are similar to those
obtained by the use of gypsum (Lopes et al., 2010).
It also avoids imbalanced use of gypsum that could
result in Mg and K leaching. In fact, when considering long term applications, the use of SSP could be
advantageous when compared with the use of highgrade P fertilizers + gypsum. As shown in the figure
fertilizers, is nearly total in Brazil. Yet, the production of SSP also offers significant savings of this
resource (about 20%). While the production of 1 ton
of soluble P2O5 contained in SSP consumes 710 kg
of S, the same amount of P2O5 as phosphoric acid
would require 850 kg of S. The lower carbon footprint is also another comparative advantage of SSP,
as this fertilizer emites 3 times less CO2eq/per kg
of P2O5 produced than a high-grade P fertilizer as
TSP (Kool et al., 20121). Still from the environmental point of view, since SSP carries calcium sulphate
on its composition, in addition to offering all the S
used in its production, as well as soluble Ca for
crop production, such fertilizers provide also a better environment for root development. This allows
a better exploitation of water and nutrients from
subsoil resulting in higher yields due to improved
fertilizer use efficiency, which is especially relevant
for N-NO3-. High-grade P fertilizers can not provide
such benefit. Since gypsum (calcium sulphate) is
widely used in agricultural areas with constrains related to Ca deficiency/Al toxicity in Brazil, this effect can be achieved by using SSP, without requiring a new operation. Finally, it is also important to
highlight the possibility of adding other nutrients to
SSP, such as zinc, manganese, copper, and boron,
with greater agronomic efficiency due to the greater
acidity generated from the dissolution of this P fertilizer, coupled to a more homogeneous application
and uniform distribution in the field.
2, the use of 300 kg of SSP per hectare per year

during 10 years will result in the consumption of 3
tons of products. On the other hand, using equivalent amounts of gypsum (found in SSP) + MAP will
lead to 3.35 tons, whereas gypsum + TSP would result in 3.5 tons of products to be transported. Such
figures point out that and adequate and continuous
use of SSP is also economically important in a large
country with a large area of agricultural production
as Brazil.
http://blonkconsultants.nl/upload/pdf/PDV%20rapporten/
fertilizer_production%20D03.pdf.
1
Conclusions

Single super phosphate has a leading role
in crop fertilization in Brazil. Besides the importance
of SSP as a source of P, S, and Ca, as well as a
potential carrier for micronutrients, its benefitial effect in terms of correction of subsurface soil acidity
and the favorable spatial distribution of P resources
and fertilizer plants for production of SSP and other
sulfuric-acid based P fertilizers in Brazil reinforces
the importance of such fertilizer sources for tropical
agriculture.
Keywords: Superphosphate, Fertilizer Consumption, Tropical Soils
Acknowledgements
To Sinprifert, for providing statistical data on SSP
production, consumption, exports, and imports in
Brazil, as well as information concerning consumption of raw materilas for fertilizer production.
References
ANDA Anurio Estatstico do Setor de Fertilizantes
2013, So Paulo, ANDA, 2014. 176 p.
111
Lopes, A. S.; Guilherme, L. R. G.; Cunha, J. F. Superfosfatos simples e outros fertilizantes fosfatados solubilizados industrialmente via rota do cido
sulfrico. ANDA, So Paulo, 2010. 49 p.
Table 1. Single superphosphate (SSP) consumption in Brazil (tons).
National
SSP
Total fertilizer
Imports
production
consumption
consumption
---------------------------------------------- tons ------------------------------5,628,486
434,471
5,720,560
22,767,489
4,377,809
137,069
4,566,627
22,194,731
4,223,098
137,299
4,600,256
20,981,734
5,363,485
364,541
5,088,810
24,608,993
4,702,201
300,753
4,630,782
22,429,232
4,234,954
225,391
5,165,604
22,470,821
5,033,885
312,533
5,415,296
24,516,184
5,476,401
612,072
5,653,815
28,326,254
5,067,042
676,203
5,788,829
29,537,010
4,931,306
870,782
5,525,278
29,537,010
Year
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
SSP share
(over total consumption)
%
25.1
22.6
21.9
20.7
20.6
23.0
22.1
20.0
19.6
17.8
Source: ANDA. Anurio Estatstico do Setor de Fertilizantes (2014).
Figure 1. Installed capacity

for production (tons) of SSP in
Brasil (Source: ANDA)
3500
Cumulative application
(kg)
3000
3000
2200
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
SSP
1300
MAP
1150
TSP
Gypsum equivalent
0
1
4 5 6 7 8
Years of application
10
Figure 2. Cumulative quantity of

MAP or TSP and gypsum (found
in SSP) compared with anual
use of 300 kg of SSP.
112
A NEW K-RELEASE MATERIAL FROM K-BEARING SILICATES

CAROLE GADOIS, TAISIYA SKORINA, ANTOINE ALLANORE
1
Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA
02139, USA (cgadois@mit.edu; tskorina@mit.edu; allanore@mit.edu)
Introduction

K-bearing silicates minerals are an alternative source of potassium for Brazil, and could become the raw material for K-fertilizer for the Cerrado regions. As part of a comprehensive research
effort conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (see related presentation by Prof. Antoine Allanore), this contribution addresses the processing of K-bearing syenite by hydrothermal treatment and the use of a chemical activator to extract
potassium.

Our laboratory has indeed developed a hydrothermal method to enhance the availability of
potassium from K-bearing tectosilicates, such as,
but not limited to K-feldspars. Through the application of the activator, an alkaline-earth oxide or hydroxide, the alumino-silicate network experiences
hydrolytic degradation in hydrothermal conditions.
After the treatment, charge-balancing potassium
ions can be released from the solid product. The
resulting material demonstrated after 24h a K-release up to 25 times higher than the original rock.
Besides its leaching performances, the processed
material can also provide structural components
such as low-molecular weight silicic acid that could
promotes the formation of clay minerals (phyllosilicates) and also provide other essential micronutrients, such as calcium, magnesium or iron. This
method also offers the considerable advantages to
avoid solid and liquid wastes, to address the high
acidity of soils through the addition of calcium and
depends on affordable and locally sourced raw materials. The method could offer an alternative solution to countries with limited access to traditional
K-salts but where K-feldspars and other K-bearing
silicates are available, in Brazil for example.
Methods
Method of forming

The mineral used contains about 80%wt.
of K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8). The molar ratio between
the silicon of the rock and the calcium in the activator is in the range of between 1.0:0.1 and 1.0:0.3.
The raw materials are combined with liquid water to

form a solid-liquid mixture. The range of the liquidto-solid weight ratio has been varied between about
1:1 and 4:1.

The mixture has then been exposed under
stirring to saturated steam at a temperature in the
range of 100C to 350C, and a pressure of about
225psia in a pressure vessel. After the reaction, the
resulting solid phase containing residual liquid has
been dried overnight at about 110C.
Characterization

The size of the particles has been measured by Laser Diffraction Particles Size Analyzer (PSD, LS 13 320, Beckman Coulter, Inc). The
specific surface area (SSA) has been measured
by BrunauerEmmettTeller (BET) method. The
morphology of the samples has been observed
with scanning electron microscopy (SEM, JEOL
6610LV) and transmission electron microscopy
(TEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) for the compositional mapping of
potassium and other elements along the bulk material. The crystalline phases before and after synthesis have been determined by X-ray Diffraction
analysis (XRD, PANalytical Xpert Pro).

Materials performance in term of elements
release, potassium and calcium in particular, was
evaluated by leaching tests on the original and the
processed material to allow comparison. Elements
concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS, Agilent
Technologies, Inc.). Short term K-release cumulative value in Table 1 corresponds to the sum of
grams of K released in 3 batches with fresh solution
of nitric acid, performed within 24 hours (solid-toliquid weight ratio = 1:10, pH of influent = 5, t =
220C). Mid-term K-release cumulative value corresponds to the sum of grams of K released in 10
batches (each batch is replacing the old influent by
fresh influent, keeping the same solid-to-liquid ratio)
performed within 10 days (solid to liquid weight ratio
= 1:10, pH of influent = 5, t = 22 0C).
113
Conclusions

The conversion rate of initial K-feldspar into
a gel increased with a higher amount of calcium.
The resulting material is composed of an amorphous potassium alumino-silicate gel (K-A-S-H gel)
and a crystalline part (see figure.1) than can clearly
be distinguished on TEM/SEM. XRD analysis revealed that all the samples show the presence of
tobermorite, a crystalline compound with general
formula Ca5Si6O16(OH)2nH2O where n~4 in coexistence with the remaining K-feldspar in the form of
microcline and orthoclase.

The weight ratio between tobermorite/
(microcline+orthoclase) contributes to the amount
of rapidly available calcium: the higher this ratio,
the lower the availability of Ca2+ due to its fixation
within the crystalline structure of tobermorite, thus
reducing the risk of liming of the soils. The method
enables the control over the K-release by tailoring
the amount of gel formed.

A new material with a potential application
as a potassium fertilizer has been formed from a
K-bearing silicate rock available in Brazil. The gel/
crystalline combination allows an increase of the
rate of potassium by more the 25 times compared
to the as-milled minerals, as well as a slower release that prevents potassium from being immediately drained away with irrigation. The silicate gel
can provide plant-available silica, which is a structural and defensive element for many plants, and
could also participates in phyllosilicate phase precipitation. Further, the process avoids the formation of solid and liquid wastes that would otherwise
need to be separated, recycled, and stockpiled before use of the product.
Keywords: Potassium- Fertilizer, K-feldspar, Hydrothermal treatment, Silicate Gel
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to sincerely acknowledge
Terrativa Minerais S.A for funding the research.
Figure 1. TEM pictures of the fertilizer. The rods correspond

to the crystalline phase, the round shapes correspond to the
amorphous phase.
Table 1. Performances and phase compositions of the unprocessed and processed syenites
Unprocessed Material (Syenite)
1
2
3
Cumulative release of nutrition elements (g of element/kg of dry sample)
Short Term K-release (24 hours)
0.4
0.6
0.8
Mid Term K-release (30 days)
0.7
1.0
1.3
Mid Term Ca-release (30 days)
<0.1
<0.1
<0.1
Mid Term Si-release (30 days)
0.38
0.40
0.50
Phase composition of final material
K(Na)-A-S-H gel, wt.%
0
0
0
Weight ratio between
0:1
0:1
0:1
Tobermorite /(Microcline+Orthoclase)
Surface Specific Area (SSA-BET)
4.4
8
8
Volume % of particles below 5 m
56
70
72
Example number
Processed Material
5
10
12
0.48
1.23
5.6
6.5
0.53
1.03
2.0
2.5
0.75
0.77
20-25
15-20
10-15
0.125:1
0.09:1
0.05:1
12
30
9
30
8
30
114
MEASUREMENT UNCERTAINTY ARISING FROM SAMPLING FOR

COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT OF FERTILIZERS IN BRAZIL
LUIZ A. J. TEIXEIRA1, FLVIA CONSOLINI2, FERNANDO CARVALHO3,
RICARDO G. MENDES3, ELIEZER A. B. DE OLIVEIRA2
1
Centro de Solos e Recursos Ambientais - Instituto Agronmico (IAC), Av. Baro de Itapura 1481, Campinas, SP, 13020-902,
BRAZIL (teixeira@iac.sp.gov.br); 2Laboratrio Nacional Agropecurio em So Paulo (LANAGRO-SP) - Ministrio da Agricultura,
Pecuria e Abastecimento (MAPA), Av. Jundia 773, Jundia, 13208-051, BRAZIL (flavia.consolini@agricultura.gov.br eliezer.
oliveira@agricultura.gov.br): 3Servio de Fiscalizao de Insumos Agrcolas (SEFIA/MAPA), Rua Treze de Maio, 1558, So Paulo,
01327-002, BRAZIL (fernando.carvalho@agricultura.gov.br; ricardo.mendes@agricultura.gov.br)
Introduction

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and
Supply (Ministrio da Agricultura, Pecuria e Abastecimento, abbreviated MAPA) is responsible for
ensuring the quality of fertilizers sold in Brazil, by
inspection of products and analysis of official samples collected by inspectors. These samples are
analyzed according to official methods to check
compliance. If the laboratory analysis finds the
product failed to meet its label guarantees, the fertilizer manufacturer may be subject to penalties of
fines, stop sale up to plant closing. Thus, quality
assurance of analytical results of fertilizers is important both for farmers who rely on these inputs for
the success of their activity and for MAPA in order
to support its legal acts.

The whole process of compliance assessment of fertilizers begins with the taking of the primary sample from a sampling target, usually a production lot, and ends with a certificate of analysis
issued by an official laboratory. But the results of
measurements have an associated uncertainty that
must be taken into account. Such uncertainty has
two distinguishable components, one resulting from
taking the sample and the other from the analytical procedure. Sampling uncertainty arises from the
heterogeneity of the target material and from variation in the implementation of the sampling protocol,
which always contains some level of ambiguity.

This study aimed to estimate the uncertainty associated with the determination of P contents
(% of P2O5, citrate-soluble phosphate) in the official
process of compliance assessment of complex and
simple fertilizers.
Methods
Sample targets consisted of lots of two types of mineral fertilizers sampled at registered fertilizer manufacturers located in the State of So Paulo. Guarantees
and weights of complex and simple fertilizers lots are

presented in Table 1 and 2, respectively.

The fertilizers were sampled according
to MAPA regulations described in the IN MAPA n
53/2013 (BRASIL, 2013). The estimation of uncertainty arising from sampling was done according to
the Eurachem/CITAC recommendations (RAMSEY
& ELLISON, 2007), using the empirical approach
(top-down). Samples were taken in duplicate from
eight lots by type of fertilizer. These samplings were
performed twice independently, repeating the whole
process (randomization of sampling points, collection
and reduction of sample mass), and using the same
equipments and operators. At the laboratory, the samples were divided into two portions (Fraction 1 and 2)
with a Jones riffle splitter. Each fraction was analyzed
twice (Analysis 1 and 2) as presented in Figure 1. The
percentage of citrate-soluble P2O5 was determined by
the gravimetric quimociac technique according to IN
MAPA n 28/2007 (BRASIL, 2007b).

The estimated standard uncertainty (u) and
expanded uncertainty (U = 2 * u) were expressed
as percentage of the average of the determinations,
i.e. relative uncertainties (u % and U %). The uncertainties were calculated by analysis of variance,
using proc NESTED of SAS (SAS Institute, 2004).

The measurements of P contents in the
samples of complex and simple fertilizers are
shown in Tables 3 and 4, respectively. Comparing
the values obtained for the first and second analysis of each fraction, we assessed the uncertainty
resulting solely from the chemical analysis, which
was relatively small.

The expanded uncertainties of the whole
process of compliance assessment of the P content
in complex and simple fertilizers, as well as the uncertainties associated with steps of sampling, divi-
sion and analysis of sample are presented in Tables

5 and 6, respectively. For both types of fertilizers,
the uncertainty due to sampling at the fertilizer plant
added to the division of the sample at the laboratory
before the analysis is much larger than the analytical uncertainty. This serves as a motive to improve
the steps before chemical analysis in order to increase the reliability of the official process of conformity assessment of fertilizers.

Comparing the expanded uncertainty for
the whole process of checking the conformity of the
P concentration with the legal tolerance referred in
IN MAPA n5/2007 (BRASIL, 2007a), it was found
that the uncertainty of approximately 2% of the
guarantee is well below the legal tolerance. For
complex fertilizers (average P2O5=14%), the tolerance is 1 percentage point (pp), while the expanded
uncertainty for this determination was at 0.28 pp.
The tolerance for complex fertilizers with a guarantee around 49% of P2O5 is 1.5 percentage points,
while the expanded uncertainty was at 0.98 p.
Conclusions

Uncertainty estimation procedure prescribed by Eurachem is feasible for applying to legal compliance checks of fertilizer. We can estimate
the uncertainty of the measurements considering
the entire process of compliance, from sampling to
analytical determinations.

For complex and simple fertilizers, the uncertainty of P content measurement is much smaller than the legal tolerance.
Keywords: Fertilizer sampling; conformity assessment; official sampling; fertilizer analysis.
References
BRASIL (2007a). Instruo Normativa MAPA n
5, de 23 de fevereiro de 2007. Available at: http://
www.agricultura.gov.br/ vegetal/fertilizantes/legislacao (Accessed: 11 June 2014)
BRASIL (2007b). Instruo Normativa MAPA n 28,
de 27 de julho de 2007. Available at: http://www.
agricultura.gov.br/ vegetal/fertilizantes/legislacao
(Accessed: 11 June 2014)
BRASIL (2013). Instruo Normativa MAPA n 53,
de 23 de outubro de 2013. Available at: http://www.
agricultura.gov.br/ vegetal/fertilizantes/legislacao
(Accessed: 11 June 2014)
RAMSEY, M.H. and ELLISON, S.L.R. (eds.) Measurement uncertainty arising from sampling: a
guide to methods and approaches. Eurachem/EUROLAB/CITAC/Nordtest/AMC, 2007. 102p.
SAS Institute. SAS/STAT 9.1 Users Guide. SAS
Institute Inc., 2004. 5123p.
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of sample collection at fertilizer plants and sample handling at laboratory
% of citrate-soluble P2O5; Triple superphosphate; monoammonium phosphate; #For each sampling target (complex or
simple fertilizer), samples were collected from eight lots; the two samples per lot were collected independently.
#
115
116
Table 1. Guaranteed analysis and weights of the lots of complex fertilizers
N-P#-K
%
04-14-08
03-17-00
15-06-00
00-20-00
00-20-00
15-06-00
00-20-00
03-17-00
Lot
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Weight
t
650
600
700
800
900
550
650
600
% of citrate-soluble P2O5
Table 2. Guaranteed analysis and weights of the lots of simple fertilizers
N-P#-K
%
00-46-00 / TSP
11-52-00 / MAP
11-52-00 / MAP
00-46-00 / TSP
11-52-00 / MAP
00-46-00 / TSP
00-46-00 / TSP
11-52-00 / MAP
Lot
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Weight
t
940
650
650
800
1000
850
850
400
# % of citrate-soluble P2O5; Triple superphosphate; monoammonium phosphate
Table 3. Measurements of the concentration of P (% of citrate-soluble P2O5) in eight duplicated samples of complex
fertilizers. Each sample (S1 and S2) was divided into two fractions (F1 and F2), and each fraction was analyzed twice
(A1 and A2).
Citrate-soluble phosphate (%P2O5)
Lot
Guarantee
N-P-K
S1F1A1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
04-14-08
03-17-00
15-06-00
00-20-00
00-20-00
15-06-00
00-20-00
03-17-00
13.19
15.55
5.16
18.51
19.28
5.58
19.48
15.40
S1F1A2
S1F2A1
S1F2A2
S2F1A1
S2F1A2
S2F2A1
S2F2A2
13.26
15.70
5.22
18.50
19.44
5.66
19.39
15.55
13.42
15.73
5.15
18.69
19.62
5.59
19.11
15.75
13.37
15.70
5.11
18.67
19.57
5.58
19.35
15.69
13.44
15.61
5.04
18.54
19.48
5.70
19.35
15.41
13.47
15.84
5.09
18.51
19.54
5.65
19.25
15.48
13.70
15.91
5.08
18.61
19.87
5.65
19.44
15.49
13.67
16.02
5.12
18.72
19.77
5.63
19.42
15.39
S: sampling at fertilizer plants; F: sample division at laboratory; A: duplicated analysis
117
Table 4. Measurements of the concentration of P (% of citrate-soluble P2O5) in eight duplicated samples of simple
fertilizers. Each sample (S1 and S2) was divided into two fractions (F1 and F2), and each fraction was analyzed twice
(A1 and A2).
Citrate-soluble phosphate (%P2O5)
Lot
Guarantee
N-P-K
S1F1A1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
00-46-00
11-52-00
11-52-00
00-46-00
11-52-00
00-46-00
00-46-00
11-52-00
46.52
52.81
50.34
44.44
52.68
46.67
46.62
51.82
S1F1A2 S1F2A1 S1F2A2 S2F1A1 S2F1A2 S2F2A1 S2F2A2

46.59
52.89
50.54
43.76
52.66
46.57
46.58
51.67
46.58
53.39
50.49
42.88
52.96
45.02
46.91
52.07
46.48
52.94
50.48
44.16
53.03
46.43
46.53
51.56
46.46
52.90
51.70
44.74
52.53
46.52
46.66
51.79
46.64
52.96
51.99
44.55
52.64
46.55
46.68
51.96
46.06
53.48
51.96
43.48
52.75
45.15
45.91
51.92
S: sampling at fertilizer plants; F: sample division at laboratory; A: duplicated analysis
Table 5. Relative uncertainty for P concentration (% of citrate-soluble P2O5) in complex fertilizers
P concentration in
complex fertilizers
Uncertainty u (%)
0.4
Sample
division
0.8
Expanded uncertainty U
(%)=2*u#
0.8
1.6
0.9
2.0
% of variance
0.01
0.04
0.01
--
Sampling
Analysis
Total
0.5
1.0
With a coverage factor of 2 (i.e. 95% confidence)
Table 6. Relative uncertainty for P concentration (% of citrate-soluble P2O5) in simple fertilizers
P concentration in simple
fertilizers
Uncertainty u (%)
Expanded uncertainty U
(%)=2*u#
% of variance
Sampling
Sample division
Analysis
Total
0.6
0.4
0.7
1.0
1.3
0.8
1.4
2.1
0.77
0.32
0.94
--
46.42
53.07
51.92
44.09
52.54
46.48
46.24
51.59
118
BIOGAS RESIDUES - ASPECTS OF NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

AND SOIL FERTILITY
BETTINA EICHLER-LOEBERMANN1, SILVIA BACHMANN1, RALF UPTMOOR1
1
University of Rostock, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, J. von Liebig-Weg 6, D-18051 Rostock, Germany
(bettina.eichler@uni-rostock.de)
Introduction

The number of biogas plants increased
considerably in the last years in Germany and in
other countries in the world. In Germany about 60
Mio t of residues remain after the biogas process
per year They contain organic matter and essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) (Mller & Mller 2012,
Bachmann et al. 2011) making them an important
fertilizer for crop production. The reuse of biogas
residues is also an important step to close nutrient
cycles, to maintain soil fertility and to improve the
sustainability of bioenergy production. Anaerobic
digestion alters the composition of the input materials like slurries and plant biomass. While the total
nutrient contents generally remain constant, the
organic matter content is reduced after anaerobic
digestion and the content of NH4-N is higher (Masse
et al. 2007). Several studies showed higher yields
and N uptake after the application of digested compared to undigested materials (Deboer et al. 2008).
However, less is known about the effect of biogas
residues on plant P nutrition and soil P cycle. In
the last years we carried out several pot and field
experiments to investigate undigested and digested
material under semi-controlled and field conditions.
Exemplary we present here the field experiment.
Methods

The experiment was established in September 2008 in cooperation with the dairy farm. The
undigested substrate and the biogas substrate were
applied as fertilizes up to a quantity of 10 m ha-1 in
autumn after harvest and 20 m ha-1 in spring before
sowing of maize. For control, mineral N and K was
applied, equivalent to the quantity of N and K applied with the slurries (Table 1). Additionally, 70 kg
ha-1 of N in the form of calcium ammonium nitrate
was applied to the whole experiment. All treatments
were repeated 4 times. At harvest, plant samples
were taken and analyzed regarding DM yield and P
and N concentration. Soil samples (0-30 cm) were
taken 5 times during the vegetation period: before

fertilizer application (0), and 2, 4, 12 and 21 weeks
(harvest) after fertilizer application. Air dried soil
samples were analyzed for P forms. Dehydrogenase activity, acid and alkaline phosphatase activity
were analyzed in the fresh soil samples.

P uptake increased significantly when undigested or digested slurries were applied in comparison to the control (NK). As already found in previouse
pot experiments (Bachmann et al. 2011), the undigested subtrate and the biogas substrate had a similar effect on maize yield and P and N uptake. Yield,
and in turn P and N uptake, increased from 2009 to
2011, probably due to the weather conditions.

Comparing the annual P uptake of maize
(Table 2) and the annual P supply with the biogas
slurry (Table 1), the P balance in the experiment
turned out to be negative. This indicates that P supply with 30 m biogas slurry per year, which is common practice, usually does not meet the plants demands. This can be attributed to the wide N:P ratio
in the biogas slurry and is also confirmed by studies
of Mller & Stinner 2010. An opportunity to improve
the nutrient management can be the solid-liquid
separation of the biogas slurry, where the mayority
of P is concentrated in the solid phase.

The activity of dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase in the undigested slurry treatment
was nearly twice as high as in the biogas slurry and
NK treatment (Table 3). Although a total amount of
4986 kg organic matter per hectare were applied
with the biogas slurry in the sum of the 3 years,
microbial activity did not differ from mineral NK fertilizer treatment. This underlines the poor availability
of organic compounds contained in biogas slurries
for soil microorganisms.
Conclusions

Biogas residues are a valuable P source in
agriculture. This was shown in various pot and field
experiments. However, continuous biogas residue

application in the field reduced microbial activity in
soil which may, in the long term, have consequences for microbial C and P turnover. Additional measures such as catch crop cultivation and application
of unfermented organic material may be necessary
to maintain biological activity of the soil.
Keywords: phosphorus, microbial activity, organic
matter
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Federal Ministry of Food and
Agriculture and the FNR e.V. for the support of the
study
References
Bachmann S, Wentzel S, Eichler-Lbermann B.
(2011): Co-digested dairy slurry as a phosphorus
and nitrogen source for Zea mays L. and Ama-
ranthus cruentus L. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 174(6):

90815
deBoer HC (2008): Co-digestion of animal slurry
can increase short-term nitrogen recovery by crops.
J Environ. Qual. 37(5): 196873
Mass DI, Croteau F, Mass L (2007): The fate of
crop nutrients during digestion of swine manure in
psychrophilic anaerobic sequencing batch reactors.
Biores. Technol. 98: 2819-2823
Mller K, Mller T (2012): Effects of anaerobic digestion on digestate nutrient availability and crop
growth: A review. Eng. Life Sci. 12(3): 24257
Mller K, Stinner W (2010): Effects of organic
wastes digestion for biogas production on mineral
nutrient availability of biogas effluents. Nutr. Cycl.
Agroecosyst. 87: 395-413
Table 1. Average annual matter and nutrient application in the field experiment (kg ha-1 a-1)
Substrate
DM
OM
Ntotal
NH4-N
Ptotal
Ktotal
Mgtotal
US dairy
3249
2754
141
60
21
67
21
BS dairy
2176
1662
145
73
21
73
24
US = undigested slurry, BS = digested slurry, FM=Fresh Matter, DM=Dry Matter, OM=organic matter
Table 2. Effect of fertilizer treatment and year on yield, P- and N-uptake of maize in the field experiment.
Results from Two Factorial ANOVA (F-Test) and post hoc comparison of means (Duncan Test, 0.05).
Source of variation
Treatment
Year
Fertilizer*Year
Block
Treatment
US dairy
BS dairy
NK
Year
2009
2010
2011
P-uptake
DM-Yield
dt ha-1 a-1
0.001
<0.001
0.311
0.255
N-uptake
0.028
<0.001
0.030
0.592
0.003
<0.001
0.135
0.029
176 b
165 b
151 a
241 b
227 ab
209 a
44.3 b
41.4 b
33.8 a
111 a
167 b
215 c
145 a
278 c
253 b
20.2 a
45.4 b
53.8 c
kg ha-1 a-1
Table 3. Enzyme activity and organic matter content in the soil after 3 years of continous application of
undigested slurry and biogas slurry (mean of 5 sampling dates).
Treatment
DH-Activity
g TPF
g-1
DW
acP-Activity
g p-NP
alP-Activity
g-1
DW
SOM
%
US dairy
26.5 b
224 c
43.5 b
2.44 a
BS dairy
13.2 a
193 a
23.0 a
2.42 a
12.9 a
210 b
23.6 a
2.37 a
NK
119
120
EFFICIENCY OF LIQUID FERTILIZERS MADE FROM SWINE SLURRY

PAULO C. CASSOL1, MARCO A. GROHSKOPF2, SRGIO W. BOUSFIELD3, MARIA S. H. MAFRA3,
PAULO R. ERNANI1, JULIANO C. CORRA4
1
Department of Soil Science - UDESC, Av. Luiz de Cames, 2090, Lages, 88520-050, BRASIL (paulo.cassol@udesc.br);
Postgraduate Program in Agronomy - UNESP, Campus de Botucatu, Rua Jos Barbosa de Barros, 1780, Botucatu, 18610-307,
BR (marco-a06g@hotmail.com); 3ostgraduate Program in Soil Science - UDESC, Av. Luiz de Cames, 2090, Lages, 88520-050,
BRASIL; 4Swine and Poultry Recearch Center - EMBRAPA, Rodovia BR 153, km 110, Vila Tamandu, Concrdia, 89700-000,
BRASIL (juliano.correa@embrapa.br)
Introduction

Swine production is a major livestock activities in Brazil. This activity has great importance as
a source of income as well as employment for local
rural and urban communities. This production is
concentrated in some regions, like in the west of the
Santa Catarina state, where the volume of swine
slurry (SS) produced, which has high potential pollutant, exceeds the availability of areas for agricultural land application of that waste in appropriate
rates (Scherer et al., 2010). In this context, the production of liquid organic-mineral fertilizers from SS
may be a promising alternative for mitigating the
negative impacts of this waste disposal in the environment. Although it occurs in a liquid form, this
kind of fertilizers enables the increase in the nutrient concentration and thus it becomes feasible to
transport and use as fertilizer in places more distant
from the swine producing regions.

The agronomic efficiency of fertilizers in liquid form is equivalent or even superior to traditional
solid fertilizers (Chien et al., 2011). Thus, after being transformed into a liquid biofertilizer the SS allows the use of nutrients as well as the wastewater
from swine farming with greater efficiency than the
direct use of such residues.

This study aimed to determine the efficiency of nitrogen and phosphate biofertilizers prepared
from SS in a liquid form, relative to the exclusively
mineral liquid fertilizer, through the accumulation of
N and P in shoots plants of millet and oat in three
consecutive greenhouse crops.
Methods

A greenhouse pot experiment was carried
out in Lages, SC, in order to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizer in
liquid forms prepared from SS in two soil types, one
Ultisol (ULT) and an Oxisol (OXI). The soils were
limed with a mixture of CaCO3 and MgCO3 in a 2:1
ratio, to raise pH to 6.0. For evaluation the nitrogen

fertilizer, a control treatment (No-N) in addition to a
liquid mineral fertilizer nitrogen (Min-N) and a liquid
organic-mineral nitrogen fertilizer (Org-N) were applied. For the evaluation of the phosphate source,
treatments applied were a control (No-P), a liquid
phosphatic mineral fertilizer (Min-P) and a liquid organic-mineral phosphate fertilizer (Org-P). Mineral
N and P sources used were ammonium nitrate (NHNO3) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4), respectively.
These fertilizers were dissolved directly in the SS to
make the organic-mineral fertilizers, and in distilled
water to prepare the mineral fertilizers. The pH of
the liquid fertilizers was adjusted to 7.0 with NaOH,
and the total content of N and P2O5 was adjustedto 14% and 10%, respectively. Nitrogen fertilizers
were applied at a rate of 60 mg kg-1 of N, while all
other nutrients were applied on rates in order to
provide high availability in the soil, using the principle all but one off (GOEDERT et al., 1986). Thus,
P was applied at rates of 125 and 175 mg kg-1 to the
soils ULT and OXI, respectively. Fhurtermore, rates
of 100; 23; 1.3; 0.9; and 1.1 mg kg-1 of K, S, Cu, Zn
and B were applied in both soils, by using nutrient
solutions. In order to evaluate phosphate fertilizers,
the same rate (80 mg kg-1 of P) was applied in both
soils, in addition to 150 mg kg-1 of N and the same
rates and sources of the other nutrients specified
above. The total contents of nutrients in the SS
was 31, 3.2, 0.76 and 0.90 kg m-3 for C, N, P and K
respectively.

The experimental units (EU) were polyethylene pots containing 7.0 kg of dry soil distributed
in a randomized block design with four replications.
Fertilizers were applied in a liquid form and incorporated into two 4 cm depth holes in each pot, simulating band application distant by about 4 cm from
the seed.

Three successive crops were conducted in
pots, being two with millet (Penissetum glaucum,
4
121
Leeke), where crop I occurred during the summerautumn and crop III in the following spring, after a
crop II with oat (Avena sativa, Linnaeus) during the
winter. We cultivated 8 and 10 plants of millet and
oat per pot, respectively, who received intermittent
irrigation with distilled water to maintain soil moisture near to 80% of the field capacity. In each crop,
it was determined the shoot dry mass in growth
periods of approximately 50 days after sowing. In
Crop I it was done two cuts. It was determined the
mass of harvested material after drying at 60 C
and then it was determined total N and P contents.
From the accumulated amount of such nutrients in
the plants it was estimated the agronomic efficiency
index (AEI) of the organic-mineral fertilizer. The ASI
was based on the ratio between the amount of N
is relatively high, being almost twice of than existing

in the ULT, and in this case the contribution of mineralization of this component certainly contributed to
the N availability to plants, maintaining also high availability for the treatment Min-N even in the third crop.
This could also have occurred in the Org-N, however the death of some plants in pots that received
this treatment contributed to decrease its dry mass
yield, which limited the amount of N accumulated in
the plants causing less value of AEI to this fertilizer.
In genereraly, considering the AEI calculated for all
three crops, the Org-N fertilizer has highest efficiency
in ULT soil and similar eficiency in OXI soil than the
Min-N fertilizer, and both accumulated more N than
the control that did not receive N.

The AEI of the Org-P fertilizer was 104% in
or P increse in relations to the controls (No-N or

No-P) promoted by the organic-mineral (Org-N or
Org-P) and mineral fertilizers (Min-N or Min-P) according to the methodology described by Goedert
et al. (1986).

The results were analysed by the Fisher
test separately for the sources of N and P and the
averages were compared by Students test, using
the SAS software.
ULT soil at the first crop (Table 2), suggesting it was

similar to the Min-P. However, the Org-P AEI for
the second and third crops decreased to 88% and
36% respectively, indicating loss of efficiency over
time. This suggests that the Org-P fertilizer has not
kept available P forms in the soil equivalent to the
Min-P, what was not expected, because most of P
contained in the SS is in relatively soluble inorganic
compounds (Cassol et al. , 2012). Nevertheless,
on the OXI soil where the organic matter content
was higher, the Org-P IEA ranged between 82%
and 104%, without significant variation between
crops, showing similar efficiency to the Min-P. Thus,
considering all three crops it was observed that the
Org-P was less efficient than the Min-P in the ULT,
however, in the OXI these two fertilizers had similar
efficiency.

The agronomic efficiency index (AEI) of the
Org-N fertilizer (Table 1), calculated based on plant
N uptake, differed between soils, being generally
highest in the ULT soil. In this soil the Org-N AEI
values were 136%, 136% and 211% in the first,
second and third crops, respectively, corresponding
to 130% in the accumulated effect of all the three
crops. Thus, the organic-mineral nitrogen source
showed superiority to the mineral source, but only
in this soil. In the other soil (OXI) the AEI values
of the Org-N were 102%, 119% and 48% respectively, account for 90% in the accumulated effect
of all three crops. In this case the organo-mineral
source was similar to mineral source in the first
two harvests and lower than the Min-N in the third
crop.The greater efficiency of Org-N in the ULT soil
was attributed to the contribution of organic N compounds existing in the SS and in the soil microbial
biomass, which was presumably higher when the
organic fertlizer was applied.

The organic matter content in the OXI soil
Conclusions

The liquid organic-mineral fertilizer prepared from swine slurry has higher efficiency as
a nitrogen source than the standard liquid mineral
fertilizer in the Ultisol, which is a sandy soil with
low organic matter content; in the Oxisol, which is
clayey soil with medium to high organic matter content, however, these two fertilizers have similar efficiency.

The liquid organic-mineral fertilizer prepared from swinw slurry has lower efficiency as a
phosphate source than the standard liquid mineral
fertilizer in the Ultisol, but in the Oxisol the efficiency of these two fertilizers is similar.
122
Keywords: Manure, organic-mineral fertilizer, fluid

fertilizer
bility: an update review. Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosyst.,

v.89, p.229255, 2011.
References
GOEDERT, W.J.; SOUSA, D.M.G.; REIN, T. Princpios metodolgicos para avaliao agronmica de
fontes de fsforo. Planaltina: EMBRAPA-CPAC,
1986. 23 p. (Documentos, 22).
CASSOL, P. C.; COSTA, A. C.; CIPRANDI, O.;

PANDOLFO, C. M.; ERNANI, P. R. Disponibilidade
de macronutrientes e rendimento de milho em Latossolo fertilizado com dejeto suno. Viosa: RBCS,
v. 36, p. 1911-1923, 2012.
CHIEN, S.H.; PROCHNOW, L.I.; TU, S. & SNYDER, C.S. Agronomic and environmental aspects
of phosphate fertilizers varying in source and solu-
SCHERER, E. E.; NESI, C. N.; MASSOTTI, Z.

Atributos qumicos do solo influenciados por sucessivas aplicaes de dejetos sunos em reas
agrcolas de Santa Catarina. Viosa: RBCS, v.34,
p.1375-1383, 2010.
Table 1. Agronomic efficiency index (AEI) of a liquid organic-mineral fertilizer based in swine slurry as a source of
nitrogen, estimated in relation to the liquid mineral fertilizer in three successive crops conducted in pots. Means of three
replicates.
Soil
Crop I
Crop II
ULT
OXI
Mean of soils
136 Ab*
102 Bb
119a
136 Ab
119 Ba
127a
Crop III
AEI (%)
211 Aa
48 Bc
129a
AEI total
161 A
90 B
125
*Means follwed by different letters (lowercase in the line and uppercase in the column) differ (p<0,05) by Students t test.
Table 2. Agronomic efficiency index (AEI) of a liquid organic-mineral fertilizer based in swine slurry as a source of
phosphorus, estimated in relation to the liquid mineral fertilizer in three successive crops conducted in pots. Means of
three replicates.
Soil
ULT
OXI
Mean of soils
Crop I
Crop II
104 Aa*
91 Bb
97 a
88 Bb
82 Ab
85 b
Crop III
AEI (%)
36 Bc
104 Aa
70 c
AEI total
76 B
92 A
84
*Means follwed by different letters (lowercase in the line and uppercase in the column) differ (p<0,05) by Students t test.
123
ENERGY CROPS AND URBAN WASTEWATER:

EFFECTS ON BIOMASS AND ENERGY VALUE
MARCELLO MASTRORILLI1, CAROLA VITTI, PASQUALE CAMPI, ANNA MARIA STELLACCI,
FRANCESCA MODUGNO, FRANCESCO MONTEMURRO1
1
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura - Unit di Ricerca per i Sistemi Colturali degli Ambienti Caldo-aridi
(CRA-SCA), via Ulpiani 5, Bari, 70125, ITALY (marcello.mastrorilli@entecra.it)
Introduction

Fibre biomass is a potential source of lignocellulose for producing energy. To avoid competition
with food crops, energy crops should be grown in
marginal soils. The main constraint in growing energy crops in marginal areas is represented by the
water and fertilizers, since biomass production can
be considered linearly related to evapotranspiration and mineral uptake. In the Mediterranean area,
rainfall pattern during the sorghum cycle is not sufficient to ensure adequate production levels which
could be considered economically convenient. Sorghum for biomass requires more than 400 mm of
water (Mastrorilli et al., 1999) for attaining its potential yield. The introduction of the fibre sorghum
in the cropping systems of the Mediterranean areas
becomes a reliable hypothesis wherever irrigation is
demonstrated to be a sustainable agro-technique.
Since water represents a scarce resource within the
Mediterranean basin, ethical and economic issues
prevent the use of water for irrigating energy crops.
Conversely, this paradigm changes if alternative
water sources are used (Zema et al., 2012). The
purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of
the reuse of municipal wastewaters for producing
biomass from sorghum under the Mediterranean
conditions.
Methods

The experimental trials were conducted in
a private farm located in Southern Italy, near a municipal wastewater treatment plant (which supplied
wastewater during the growing season). The site
is characterized by Mediterranean climate (annual
rainfall was 554 mm). The soil texture is classified
as clay-loam and the soil water reserve is moderate (144 mm), because the root system does not
develop below 1.2 m.

The hybrid KWS Bulldozer (medium-late
vegetative cycle, high size, good tolerance to bending, and high yielding in dry and green biomass) was
sown on May with a plant density of 18 plants m-2 and

cultivated with low external inputs (weeding control at
the initial stage of the crop and 100 kg N ha-1 after 30
days from sowing). Sorghum was submitted to the following irrigation treatments: conventional water (AC),
tertiary-treated municipal wastewater (AF), wastewater from secondary treatment (AS). The irrigation water was distributed by a drip irrigation system once per
week, supplying water lost by evapotranspiration in
the previous 7-day period. In particular, irrigation was
scheduled according the FAO-56 methodology (Allen
et al., 1998). Each irrigation treatment (120 m) was
replicated 3 times.

By analyzing the water quality, it results
that extra quantities of macronutrients were provided by irrigating the sorghum plots with municipal wastewaters. Specifically, 3, 8 and 3 kg ha-1 of
N-NO3- and 1.3, 94.9 and 66.7 kg ha-1 of N-NH4+
were supplied to the AC, AS and AF treatments,
respectively, during the crop cycle (Tab. 1). These
macronutrients supplied to the soil by wastewater
did not cause an environmental issue because the
sorghum uptake determined a great reduction in nitrate concentration of soil water (Cosentino et al.,
2012).

As a consequence of the greater N supply,
higher biomass (25.1 t ha-1) was observed for the
plants irrigated with wastewater from the secondary
treatment (AS). This value was significantly higher
than the biomass harvested from sorghum crop irrigated with (AC) conventional water (+ 5.1 t ha-1) or
with (AF) tertiary-treated municipal wastewater (+
2.7 t ha-1).

The quantitative data on biomass were
consistent with qualitative data. The analyses
through the bomb calorimeter allowed to measure
the energy content of the biomass and to estimate
the energy per hectare. AS treatment (Figure 1) attained the best performance (420 GJ ha-1).
124
Conclusions
References

The irrigation of dedicated energy crops
with wastewater can be considered a sustainable
agro-technique. Reducing the degree of reclamation increased the energy: respect to the conventional water (AC), or to AF reclaimed wastewater,
AS treatment increased by 20, or 12%, respectively,
the energy harvestable from one hectare of biomass sorghum.
Cosentino L, Mantineo M, Testa G, 2012. Water

and nitrogen balance of sweet sorghum (Sorghum
bicolor Moench [L.]) cv. Keller under semi-arid conditions. Ind. Crops Prod. 36: 329-342.
Keywords: Mediterranean environment, water quality, irrigation, mineral nutrients
Acknowledgements

Results here reported have been obtained
within the frame of SOBIMA project financed by the
Italian Agricultural Ministry (D.M. 26278/7303/2009
Mastrorilli M, Katerji N, Rana G, 1999. Productivity and water use efficiency of sweet sorghum as
affected by soil water deficit occurring at different
vegetative growth stages. Eur. J. Agron. 11: 207215.
Zema D.A. Giuseppe Bombino G., Serafina Andiloro G., Zimbone S.M., 2012 Irrigation of energy
crops with urban wastewater: Effects on biomass
yields, soils and heating values. Agr. Wat. Man.
115: 5565
del 12/11/2009) has sustained in part.
Table 1. Main chemical properties of the three water quality sources
Treatments
Chemical Properties
AC
AS
AF
CE
BOD5
(dS/m)
(mgO2/L)
0.6
3
1.3
49
1.3
6
NO3NH4+
(mg/L)
(mg/L)
3
0.5
10
37
4
26
PO42-
(mg/L)
18
22
10
500
GJ ha-1
400
300
200
100
0
AC
AF
AS
Figure 1. Energy yield of biomass sorghum irrigated

with three water quality sources
125
OPTIMIZATION OF Chenopodium quinoa

NITROGEN NUTRITION IN SANDY SOIL
SAYED EISA1, AHMED ABDEL- ATI2
1
Department of Agricultural Botany, Ain Shams University, 68 Hadayk Shoubra Cairo11242 Egypt (Sayed_eisa @hotmail.com).
2
Department of Plant production , Desert Research center , 11753 Mataria, Cairo, Egypt (dr.abdelati@gmail.com)
Introduction
Dry Land significantly increases by global
warming effects, particularly in arid and semi-arid
regions. Egypt is located in hyper-arid region, uncultivated lands occupies 96% of its total area.
Bringing these lands under-cultivation requires not
only modern techniques for both irrigation and fertilization, but also non-traditional crops characterized
by high yield production under such harsh conditions. Chenopodium quinoa Willd is a multi-purpose
crop from Andes region of South America grown on
poorer soils (Jacobsen et al., 2005). Quinoa has a
highly unbelievable potential as a grain crop due to
its high nutritional value of seeds. quinoa is classified as a halophyte cash crop, because of its ability
to complete life cycle under seawater salinity level
(Koyro and Eisa, 2008). These characteristic make
it an attractive crop for arid and semi-arid regions.

The aim of this study was to determine the
optimum rate of nitrogen fertilization required to obtain a higher seed yield and better quality for quinoa
cultivated in sandy soil under sprinkler irrigation.
design with four replications was used. Vegetable

yield, seed yield & weight of 1000 seeds were determined. Seeds mineral composition, ash weight,
carbohydrates, protein, oil and fibers were determined under different nitrogen fertilization rates.
Amino acids profile and saponin concentration were
estimated in quinoa seeds.
Conclusion

We could show in this paper that nitrogen
has a highly significant influence on seed quaintly
and composition for c.quinoa cultivated in sandy
soil under sprinkle irrigation.
Keywords: Quinoa, nitrogen fertilization, sandy soil,
seed yield , Amino acids competition, Saponin contents.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Mr. M.I.A. Ibrahim and
Abd El-Rahmain El-Naggar agricultural Botans
dept., faculty agricultural , Ain shams university for
thier help during this work.
Methods

Field experiments were carried out in
Northwestern of Sinai, Egypt (3.0m above sea level; latitude 32, 27; longitude 30, 59). Seeds of C.
quinoa Willd cv. Hualhuas [Origion: International
Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru]. Four rates of nitrogen, i.e. 70, 190, 310 & 430 KgNha-1 were added
in five equal amounts as side dressing. Sprinkler
irrigation, which is characterized with higher water
application efficiency than surface irrigation was
used in these experiments. Complete randomized
References
Koyro HW, Eisa SS (2008). Effect of salinity on
composition , viability and germinadtion of seeds of
Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Plant Soil 302: 79-95.
Jacobsen SE, Monteros C, Christiansem JL, Bravo
LA, Corcuera LJ, Mujica A (2005). Plant responses
of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) to frost at
various phonological stages. Eur J Agron 22: 131139.
Table 1. Effect of nitrogen fertilization rate on vegetable and seed yield (kg ha-1)
Parameter
Nitrogen
Rates ( kg N ha-1)
70
190
310
430
Shoot from weight

(kg ha-1)
Dry seed yield

(kg ha-1)
750c
2000b
2700a
1800b
100d
360b
480a
180c
Mean for each calcium with the same letter are not significantly different.
126
POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS OF HYPERSPECTRAL MEASUREMENTS

TO DETERMINE THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF MAIZE
H. LILIENTHAL1, K. PANTEN1, J. SCHICK1, S. SCHROETTER1, E. SCHNUG1
1
Julius Khn-Institut, Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Bundesallee 50, D-38116 Germany (holger.lilienthal@jki.bund.de)
Introduction

Chemical and physical determination of
the nutritional status of crops is time-, labour- and

cost-intensive. Therefore rapid non-destructive
in vivo methods are demanded. Spectral reflectance measurements offer a fast way to retrieve
information on the nutrient status of plants. With
the advent of low cost spectrometers, reflectance
measurements offer a great potential to supplement chemical methods.
Methods

A factorial combined pot experiment with
maize (Zea mays) as a test crops was established
in a randomised complete block design with three
replicates. The factors tested were three nutrients
(nitrogen (N), sulphur (S), magnesium (Mg)) and
four fertilisation levels (no (0), low (1), standard (2)
and luxury fertilization (3)) resulting in 192 pots.
All other nutrients were supplied in optimum rates.
Spectral measurements and plant sampling was
carried out at stem elongation (BBCH 31). Reflectance measurements of the leaves (one per plant,
three per pot) were performed, using an ASD FieldSpec Spectrometer (Analytical Spectral Devices)
with a leaf clip device, covering a spectral range
from 400 to 1,050 nm in 1nm steps. Additionally
rapid chlorophyll measurements were conducted
with a SPAD-502 (Konica Minolta) instrument.
Spectrally measured leaf parts were sampled, frozen and analysed for chlorophyll-a and -b as well
as carotenoids according to Wellburn (1994), at a
later date. The remaining plant parts were dried at
40 C and total N contents were analysed by dry
combustion (Elementar Analysensysteme GmbH).
Total Mg and S contents were analysed using X-ray
fluorescence (XRF, Bruker) according to Haneklaus
and Schnug (1999). The prediction of pigments and
macro nutrients from the spectral measurements
had been carried out by partial least squares regression (PLSR) using The Unscrambler software
(Camo). Additionally, 59 spectral vegetation indices
had been computed, only the best performing indices are presented here.

The results of the chemical and XRF
analyses showed that the coefficients of variation
(CV) are higher for N and S, than for Mg (Table 1).

The correlation analyses revealed a medium correlation between N and carotenoid content (Table 2). S showed high correlations to chlorophyll content and SPAD readings, and medium
a correlation to carotenoids. Chlorophyll and carotenoids were very highly intercorrelated and the
SPAD values were very highly correlated to chlorophyll and highly correlated to carotenoids. From
the selected vegetation indices the Carter 2 index
(CTR2, Carter, 1994) had a medium correlation
to N as best index. The Normalised Difference
Red Edge index (NDRE, Barnes et al., 2000) correlated highly to S and very highly with pigment
content.

Since there are no discrete absorption
bands available for the different nutrients in the
visible and near infrared part of the spectrum, no
spectral features can be detected directly. Anyhow, the shape and the amplitude of the reflectance spectra changes significantly due to the nutritional status of the maize plants (Figure 1): the
reference is the spectrum of an optimal fertilised
maize leaf (black line). A leaf without nitrogen fertilisation (black dotted line) shows a higher reflectance in green (550 nm) and a lower reflectance
in the near infrared (720 nm onwards). The leaf
without magnesium fertilisation (grey dashed line)
expresses a lower overall reflectance and the non
sulphur fertilised leaf (grey dotted dashed line)
showed a higher reflectance in the green and a
lower absorption in the red (600 nm onwards) part
of the spectrum.

In order to predict the nutritional status
of plants in vivo, PLSRs were performed on the
spectral data. In some cases the spectral data
has been pre-processed by computing the first

derivative according to Savitzky and Golay (1964,
SG). Additionally, vegetation indices and SPAD
values were used to predict the nutritional status
by linear regression (LR). The data set was equally split into a calibration (cal) and a validation
(val) set. For each of these sets the coefficients
of determination (R) as well as the error measures were computed. The ratio of performance to
deviation (RPD), the ratio of the standard deviation to the standard error of prediction (SEP), is
a good measure for the quality of the regression.
RPD values higher than 2 can be interpreted as
indicators for robust regression models (Dunn et
al., 2002). Table 3 summarises the results of the
projection models.
Conclusions

Even though there are no direct relations
between plant pigment content and nutritional status of maize, a mean correlation between N and carotenoid content as well as S and pigment content
could be identified. In order to predict the nutritional
status by hyperspectral reflectance measurements,
PLSR is the method which delivers the best models
for N, S and the plant pigments with coefficients of
determination all higher than 0.8. Selected vegetation indices are well correlated with plant pigments;
the NDRE index explains 70% of the variability observed in the S-content of the plants.
Keywords: Hyperspectral, reflectance, nutritional status, maize, vegetation index
127
References
Barnes E M, Clarke T R, Richards S E, Colaizzi
P D, Haberland J, Kostrzewski M, Waller P, Choi
C, Riley E, Thompson T, Lascano R J, Li H, Moran M S (2000): Coincident detection of crop water
stress, nitrogen status and canopy density using
ground-based multispectral data [CD ROM]. In P C.
Robert et al. (ed.) Proc. Int. Conf. Prec. Agric., 5th,
Bloomington, MN. 1619 July 2000. ASA, CSSA,
and SSSA, Madison, WI.
Carter G A (1994): Ratios of leaf reflectances in
narrow wavebands as indicators of plant stress. International Journal of remote sensing, 15(3), 697703.
Dunn BW, Beecher H G, Batten G D, Ciavarella S
(2002): The potential of near-infrared reflectance
spectroscopy for soil analysis - A case study from
the Riverine Plain of south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 42(5),
607-614.
Haneklaus S, Schnug E (1999): Diagnosis of the
Nutritional Status and Quality Assessment of Oilseed Rape by X-Ray Spectrometry. Proc. 10th Int.
Rapeseed Congress, Sep. 26-29, 1999, Canberra,
Australia.
Savitzky A, Golay M J E (1964): Smoothing and
differentiation of data by simplified least squares
procedures. Anal. Chem., 36, 1627-1639.
Wellburn A R (1994): The spectral determination
of chlorophyll-a and chlorophyll-b, as well as total
carotenoids, using various solvents with spectrophotometers of different resolution. Journal of Plant
Physiology, 144(3), 307-313.
128
Table 1. Descriptive statistics for the analysed macro-nutrients and pigments

Nitrogen
[%]
0.86
7.52
3.24
6.66
1.83
0.57
576
MIN
MAX
MEAN
RANGE
STD
CV
n
Magnesium
[%]
0.05
0.22
0.10
0.17
0.03
0.30
533
Sulphur
[%]
0.03
0.65
0.12
0.62
0.06
0.50
533
Chlorophyll-a
[g/mL]
1.30
21.5
9.10
20.2
5.11
0.56
576
Chlorophyll-b
[g/mL]
0.34
5.60
2.06
5.26
1.12
0.54
576
Carotenoid
[g/mL]
0.74
4.57
2.39
3.83
0.88
0.37
576
SPAD
[-]
4.70
52.3
26.3
47.6
11.9
0.45
577
Table 2. Pearsons correlation coefficients matrix for the analysed macro-nutrients, pigments and selected vegetation
indices
N
Nitrogen
Magnesium
Sulphur
Chlorophyll-a
Chlorophyll-b
Carotenoid
SPAD
CTR2
NDRE
0.28**
-0.16**
-0.39**
-0.39**
-0.52
-0.44**
0.59
-0.32**
-0.06
-0.04
-0.14**
-0.07
0.17**
-0.01
0.76
0.75
0.68
0.74
-0.64
**
0.78**
Mg
-0.06
Chl.-a
**
Chl.-b
**
0.97**
1
Car
**
**
**
**
0.96**
0.91**
-0.84**
0.97**
0.94**
0.91**
-0.83**
0.96**
0.87**
-0.87**
0.92**
-0.85**
0.95**
SPAD
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level.
Table 3. Quality parameters of projection models for nutrients and plant pigments based on spectral measurements
Nitrogen
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Sulphur
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Chl.-a
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Spectra
SG+PLSR
0.85/0.80
0.70/0.82
2.23
Spectra
SG+PLSR
0.86/0.81
0.02/0.02
3.00
Spectra
PLSR
0.95/0.96
1.10/1.05
4.87
SPAD
LR
0.21/0.18
1.62/1.65
1.11
SPAD
LR
0.66/0.62
0.03/0.03
2.00
SPAD
LR
0.93/0.93
1.38/1.39
3.68
CTR2
LR
0.36/0.32
1.45/1.50
1.22
CTR2
LR
0.50/0.45
0.04/0.04
1.50
CTR2
LR
0.71/0.69
2.74/2.82
1.81
NDRE
LR
0.11/0.09
1.72/1.74
1.05
NDRE
LR
0.70/0.68
0.03/0.03
2.00
NDRE
LR
0.94/0.94
1.29/1.25
4.09
Magnesium
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Carotenoid
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Chl.-b
Model
R2cal/val
SEC/SEP
RPD
Spectra
PLSR
0.11/0.11
0.03/0.02
1.50
Spectra
SG+PLSR
0.93/0.92
0.24/0.24
3.67
Spectra
SG+PLSR
0.95/0.95
0.25/0.27
4.15
SPAD
LR
0.00/0.06
0.03/0.03
1.00
SPAD
LR
0.87/0.88
0.32/0.30
2.93
SPAD
LR
0.91/0.92
0.33/0.32
3.50
CTR2
LR
0.03/0.08
0.03/0.03
1.00
CTR2
LR
0.77/0.73
0.42/0.45
1.96
CTR2
LR
0.71/0.71
0.60/0.63
1.78
NDRE
LR
0.00/0.06
0.03/0.03
1.00
NDRE
LR
0.84/0.85
0.35/0.34
2.59
NDRE
LR
0.93/0.93
0.30/0.30
3.73
R: Coefficient of determination, SEC: Standard error of calibration, SEP: Standard error of prediction, RPD: Ratio of performance to
deviation
Figure 1. Reflectance
spectra
of
maize
leaves grown under
different
fertilisation
levels (0= no, 2 =
optimal fertilisation)
129
AGROMINERALS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

SILVIA HANEKLAUS1 AND EWALD SCHNUG1
1
Institute for Crop and Soil Science, Federal Research Institute for Cultivated Plants, Julius Khn-Institut (JKI), Bundesallee 50,
38116 Braunschweig
Introduction

Agrominerals refer to a group of naturally
occurring minerals and organic compounds which

can be used without chemical processing as fertilizer materials. Prominent examples are rock phosphates, potassium salts, elemental sulfur, gypsum,
liming material, and guano. Reasons for the substitution of processed mineral fertilizer products by
agrominerals are for instance legally enforced regulations for farm management practices in organic
farming, abundance of natural resources on farms,
and cost-effective access to essential plant nutrients. The use of agrominerals will demand in most
cases a physical processing in form of grinding in
order to make the product applicable and soluble.
The agronomic efficiency of agrominerals varies
highly in relation to the parent material and the evaluation of side-effects is closely related to soil and
climatic conditions. The present contribution presents selected data on the suitability of agrominerals under temperate climatic conditions of northern
Europe to satisfy the nutrient demand of agricultural
crops, assesses side-effects and illustrates environmental impacts.
Fertilizer efficacy and Environmental

impact of agrominerals

Marl pits are common in northern Germany
and have been used traditionally for liming. Sr in lime
may gain relevance with its role in reducing the transfer of radioactive Sr into the food chain. The mean
Sr concentration (mg/kg) occurs in the following order: concentrated apatite (12121) > rock phosphates
(7319) > single super phosphate (5396) > fused phosphates (4965) > gypsum (2984) > limestone (824)
> ammonium phosphates (304) (Gabe and Rodella
1999). The variation in the Sr concentration was highest in limestone samples ranging from 36 to 4736 mg/
kg Sr. Long-term application of lime significantly increased soil pH along with, total Ca and natural Sr
concentrations (Figure 1).

Under field conditions, Haneklaus (1989)
estimated a minimum threshold rate of lime appli-
cation of 1.4 t/ha CaO for reducing the Sr uptake

significantly. Liming combined with an additional Ca
supply by gypsum can cause the maximum reduction in Sr uptake by oilseed rape probably because
of the precipitation of SrSO4 (Haneklaus et al.,
1989).

In organic farming rock phosphates (RPs)
are used for fertilization. A disadvantage is that RPs
will not dissolve within reasonable time in the soil
and therefore will not take part in the site-specific
P dynamics. This implies that the exclusive use of
poorly soluble P forms for balanced fertilisation on
organic farms will diminish soil fertility in the long
term because of a depletion of plant available P
reserves in the soil. An in situ digestion with a
combination product of elemental S (S) and RP
enhanced significantly the solubility of non watersoluble P sources (Figure 2). In the inoculated
S+RP treatment the P concentration increased significantly during incubation (Figure 1). This efficient
mobilisation of non-water soluble P was enabled by
the close vicinity of S and RP in the compound
fertilizer material. Inoculation with thiobacilli is necessary for fast oxidation of S on soils which have
never received S dressings before.

Negative impacts from agricultural production cannot be avoided, but should be kept at an unavoidable minimum. With view to the accumulation
of heavy metals by gypsum data reveal that the natural product and that from flue gas desulfurization
add similar amounts of heavy metals. Natural gypsum may add more Cr and V, FGD gypsum more
Se and Tl (Table 1). S from both products is suitable
to satisfy the S demand of crops (Haneklaus et al.,
2000).

Rock phosphates and processed P fertilizers add significant amounts of U to soils (Schnug et
al. 2007). U is known for its radiological and chemical toxicity to living organisms. Under humid conditions, U is leached whereby translocation increases
with fertilization intensity, particularly that of nitrate
(Table 2). The consumption of drinking water is the
main path of U intake by humans while nutritional
130
preferences in the diet unfold only a minor impact

(Hassoun et al. 2011). The advantages of using
High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs)
to produce the process heat and electricity needed
for thermal P fertilizer production, while recovering
the accompanying U in the phosphate rocks was
presented firstly by Haneklaus et al. (2014). Thus
not only U, but also rare earth elements can be extracted and used for technological purposes, while
negative impacts on humans and environment are
suspended (Haneklaus et al. (2014).
Conclusions

Traditional agrominerals such as lime and
gypsum are comparable to industrial products with
view to their agronomic efficacy and environmental
impact. On marginal soils and on grassland the input of micronutrients and heavy metals should be
monitored and products chosen according to crop
demand and soil status. With regard to globally limited P reserves, a direct use of RPs will always be
associated with an inadequate plant availability of
P so that chemical processing or alternative digestion procedures such as in situ digestion need to
be applied to improve the long-term utilization. The
concomitant extraction of rare earth elements and
U are an important contribution to protection of environment and mineral resources.
Keywords: Elemental sulfur, flue gas desulfurization
products, fertilizer-derived uranium, strontium
References
Gabe U, Rodella AA 1999 Trace elements in Brazilian agricultural limestones and mineral fertilizers.
Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 30: 605-620.
Haneklaus S 1989 Strontiumgehalte in Pflanzen

und Bden Schleswig-Holsteins und Bewertung
von Dngungsmanahmen zur Verminderung der
Strontiumaufnahme von Kulturpflanzen; PhD thesis, University, Kiel, Germany, pp. 169.
Haneklaus, S., Paulsen, H. M. and Schnug, E. 2000
Liming Effect of Flue Gas Desulphurisation Products. Proc. Int. Sci. Conf. Soil Acidification and Liming: Fundamental and Technological Researches,
Klaipeda, Lithuania, 74-81.
Haneklaus N, Schnug E, Tulsidas H, Tyobeka 2014
Using high temperature gas-cooled reactors for
greenhouse gas reductin and energy neutral production of phosphate fertilizers. Annals of Nuclear
Engineering (in press).
Hassoun R and Schnug E 2011 Contribution of mineral and tap water to the dietary intake of As, B, Cu,
Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, U and Zn of humans. In. The new
Uranium mining boom (Eds B Merkel and M Schipek), Springer, Berlin, 795-804.
Rogasik J, Kurtinez P, Panten K, Funder U, Rogasik H, Schroetter S, Schnug E 2005 Kalkung und
Bodenfruchtbarkeit. FAL - Agric. Res. 2005, 286
(special issue): 71-81.
Schaefer U 2014 Gips-Produkte. http://www.naturschatz.org/gips/hg-reagips.htm#2 (extracted on April
7, 2014).
Schnug E, Haneklaus S, Kratz S, Fan X 2006 Aspects of phosphorus fertilisation in organic farming.
Aspects of Applied Biology 79: 277-281.
Schnug E 2012 Uran in Phosphordngemitteln und
dessen Verbleib in der Umwelt. Strahlentelex 612613: 3-9.
Table 1. Maximum heavy metal content (g/g) in natural gypsum and gypsum from fluegas desulfurization
(extracted from Schaefer 2014).
Location
Straubing
4852`13" N
1234`35" E
Rehlingen
4922`08" N
637`42" E
Well type
shallow
deep
shallow
deep
U (g/L)
2.8
< 0.2
NO3 (mg/L)
40.0
2.8
10
1.6
22.0
8.2
131
Table 2. U and nitrate content in water of shallow and deep wells from two waterworks in southern Germany (adapted
from Schnug 2012).
Location
Straubing
4852`13" N
1234`35" E
Rehlingen
4922`08" N
637`42" E
Well type
shallow
deep
shallow
deep
U (g/L)
2.8
< 0.2
NO3 (mg/L)
40.0
2.8
10
1.6
22.0
8.2
Figure 1. Long-term influence of regular lime

applications of 0, 5 and 10 t/ha from 1961 to
1998 corresponding with total rates of 0, 30
and 60 t/ha on soil pH, and total Sr and Ca
contents in the top soil of an Albic luvisol in
Romania (adapted from Rogasik et al. 2005).
Figure 2. Changes in the water-soluble P

content over time in relation to inoculation with
thiobacilli after application of elemental sulphur
together with rock phosphates (Schnug et al.
2006).
132
MINERALOGICAL CONTROLS ON K FERTILISER FUNCTION

DAVID MANNING1, MALLELY SANCHEZ LIMON1,2, KIRSTEN BRANDT3
1
School of Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK (david.manning@ncl.
ac.uk); 2School of Biologie, University of Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, 69100 , France (mallely.lepoutre@etu.univ-lyon1.fr); 3School of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK (kirsten.brandt@ncl.ac.uk)
Introduction

Nutrient audits (Sheldrick et al, 2002) and
statistics of fertilizer use (FAO, 2013) demonstrate
that there is a need for K fertiliser production to
double to meet the needs of the worlds population at the present day. In these circumstances,
the production of conventional K fertilisers derived
from potash salts needs to increase, and might be
supplemented by novel K fertilisers, particularly in
regions distant from sources of conventional products. One possibility is to use K silicate rocks, especially in deeply weathered tropical soils where
leaching of readily soluble nutrients is an issue
(Leonardos et al., 1987).

A number of previous studies have addressed the use of K silicate minerals and rocks
as fertilisers, including K-feldspar (Sanz Scovino
and Rowell, 1988). Most recently, Harley and Gilkes
(2000) have suggested that the availability of K is
so low that these are uncompetitive compared to
conventional potash.
However, recent price increases (Manning, 2010) mean that conventional
products may be too expensive for many farmers,
especially if large transport costs are involved. Additionally, new studies have confirmed previous
work that has showed the viability of specific rocks
and minerals as sources of K, including nepheline
syenite (Bakken et al. 1997; 2000), biotite (Wallander and Wickman, 1999; Mohammed et al., 2014)
and zinnwaldite mica (Madaras et al., 2013).

In the course of recent work, Mohammed
et al (2014) have shown that mineralogical compostion of both fertiliser and soil affect the availabilty of K for plant growth. In particular, in soils that
already contain alkali feldspar plant growth shows
little response to the addition of more feldspar.
Thus trials aiming to test K availability from specific
minerals should be carried out using soils for which
the mineralogical composition is well known, to ensure that the added mineral is absent. The minerals used as additives should be far from equilibrium
in the soil to which they are applied, to encourage

their decomposition.

In this paper, we report the results of experiments of plant growth in artificial soils of known
mineralogy, using well characterised silicate minerals as sources of K.
Methods

We have used growth of leek (Portuguese
alho-por; Allium ampeloprasum L. var. porrum) to
test the availability of K from K-feldspar (microcline,
in syenite) and from a commercial phlogopite product, to augment results obtained with biotite by Mohammed et al. (2014). All minerals were milled to
<150 m, to ensure that their grain size was below
that of the soil. The soil was prepared from a high
purity commercial silica sand, with >99% quartz
and >90% 125-710m grain size, adding 2% peat
moss to provide organic matter and CaCO3 to obtain a neutral pH.

Leeks were grown in a randomised pot trial
with 10 replicates for each treatment, irrigated with
K-free Hoagland solution (to ensure sufficient supply
of all nutrient for plant growth). KCl was used as a
positive control, and soil without added mineral as a
negative control. Each pot contained 1 or 1.5 kg soil.
A capilliary irrigation system was used to ensure that
there was no through drainage, so that the only way
K could leave the soil was by being taken up into the
growing plant. The added silicate mineral was the
only source of K. Basic application rates and material
properties are summarised in Table 1; multiples of the
basic application rate were used.

The plants were grown in an unheated
greenhouse for a period of 10 weeks. Leek growth
was measured weekly, and the increase in diameter for each individual plant was calculated as an
indicator of rate of growth. At the end of the experiment, plants were harvested for analysis of K
in plant tissue and soil, so that the final K balance
could be calculated.

Typical changes in leek diameter with time
are shown in Figure 1 (Mohammed et al., 2014).
The most rapid response is observed for the KCl
positive control, but after a short time the rate of
growth of the leeks with mica increases at the same
rate.
Leek growth also appears to respond to
treatment with feldspar. For the KCl treatments,
which were not affected by dissolution equililbrium
or cation exchange processes, the response was
signficantly affected by dose (data not shown), indicating that the mineral additives were the main
source of K for plant growth.

For K silicate minerals, the availability of
K depends on the stability of the mineral and the
mechanism by which it releases K. Framework
silicates such as feldspars and nepheline have a
continous 3-dimensional covalent lattice of alumina
and silica-oxygen bonds, and decompose by incongruent dissolution. The rate of dissolution is 100
times greater for nepheline than K-feldspar at near
neutral-mildly acidic pH (Tole et al., 1986), and this
explains the greater efficiency of nepheline-bearing
syenite as a source of K (Mohammed et al., 2014).
In contrast, the release of K from a mica is influenced by the layer structure and the way in which
weathering of these minerals in soil involves transformations to soil micas and clays (Mortland et al.,
1956). K release from micas is dominated by cation
exchange, which replenishes K removed from the
soil solution by the plant. Thus phlogopite and biotite are able to supply K almost as effectively as the
soluble salt KCl.

These findings explain why published studies in some cases give contradictory results. To be
sure that a specific mineral additive is responsible
for an observed effect, it is essential that the soil
used for trials does not already contain that mineral. In many cases, the mineralogical composition
of soil used in trials was not determined, and there
is uncertainty about whether or not the additive was
already present.

For deeply weathered soils characteristic of
tropical regions, mineralogy in the root zone may
be dominated by a secondary assemblage of oxyhydroxide minerals and clays. In this situation, feldspars and micas will be far from equilibrium, and if
133
added are likely to weather rapidly. The results of

the experiments reported here indicate that syenite,
biotite and phlogopite, representing K-feldspar and
trioctahedral mica, will release K when placed in a
soil that does not already contain these minerals.
Conclusions

Pot experiments using syenite and phlogopite as sources of K added to a silica sand soil have
been carried out using the growth of leek plants to
indicate the removal of K from the mineral additive.
Phlogopite mica appears, like biotite, to be almost
as effective a source of K as KCl the same growth
rate is achieved after an initial delay. In these short
(8-10 week) growth experiments it is difficult to determine whether or not syenite or K-feldspar is effective as a source of K the experiments may be
too short. Where application rates vary, there appears to be a dose effect, with growth being more
rapid with higher applications of phlogopite, and this
confirms that the mineral is the source of K. Future
assessments of K silicate minerals and rocks as
sources of K should take care to check that the soil
mineralogy does not contain the minerals of interest. K-silicate minerals added to deeply weathered
tropical soils are predicted to be unstable, and to
release K for plant nutrition.
Keywords: Syenite, mica, K
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Terrativa SA for supplying the
syenite used in these experiments.
References
Bakken, A.K., Gautneb, H. & Myhr, K. 1997. The
potential of crushed rocks and mine tailings as
slow-releasing K fertilizers assessed by intensive
cropping with Italian ryegrass in different soil types.
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 47, 41-48.
Bakken, A.K., Gautneb, H., Sveistrup, T. & Myhr, K.
2000. Crushed rocks and mine tailings applied as
K fertilizers on grassland. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 56, 53-57.
Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2013. FAOSTAT database, http://faostat.fao.
org.
134
Harley, A.D. & Gilkes, R.J. 2000. Factors influencing the release of plant nutrients from silicate rock
powders: a geochemical overview. Nutrient Cycling
in Agroecosystems, 56, 11-36.
Leonardos, O.H., Fyfe, W.S. & Kronberg, B.I. 1987.
The use of ground rocks in laterite systems an
improvement to the use of conventional soluble fertilizers. Chemical Geology, 60, 361-370.
Madaras, M., Mayerov, M., Kulhnek, M.,
Koubov, M. & Faltus, M. (2013) Waste silicate minerals as potassium sources: a greenhouse study on
spring barley. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 59, 671-683.
Manning, D.A.C. 2010. Mineral sources of potassium for plant nutrition. A review. Agronomy for
Sustainable Development, 30, 281-294.
Mohammed, S. O., Brandt, K., Gray, N. D., White,
M. L. & Manning, D. A. C. Comparison of silicate
minerals as sources of K for plant nutrition in sandy
soil. European Journal of Soil Science, in press.
Mortland, M.M., Lawton, K. & Uehara, G. 1956. Alteration of biotite to vermiculite by plant growth. Soil
Science, 82, 477-481.
Sanz Scovino, J.I. & Rowell, D.L. 1988. The use of
feldspars as potassium fertilizers in the savannah of
Columbia. Fertilizer Research, 17, 71-83.
Sheldrick, W. F., Syers, J. K. & Lingard, J. (2002)
A conceptual model for conducting nutrient audits
at national, regional and global scales. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 62, 61-67.
Tole, M.P., Lasaga, A.C., Pantano, C. & White,
W.B. 1986. The kinetics of dissolution of nepheline
(NaAlSiO4). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta,
50, 379-392.
Wallander, H. & Wickman, T. 1999. Biotite and microcline as potassium surces in ectomycorrhizal
and non-mycorrhizal Pinus sylvestris seedlings.
Mycorrhiza, 9, 25-32.
Table 1. Summary of sources of K and application rates
K sources
K2O content
Basic application rate
mg K/pot
g mineral/pot
KCl
63.1
228
0.43
Syenite
12.8
228
2.16
Phlogopite
10.2
228
2.70
Biotite
9.10
228
3.04
Double application
Increase in Leek diameter (mm)
C
K
F
B
4
3
Artificial soil
2
1
0
60
leek diameter (mm)
5
4
3
2
20
40
Period (Days)
Double application
C
K
F
B
N
Natural soil
60
Figure 1. Change in leek diameter for pot experiments in

artificial soil (Mohammed et al., 2014). C = negative control;
K = KCl; F = K-feldspar; B = biotite.
135
DIRECT APPLICATIONS OF PHOSPHATE ROCKS

ON SUSTAINABILITY OF OIL PALM PLANTATIONS
PATRICK HONG CHUAN NG1, KAH JOO GOH1 AND ZAHARAH A.R.2
1
Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn. Bhd., 11, Jalan Teknologi 3/6, Taman Sains Selangor1, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling
Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. (patrickng@aarsb.com.my - gohkj@aarsb.com.my); 2Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor,
Malaysia. (zaharah@agri.upm.edu.my)
Introduction

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) grows well on
acidic soils in the tropics and has been successfully
cultivated in South East Asia, Africa and Central
and South America. It is regarded as an important
crop for countries in these regions in terms of both
economic and social development. As most of the
soils in the tropics where oil palms are planted are
acidic and have low soil inherent nutrients, the use
of substantial amount of fertilizers are required. In
most cases, oil palm yields would be economically
unfeasible without the use of synthetic fertilizers.

Phosphate rock (PR) has been the preferred P source for oil palm plantations in many of
these regions due to climate and soil conditions
which favour P dissolution; hence availability to the
palms (Goh and Chew, 1995) in addition to potential residual P value that can be derived from PR
usage. In the past, water soluble P was normally
applied to oil palms in the first 12 to 18 months
after field planting but this practice has lost its importance with the use of highly reactive PR. More
recent studies have shown that oil palms grown on
sandy soils responded significantly better to usage
of water soluble P when compared with use of both
highly reactive PR and lower reactive PR although
most of these responses reduced with time. These
findings correspond with earlier work by Chien
(1995) who reported that reactivity of P sources correlated well with their agronomic effectiveness for
annual crops.
Methods

Two trial sites to investigate the different P
sources for oil palm were evaluated. Oil palms in
Site A were planted in 2003 on a Typic Paleudult
(Bungor series) in the northern part of Peninsula
Malaysia whilst Site B was planted in 2006 also on
a Typic Paleudult (Rengam series) but in the eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia. Four replicates
were carried out in each site. Site A was carried out

in a split-plot factorial design with P rates to the leguminous cover crops (LCC) in the main plot while
P source x rate were carried out on palms in the
sub-plot. There were also two LCC systems in Site
A whereby two replicates were planted with Mucuna
bracteata (MB) only whilst another two replicates
were planted with both MB and Pueraria javanica
(PJ). Site B was carried out in a randomized complete block design with P treatments on palms only
(source and rate). LCC here were grown with basal
P. Two replicates of palms in Site B were planted
with clone A0 whilst another two replicates were
planted with clone A4.

P rates applied over three rouds to LCC in
Site A were 0, 27, 80 and 160 kg P ha-1. P rates
(Jordanian PR) to the palms for Site A were 0, 13.5,
27 and 67.5 kg P ha-1 and applied as a one-off every year in surface broadcast. In addition, two other
P sources were used; they were a highly reactive
PR from Peru and water soluble P (TSP, triple superphosphate) at P rate of 13.5 kg P ha-1.

P rates used for palms in Site B were 0,
13.5, 27 and 54 kg P ha-1 and applied as one-off
every year in surface broadcast. PR tested were
sourced from Algeria, Togo, Jordan, Morroco and
water soluble phosphate of DAP (diammonium
phosphate).

Dirrect applications of PR resulted in significantly higher legume biomass in both LCC systems (Figure 1) with 80 kg P ha-1 being the optimum.
At the optimum P rates applied to LCC, 13.5 kg P
ha-1 year-1 applied to the palms appeared suffice
to achieve optimum palm leaftlet P concentrations
although 27 kg P ha-1 year-1 was required to achieve
optimum palm rachis P (Figure 2). The use of highly
reactive Peruvian PR resulted in the highest palm P
nutrition and yields although they were not significantly different when compared with Jordanian PR
136
(Table 1). Nevertheless, the Jordanian PR resulted

in better build-up of soil available P (Figure 3.) in
both the palm circles (PC) and palm interrows (IR)
although the PR were initially applied only in the
former (PC) site.

The importance of using water soluble
phosphate in early palm nutrition was demonstrated in Site B (Figure 4) where the use of DAP at
optimum rates resulted in highest palm P nutrition,
followed by the highly reactive PR from Algeria. In
order to achieve similar early P nutrition to those
of DAP and Algerian PR, twice the rate of the low
reactive Togo PR is required. It was also most interesting to note that Clone A0 had very little or no
response to P rate whilst the reverse was true for
Clone A4 (Figure 5).
soil available P (Bray-2) when compared with the

control. Hence, direct applications of PR is a viable
option in sustaining soil P status in addition to supplying adequate P to the oil palm to attain maximum
yields. Use of low reactive PR (e.g. Togo PR) is
also possible when used at higher rates and over a
longer period demonstrating the value of residual P
in the oil palm agroecosystem.
Conclusions
Phosphate Institute) for their support and partial

funding in carrying out the experiments.

Direct applications of PR to the LCC not
only improved LCC growth but recycling of P to
the oil palm was noted resulting in lower P inputs
required to the latter by almost 50% in the initial
years. With good LCC growth, excessive soil erosion during replanting can be minimized. In addition, the LCC is able to fix atmospheric N by as
much as 250 kg ha-1 and also capture available nutrients released by the decaying old oil palm biomass at replanting (up to 37% of available N, P,
K and Mg). Therefore, resulting in lower usage of
synthetic fertilizers and lower risk of water pollution. Direct applications of PR and TSP to the oil
palm also resulted in significantly higher build-up of
Keywords: Oil palm, phosphate rocks, leguminous

cover crop, sustainability.
Acknowledgements
The first two authors are grateful to AAR and its
Principals, Boustead Plantations Bhd. and Kuala
Lumpur Kepong Bhd. for their permission to publish
this paper. We also acknowledge IMPHOS (World
References
Chien, S.H. (1995) Chemical, mineralogical and
solubility characteristics of PR for direct application. In: Dahanayake, K., Van Kauwenbergh, S.J.
and Hellums, D.T. (eds) Proc. of Int. Workshop on
Direct application of PR and appropriate technology fertilizers in. Inst. of Fundamental Studies, Sri
Lanka and IFDC Muscle Shoals, Alabama, USA,
Kandy, Sri Lanka. 49-58.
Goh, K.J. and Chew, P.S. (1995) Direct application
of PR to plantation tree crops in Malaysia. In: Same
as above. 59-76.
Table 1. Palm P nutrition (60th month) and fresh fruit bunch yield for various P sources in Site A
P sources
Leaflet and rachis P

content of Leaf 17 (g)
Fresh fruit bunch, FFB yield in tons ha-1 (month after palm planting)
49th to 60th month
Cumulative 25th to 60th month
1.55 (A)
22.2 (A)
54.3 (A)
Jordanian PR
1.66 (AB)
23.3 (AB)
57.6 (A)
Peruvian PR
1.76 (B)
25.9 (B)
62.7 (A)
1.68 (AB)
24.9 (AB)
60.3 (A)
Nil (control)
TSP
Figure 1. Effect of P application on LCC for MB plots (left) and MB+PJ plots (right) in Site A
Figure 2. Effect of P application to oil palm on palm leaflet P (left) and rachis P (right) in Site A
Figure 3. Effect of various P sources on soil available

P in Site A
Figure 4. Effect of various P sources on leaflet P content of 6th month old oil palm (left) and on cumulative (28th to 86th
month old) FFB yield of oil palm (right) in Site B
Figure. 5. Effect of P on 6th month old oil palm for Clone A0 (left) and Clone A4 (right) in Site B
137
138
SILICATE AGROMINERALS AS NUTRIENT SOURCES AND AS SOIL

CONDITIONERS FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE
DER DE SOUZA MARTINS1, CARLOS AUGUSTO POSSER SILVEIRA2, ADILSON LUS BAMBERG2,
ROSANE MARTINAZZO2, MAGDA BERGMANN3, RMULO SIMES ANGLICA4
Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020, km 18, CP 08223, Planaltina-DF, CEP 73310-970, BRAZIL (eder.martins@embrapa.br); 2Embrapa
Clima Temperado, BR 392, km 78, CP 403, Pelotas-RS, CEP 96010-971, BRAZIL (augusto.posser, adilson.bamberg, rosane.
martinazzo@embrapa.br); 3Servio Geolgico do Brasil (CPRM), Rua Banco da Provncia, 105, Porto Alegre-RS, CEP 90840-030,
BRAZIL (magda.bergmann@cprm.gov.br); 4Universidade Federal do Par (UFPA), Av. Augusto Correa, CP 1611, Belm-PA, CEP
66075-110, BRAZIL, (angelica@ufpa.br)
1
Introduction

Two models of agriculture were devel-
oped from temperate and tropical climates conditions based on intensive use of natural resources.
Both utilize resilient edaphoclimatic environments,
though with marked differences in their natural fertility. In general, agricultural soils of temperate climate are young (103 to 104 years) and very fertile,
while the tropical soils are old (105 to 107 years)
and very poor in nutrients. The model of soil fertility management in tropical climate is an adaptation
practices developed in the temperate climate from
the same nutrient sources and soil conditioners.
The strategies adopted to control of the soil acidity and the use of soluble sources of NPK were the
key step that allowed the development of a highly
productive tropical agriculture.

After the initial success of this approach,
the challenges nowadays are dedicated on the efficient supply of nutrients for agriculture. The efficiency of the management of these soluble sources
must improve to ensure the best use of the nutrients that are derived from finite mineral resources
and high energy cost of production and transportation. The development of tropical agriculture needs
a fertility management where nutrient flows for successive crops is synchronized with the demands at
all stages of the plants. The stablished strategies
for this efficiency challenge are based in the installment of nutrient application or the development of
new fertilizers from soluble sources and its stabilization from slow release technology. One of the
recognized slow release technology is related to
the application of soluble fertilizers together silicate
minerals such as zeolite to decrease the rate of nutrient release.

An assessment of the soil genesis processes is another way of addressing soil fertility.
The most fertile agricultural soils of the temperate
zone were formed from sediment deposition of glacial, loess and fluvial origin. These processes are
efficient ways to comminute rocks and facilitate the
process of soil formation. High soil fertility is associated with the formation of 2:1 clay minerals on these
sediments and the stabilization of organic matter.
The weathering process releases nutrients to soil
solution present in the silicate minerals while forming 2:1 clay mineral, like Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, suphur and
micronutrients. In consequence, these soils have
high cation exchange capacity (CEC) and electronegative physicochemical characteristics. These features facilitate the management of soluble cation
nutrients in long terms due high stability of 2:1 clay
mineral at agronomic scale.

On the other hand, tropical agricultural soils
are the result of a very long process of chemical
weathering action. The minerals of the kaolinite
group and oxides and hydroxides of iron and aluminum are the most abundant in these soils. This
mineralogical composition gives low CEC and electropositive physicochemical characteristics, which
decreases the efficiency of nutrient flow at crop
stages. Organic matter is the main source of tropical soil CEC, but usually have low concentrations
and many agricultural practices lead to decline over
time. On the other hand, the high anion exchange
capacity (AEC) of tropical soils causes the retention of anions of agronomic importance, like PO43-,
SO42- and NO3-. These differences among tropical
and temperate agricultural soils represent insights
into the possibilities of fertility management of soils
with silicate agrominerals.

However, the potential of silicate rocks as
nutrient sources and as soil conditioners has been
evaluated with positive and negative results. This
paper reviews the research strategies of the silicate
agrominerals and the significance of their findings in
tropical conditions. The work proposes a research
approach that considers differents interaction system levels among silicate agrominerals, agricultural
soils and crops.
Definitions and assumptions

The agrominerals are defined as raw materials of mineral origin for the production of soil
conditioner or fertilizer for agricultural production.
These raw materials are derived from geological resources that undergo industrial processing before
turning into a product. Mineral processing involves
physical and chemical processes. The physical
processes are linked to comminution, separation,
mixing, homogenization and heating (fusion). The
chemical processes involve reactions and transformations in solid or solutions states (acid extraction, hydrothermal transformation) with or without
biological process. If the mineral processing is only
associated with comminution (crushing and grinding), then it is defined as in natura, where are maintained the main mineralogical characteristics. Even
so, the crystallinity degree of the minerals can be
affected by these physical processes and alters nutrient availability. Physical comminution processes
in dry conditions and finer grain sizes favor a higher
solubility.

Silicate agromineral utilized as K fertilizer can be prepared in natura or another mineral
processing. There are many examples of silicate
agromineral as in natura K sources, derived from
different minerals, like micas (biotite, phlogopite),
zeolites (clinoptilolite), and feldspathoids (kalsilite, nepheline). Alkaline rocks and schists rich in
these minerals have proven potential as in natura K
sources. K feldspars and clay minerals (illite, glauconite) rich rocks can be utilized as raw material for
new fertilizers by another mineral processing beyond crushing.

The stonemeal is a regional process of
managing soil fertility from the direct application
of comminuted rocks that improve the physical,
chemical and biological characteristics of the soil
and provide part of the necessary nutrients to crops
(van Straaten, 2007). The anion classification of
agrominerals for the stonemeal process indicates
the behavior of each soil conditioners. Liming is one
of the most known forms of stonemeal developed
for control soil acidity. Other rock compositions can
139
also be employed in the process of stonemeal as

rich in sulfates, phosphates and silicates. The rocks
rich in Ca and Mg are most suitable as soil conditioners for silicate agrominerals.

The main idea of the use of silicate rocks
as conditioners in agriculture is to develop the same
formation process of temperate agricultural soils but
at agronomic scale (100 to 101 years). The hydrolysis process is the most important chemical weathering mechanism of aluminosilicates. This process
always produce new minerals more stable than the
primary aluminosilicates (Bonneville et al., 2011).
Experiments are being conducted to investigate the
role of the rhizosphere of crops in the weathering of
silicate agrominerals and demonstrate the formation of new mineral phases in cycles of tens of days.
The weathering process releases nutrients to soil
solution and to plants present in the silicate minerals while forming 2:1 clay mineral, like Ca2+, Mg2+,
K+, suphur and micronutrients. These new phases
are 2:1 clay minerals like vermiculite from biotite
and smectite from Ca and Mg aluminosilicates.
These new phases are stable in the soil for a long
term in relation to the agronomic scale that facilitate
the management of soluble cation nutrients. Moreover, similar systems without rhizosphere present
any silicate agrominerals changes at the same time
scale.

Initial calculations indicate that each 20
tons of silicate agrominerals by hectare is equivalent to 1% of the total 20 cm depth soil profile, and
the increase in 2:1 clay minerals may be from 0.3%
to 0.7% of soil. This amount of 2:1 clay minerals
in soil is equivalent from 3 to 7 cmolc kg-1. In other
words, each 1 cmolc kg-1 in the soil can be obtained
with the silicate agrominerals amounts from 3 to 7
tonnes by hectare. If is considered a 5 cm depth soil
profile, due to the small vertical mobility, then these
values fall into the range from 750 to 1,750 kg per
hectare to reach 1 cmolc kg-1. The CEC production
potential can be a fundamental metric for the silicate agrominerals classification.
Proposed research approach

The proposed research approach involves
different levels of experimental systems for understanding the transformation of silicate agrominerals
in agricultural soils and their interaction with crops.
140
This work proposes the study of the following systems: agromineral-solution; agromineral-solutionsoil; agromineral-solution-plant; and agromineralsolution-soil-plant. These systems can be studied
in many ways, always with the aim of assessing
the agrominerals weathering, the formation of new
mineral phases, the availability of nutrients and the
generation of CEC. The central hypothesis of silicate agrominerals bioweathering promoted by rizosphere must be tested in all experimental systems.

The agromineral-solution systems indicate
the efficiency of different extractants in the weathering process. The most important extractors are
water, inorganic acids and organic acids. The organic acids of low molecular weight are important
as plant exudates such as citric and oxalic acids,
described above. These experimental system allow

to evaluate the behavior of trace elements beneficial and potentially toxic, and ensure environmental
and food safety.

This experimental systems approach allows understand the interaction processes and
classify silicate agrominerals as fertilizers or as soil
conditioners.
and may be more suitable extractors to evaluate

nutrient availability in silicate agrominerals.

The agromineral-solution-soil systems
show the behavior of equilibria solutions among
agrominerals and soil, and the potential leaching
of nutrients. Leaching columns experiments show
the soils role in the interaction with agrominerals
and solutions. The soil can modify the acidity of the
solution and buffer some agromineral reactions.

The agromineral-solution-plant systems
show the direct results of the agrominerals weathering promoted by rhizosphere. The experimental
systems are designed with a high proportion of
agromineral in mixtures with inert materials acting as substrate for the plants rhizosphere. The
agromineral transformed after the crop cycle is easily separated for subsequent mineralogical, chemical and physical-chemical analysis.

The agromineral-solution-soil-plant systems show the agronomic efficiency of silicate
agrominerals. These systems should be designed
after the indication of the behavior of agrominerals
in other experimental systems. The dose response
curves and the residual effects should be designed
after understanding the other experimental systems
agrominerals transformation at agricultural systems.

The proposed research approach is designed as multiscale experimental systems that allow to characterize the silicate agrominerals.
Conclusions

The models of agriculture and the soil genesis in tropical and temperate climates are the references for the development of a new experimental
approach to the research of silicate agrominerals.

The bioweathering promoted by crop rizosphere becomes the central process of silicate
Keywords: Silicate agrominerals; system approach;

bioweathering
Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful for the funding of research projects of the Mineral Fund of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil, Petrobras,
and Embrapa. Acknowledgements to companies
Pedreira Araguaia, Minerao Curimbaba-Yoorin,
Terrativa and Elabore by contributing with new challenges and also funded research actions.
References
Bonneville et al. (2011) Tree-mycorrhiza symbiosis
accelerate mineral weathering. Geoch. Cosmoch.
Acta, 75:6988-7005.
Van Straaten, P. (2007) Agrogeology: The use of
rocks for crops. Enviroquest Ltd., Canada, 440 p.
141
ECO-EFFICIENCY OF NITROGEN BASED FERTILIZERS

PAULA PREZOTTO1, JAN SCHOENEBOOM 2
1
Fundao Espao ECO, Estrada Ribeiro do Soldado, 230, 09822-010, So Bernardo do Campo SP, Brazil (paula.prezotto@
basf.com); 2BASF SE, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany (jan.schoeneboom@basf.com)
Introduction

In the first half of this century, as the worlds
population grows to around 9 billion, global demand
for food, feed and fiber will nearly double while, increasingly, crops may also be used for bioenergy
and other industrial purposes. New and traditional demand for agricultural production will thus put
growing pressure on already scarce agricultural
resources. And while agriculture will be forced to
compete for land and water with sprawling urban
settlements, it will also be required to serve on other major fronts: adapting to and contributing to the
mitigation of climate change, helping preserve natural habitats, protecting endangered species and
maintaining a high level of biodiversity. As though
this were not challenging enough, in most regions
fewer people will be living in rural areas and even
fewer will be farmers. They will need new technologies to grow more from less land, with fewer hands
(FAO, 2014). While we have to increase the yield,
we cannot do it without the use of technology and
fertilizers seeking for sustainable practices that can
improve yield with less environmental burden.

Sustainable agriculture comprehends practices that meet current and future societal needs for
food, feed, energy and fiber, for ecosystem services
and for healthy lives, and that do so by maximizing
the net benefit to society when all costs and benefits
of the practices are considered. The development
of sustainable agriculture requires ways to measure
sustainability of products and processes to allow for
fact-based decision making. Eco-Efficiency Analysis (EEA) was developed by BASF in order to quantify the sustainability of products and processes
based on principles of Life Cycle Assessment. EEA
combines a pragmatic and flexible approach with a
sound scientific background to ensure suitable intelligibility of the results obtained. A modular design
is intended to make the methodology transparent.
As a result, ecological and economic impacts are
very simple to assign to causes. Finally, the EEA
can be used for scenario assessments, which are
useful to support fact-based discussions and derive

recommendations (Saling et al., 2002).

Manufacture and use of fertilizers has proven to be a significant driver of environmental impacts in eco-efficiency studies of agricultural products (MAPA, 2014). In order to measure the economic and environmental impacts of fertilizers production, transportation and use, an eco-efficiency
study was developed to determine which fertilizer is
more sustainable to help farmers making the decision when buying a fertilizer. To this end, the present study compares the eco-efficiency of three different N based fertilizers: urea, ammonium-nitrate
and ammonium-sulfate. Sugarcane ratoon serves
as an example for the application of the fertilizer,
i.e. the use phase.
Methods

Impact Assessment Methodology: BASF
Eco-Efficiency Analysis (EEA) combines a life cycle
assessment (LCA) with life cycle costs (LCC). The
environmental and economic impacts associated
with the defined functional unit are determined over
a product life cycle or the relevant life cycle stages.
This product- or process-based approach is known
as an attributional LCA. EEA considers a broad
range of environmental impact categories, including the cumulative energy demand, abiotic depletion potential, land use, emissions (air emissions,
water emissions and wastes), toxicity potential as
well as occupational illnesses and accidents. These
impact categories have been selected on the basis
of extensive LCA experience for chemical products.
The EEA methodology of BASF is described in detail in publications (Saling et al., 2002). It has been
validated by TV Rheinland Berlin - Branderburg
(2002), TV Rheinland do Brasil Ltda. (2008)
and NSF International (2009, 2013). A detailed
methodological description is available from NSF
(NSF, 2009). The method follows the ISO 14040
and 14044 standards for the environmental assessment evaluation and ISO 14045 (2012) for
142
eco-efficiency assessment.

The study represents fertilizer production
and use in sugarcane ratoon growing in Brazil. The
temporal scope covers from 2009 to 2012. Data for
the fertilizer production processes was obtained
from literature Contribuio ao banco de dados
brasileiro para apoio avaliao do ciclo de vida:
fertilizantes nitrogenados.
(Ribeiro, 2009). Fertilization rates for sugar ratoon have been derived
from Boletim Tcnico 100 (Raij van et al., 1997)
in order to guarantee a yield higher than 100 t ha-1.
Field emissions of dinitrous oxide (N2O), nitrous oxide (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), phosphate (PO4-2),
and nitrate (NO3-) were modelled based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fourth
Assessment Impact Report (IPCC, 2007).
was the ammonium nitrate alternative followed

by the urea. However, we must consider that the
ammonium nitrate is a hygroscopic fertilizer and it
can become a problem depending on the storage
period. Nevertheless, urea can volatilize, which increases, especially, GHG emissions.

The ammonium sulfate was the least ecoefficient fertilizer in spite of being the most complete
of the three alternatives compared.
Since secondary data were used for the present
study, a possibility would be to do an Eco-efficiency
study with primary data in order to confirm the results and the method for secondary data collection.
References

The impacts represented by means of the
main categories in the production, transport and
use phase, for the nitrogen eco-efficiency were
energy consumption (36%), followed by emissions
(21%) and toxicity potential (18%). Regarding the
emissions, air emissions represented 78% of all
emissions, followed by water emissions (12%) and
wastes (10%). In the air emissions category, the
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) represents the most significant (22%) followed by Acid Rain (21%) and Photochemical Ozone Potential (10%) (Figure 1).

The ammonium nitrate alternative was the
most eco-efficient followed by the urea; in third
place was the ammonium sulfate, even though the
impacts for the sulphur were disconsidered. The
ammonium nitrate was the best evaluated alternative because it presented the smallest energy consumption, showed lowest natural resources consumption as well as lowest emissions and smaller
land use (Figure 2).
How to Feed the World in 2050. FAO. Available

online: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/
docs/expert_paper/How_to_Feed_the_World_
in_2050.pdf
Conclusions

The present study uses eco-efficiency
analysis (EEA) to measure the economic and environmental impacts of producing and applying different fertilizers on sugarcane ratoon.

The most eco-efficient nitrogen fertilizer
Keywords: Sustainability, Fertilizers, Eco-efficiency,

Nitrogen, Emissions.
NSF (2009) BASFs Eco-Efficiency Analysis Methodology. Submission for NSF Protocol P352 Validation and Verification of Eco-efficiency Analyses,
Part A. Available online: http://www.nsf.org/newsroom_pdf/NSF_BASF_EEA_Methodology_Validation_Submission_ Final_July_2009.pdf
Pachauri, R.K. & Reisinger, A. Fourth Assessment
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. pp 104. 2007.
Raij van B.; Canterella, H.; Quaggio, J.A.; Furlani,
A.M.C. Recomendaes de Adubao e calagem
para o estado de So Paulo. Boletim Tcnico n.o
100, 2.a edio revisada e atualizada. Campinas,
SP. no 100, 285 p., 1997.
Ribeiro, P.H. Contribuio ao banco de dados
brasileiro para apoio a avaliao do ciclo de vida:
fertilizantes nitrogenados. So Paulo. 2009. 341
p.Saling P, Kicherer A, Dittrich-Kraemer B, Wittlinger R, Zombik W, Schmidt I, Schrott W, Schmidt
S. Eco-efficiency Analysis by BASF: The Method.
Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 2002. 7:203-218.
143
Figure 1. Relevance factors for

main categories in the present
eco-efficiency study.
Figure 2. Eco-efficiency portfolio

for the evaluated alternatives
(Urea, Ammonium Nitrate and
Ammonium Sulfate).
Poster
presentation
papers
Posters | Section 1 | Alternative routes for fertilizer production
147
MICROFLUIDICS TO INVESTIGATE THE LEACHING PERFORMANCE

OF AGROMINERALS
DAVIDE CICERI1 AND ANTOINE ALLANORE2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77Massachusetts Avenue - Rm. 4-217,
Cambridge, MA 021394307, USA (ciceri@mit.edu); 2 Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 77Massachusetts Avenue - Rm. 13-5066, Cambridge, MA 021394307, USA (allanore@mit.edu)
Introduction

K-bearing silicates minerals are an alternative source of potassium for Brazil, and could become the raw material for K-fertilizer for the Cerrado regions. As part of a comprehensive research
effort conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (see related presentation by Prof. Antoine Allanore), this contribution addresses the
leaching performance of Brazilian syenites from a
micro scale perspective.

The leaching rates of agrominerals observed in the field are commonly different from
those determined in the laboratory questioning the
validity of current protocols used in both the chemical laboratory and/or field trials [1,2,3]. The commercial deployment of potassium agrominerals will
benefit from providing a comprehensive understanding of the discrepancies between laboratory
and field. Current experimental techniques used to
investigate the leaching performance of geological
materials are typically limited to traditional stirred
reactors or flow-through systems that do not capture the laminar flow and geometrical conditions
occurring in the microporous structure of the soil.
Further difficulties are encountered when attempting to describe the interfacial processes between
agrominerals and microorganisms or plants.

Microfluidics is a technology with a wide
spectrum of applications that permits to perform
and investigate interfaces and chemical reactions
directly at the microscale. Advantages of the use of
microfluidic devices are widely recognized including
high surfacetovolume ratios, controlled hydrodynamic conditions (laminar flow) and small amount
of sample necessary to run microfluidic experiments [3,4,5].

In this contribution we present a leaching
experiment of a potassium-rich syenite of Brazilian origin [TERRATIVA Ics Norte Project see
this conference abstract from Silveira Braga et al.],
conducted for the first time in microfluidic condi-
tions. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Energy

Dispersive Xray Spectroscopy (EDX) are used to
characterize the surface of the syenite before and
after exposure to acid. In the microfluidic experiment geometry and flow conditions are similar to
those obtained in the soil. Thus, we argue that microfluidics can lead to significant improvements of
our understanding of the release of nutrients from
agrominerals.
Method

A thin-section (Spectrum Petrographic, Co.)
was fabricated out of a specimen of potassium-rich
syenite collected in the Cerrado region of Brazil.

A CO2 laser (Universal V460, 60W) was
used to ablate a microchannel in a mold of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (SYLGARD 184 silicone elastomer kit, Dow Corning) [5]. The channel
had an isosceles triangle crosssection with the
base and the height of approximately 180m and
200m, respectively (Figure 1a). A puncher (Harris
Unicore 1.20) was used to pierce the PDMS mold
at the inlet and outlet of the microchannel, to allow
liquid in and out of the system. The PDMS mold
was then sealed to the thinsection with a plasmacleaner treatment (Harrick Scientific PDC-32G)
operated in air at about 67Pa [5]. NanoportsTM
(Idex Health&Science, N333) were used to connect capillary tubing (Idex Health&Science, 4010)
to the inlet and outlet of the channel. The capillary
tubing at the inlet was connected to a syringe (BD,
plastic 10mL) through a female luertomicrotight
assy (Idex Health&Science, P662). The syringe
was loaded with standardized nitric acid 0.1M (Alfa
Aesar) and positioned on a pump set to dispense
the acid in the microchannel at 0.01mL/hr for 48
hrs (Harvard apparatus, PHD Ultra 703009). A
schematic of the setup is shown in Figure 1b. The
PDMS was then removed from the thinsection with
a sharp blade and the grains exposed to the acid
in the microchannel were analyzed with an Atomic
148
Force Microscope (Asylum Research, MFP-3D-Bio)

and a Scanning Electron Microscope with and EDX
system with silicon drift detector (JEOL 6610 LV).

Although more than 90% of the syenite was
constituted by Kfeldspar, several ancillary minerals
were also included such as titanite, apatite as well
as pyroxenes and amphiboles of variable composition. AFM images of a titanite/syenite grain boundary is given in Figure2a and Figure2b before and
after acid leaching, respectively. It is shown that
under the experimental microfluidic conditions the
boundaries of the grains are leached preferentially with respect to the bulk of the material. This is
consistent with the boundaries being the sites with
higher defect density in the crystalline structure and
hence, more reactive.

A map of phosphorous presence in two
grains of apatite before microfluidic leaching is given in Figure3a. Figure3b shows the same grains
after contacting the top grain with the acid solution
of the microchannel. It is evident that the grain exposed to acid leached out the totality of the phosphorous.
Conclusion

We have demonstrated the use of microfluidics to investigate the acidic leaching of a potential agrominerals. The microfluidic experiment
presented here features important novelties: the
leaching solution is dispensed in laminar condition,
the leaching environment simulates soil pores geometry and the behavior of specific mineral grains
was observed directly (e.g. titanite, apatite). To
the author best knowledge, the preliminary results
presented here are the first example of a microfluidic leaching reported in the literature. Our results
have important consequences from an agronomic

perspective pointing out that the local conditions at
the microscale, where the mineral/soil/root interaction occur, are indeed different from what can be
appreciated at the bulk level. The technique discussed in the present contribution can significantly
advance knowledge of soil processes and elucidate the mechanisms responsible for fertilization by
agrominerals.
Keywords: Agrominerals, Leaching, Microfluidics,
Soil
Acknowledgements
Terrativa Minerais S.A. is gratefully acknowledged
for funding this research.
References
[1] Manning, D.A.C. Mineral sources of potassium
for plant nutrition. A review Agronomy for sustainable development 30.2 (2010) 281-294.
[2] White, A.F. and Brantley, S.L. The effect of time
on the weathering of silicate minerals: why do
weathering rates differ in the laboratory and field?
Chemical Geology 202.3 (2003) 479506.
[3] Li, L., Steefel, C.I. and Yang, L. Scale dependence of mineral dissolution rates within single pores
and fractures Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
72.2 (2008) 360-377.
[4] Squires, T.M. and Quake, S.R. Microfluidics: Fluid physics at the nanoliter scale Reviews of modern
physics 77.3 (2005) 977.
[5] McDonald, J.C. and Whitesides, G.M.
Poly(dimethylsiloxane) as a material for fabricating
microfluidic devices Accounts of chemical research
35.7 (2002) 491-499.
149
(a)
(b)
Figure1. (a) Crosssection of the channel ablated in the PDMS mold with a CO2 laser (b) Schematic of the microfluidic
experimental setup
(a)
(b)
Figure2. Detail of a titanite/Kfeldspar grain boundary in the syenite (a) before microfluidic exposure to acid (b) after microfluidic
exposure to acid
(a)
(b)
Figure3. Detail of two apatite grains in the syenite (a) before microfluidic exposure to acid and (b) after microfluidic exposure to acid
(only the top grain was in contact with the acid in the microchannel)
150

2
CELTONITA, NATURAL MINERAL PRODUCT OBTAINED BY

CLINOPTILOLITE TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF PLANT NUTRITION
AND REDUCE ENVIROMETAL POLLUTION
F. BORSATTO1; J. A. FEBLES1; J. P. FERREIRA2 AND F. FERREIRA2
1
Industrias Celta Brasil Ltda, Rua Iris Memberg 200, Cotia, SP, Brasil fernandoborsatto@celtabrasil.com.br; 2 Zeocel, Rua Cho
de Frade 188, Ameal, gueda, Portugal filipeferreira@zeocel.pt
Introduction

Celtonita is a technical mineral obtained
from Cuban, natural clinoptilolite enriched with
macro and micro nutrients required for excellent development of different crops.

As advantages we can mention its capacity
to improve soil structure, to promote greater oxygenation of the root, to separate the Na+ soil avoiding clay dispersion, to decrease the difference of
existing osmotic pressure between the root and the
environment, to preserve the nutrients and to improve the ability of the plants to assimilate them,
its gradual recovery of NH+4, ability to enhance root
development and act as accumulator of water and
nutrients in the soil.

The usage of this mineral has been given
the excellent results for different crops like vegetables, orchards, forests, ornamental plants, both in
seedling development or large production. As a result of its use, it is possible to eliminate all application of chemical fertilizers, contributing to significant
decrease of environmental pollution.
Experimental methods

The natural zeolite used in the production
process of Celtonita is from deposits of San Andrs,
Holgun, Cuba, which presents a grain size of 1-3
mm and a chemical composition shown in Table 1.

This mineral is subjected to a modification
process through the contact with a chemical solution. Different nutrients are incorporated in the zeolite structure to fulfill the requirements of agricultural
cultivation. After this modification process we can
identify some nutrients in the zeolite structure analysis by atomic absorption spectrometry like those
shown in Table 2.

The use of Celtonita in seedlings of greeneries allows total elimination of chemical fertilization
traditionally used to significantly improve the growth
of plants at this stage. It is also possible to reduce

the time of production, as shown in Table 3.

Similar results were obtained by Gonzalez,
1999 when adding 5-10 % of Celtonita in substrates
for vegetables. In orchards the inclusion of Celtonita was 10 % of the substrate volume enhancing
leaf and root development and reducing the time in
the greenhouse by more than 90 days in cultures of
avocado and guava and resulting also in significant
savings in production costs.

The response of the effect of chemical fertilizers and application of Celtonita using humus as
substrate is shown in Table 4. Is observed that the
best treatment for the development of tomato seedlings in both height and volume root was used 5%
of the Celtonita with significant differences from the
other treatments, which shows that the use of this
mineral is not necessary to use chemical fertilizers
at this stage of crop development, this result coincides with the described by MINAG, 2003.

Results obtained by Todolivo, 2012 in the
implementation of the Celtonita at 0.5 - 1.0 per kg
planted in the planting hole in the cultivation of olive
trees in Spain and Portugal have obtained a significant reduction in chemical fertilizer. For example,
the farm of Mr. Pedro Abad, in Cordova, carrying
more than 11 consecutive crops without applying
any mineral fertilizer after initial incorporation into
the Celtonita planting, as shown in Table 5.

As to the use of this product in ornamental
plants, favorable results were obtained in the rooting of carnations, roses and chrysanthemums in
these crops in Bogot, Colombia employment increased more than 15 % vegetative growth comparing with plants without Celtonita (Febles, 2003).

The use of Celtonita in different percentages in orchid cultivation conducted in Sao Paulo.
Brazil, showed excellent results with the inclusion
of 15 to 20 % of Celtonita in the coconut fiber substrate, the elimination of chemical fertilization, significant reduction in the electrical conductivity of
coconut fiber substrate and further development of

foliar and root, causing enhanced flowering and reduced crop growth time in more than 20 days.
Conclusion

The use of this product obtained through
modification of the exchangeable ions in clinoptilolite, provides us the possibility of a rational, safe
and cost-effective use of nutrients and water for different soil types and crops, allowing the development of more ecological farming systems and dramatically reduces environmental pollution.
Keywords: Zeolite, clinoptilolite, Cation Exchange
Capacity
151
References
FEBLES, J. A., Informe tcnico de trabajo realizado
en la comercializacin de las zeolitas cubanas en
Colombia. Centro de Investigaciones para la Industria Minero Metalrgica, La Habana, p. 22, 2003.
GONZLEZ, P. M. AROZARENA. N. and BARDANCA. T., Manejo de sustrato en casas de posturas
como alternativa en la sostenibilidad de las producciones hortcolas,1999. Available in: www.bibliociencias.cu/gsdl/collect/revistas/index/assoc/...dir/
doc.pdf. Accessed: 18 jun. 2014.
MINAG, Manual para la produccin protegida de
hortalizas. Asoc. LLH Liliana Dimitrova y Cultivos
Varios, p. 113, 2003.
TODOLIVO, Datos obtenidos de la decima cosecha en los ensayos de variedades de olivar en seto
(2011), 2012. Available in: www.todolivo.es. Accessed: 18 jun. 2014.
Table 1. Chemical composition and CEC of zeolite
Table 2. Content of nutrients after modification
Table 3. Time to raise seedlings in greenhouses
152
Table 4. Comparison of the effect of chemical fertilization and Celtonita in tomato seedlings
Table 5. Comparative results of the application of Celtonita in relation to fertigation olive (in Cordova, Spain)
153
FERTCEL, CLINOPTILOLITE NATURAL PRODUCT TO OPTIMIZE THE

FERTILIZATION AND REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
JORGE A. FEBLES GONZLEZ1, FERNANDO BORSATTO FARIA1, MIGUEL SOCA NUEZ2
1
Industrias Celta Brasil Ltda. Rua Iris Memberg 200,06705-150,Cotia, So Paulo, Brasil. febles@celtabrasil.com.br
2
Instituto de Suelos. MINAG, Autopista Costa-Costa Boyeros, La Habana, Cuba. programas@minag.cu
Introduction

Modern agriculture uses fertilizers with high
concentration of nutrients, which have a high solubility. It is predominantly accepted that repeated
application of these fertilizers, can bring long term
adverse impacts on the soil and the environment.

An interesting alternative would be to consider the availability of a renewable fertilizer and
controlled release, which can ensure high crop
yields with lower dosages of nutrients while the soil
fertility is not affected. Because of this, it was decided to carry out the evaluation of a new type of fertilizer, where the inclusion of natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) in the NPK fertilizer that might enable nutrient release in a controlled manner, and decreased
doses of nutrients in crops without affecting crop
yields and soil properties, and can thus avoid some
of the negative environmental consequences associated with high concentration of chemical fertilization and nutrient solubility and a more sustainable
agriculture.
Experimental methods
The natural zeolites are generally formed of
altering siliceous volcanic ash. Its chemical structure is classified as a hydrated aluminosilicate, in
which atoms of silicon, aluminum and oxygen are
arranged in a three dimensional structure in the
form of tetrahedrons interconnected together, which
causes an immense network of channels which
gives it high generating surface and high absorption
properties reversibly moisture and gases, without
change in structure area as well as a high Cation
Exchange Capacity, which gives it a very important optimization that provide nutrients to the soil
through fertilization behavior. The mineralogical
composition of the zeolite used is 98% Clinoptilolite and Mordenite 2% of Tasajeras deposit of the
central region of Cuba with an average chemical
composition present in Table 1.

An equally important aspect of this mineral
are the physical characteristics (Table 2.), which

show that has a high pore volume which gives the
mineral a large area of absorption
and exchange,
which allows moisture retention greater than 40%
and retention of interchangeable form of elements
such as potassium, ammonium and available to
crops.

From the participation of simple chemical carriers as the Ammonium Sulfate (20.6-0-0), Simple

Superphosphate (0-19.5-0) and Potassium
Chloride (0-0-60) recommended formulations were
developed for different crops, which were compared with those obtained by the incorporation into
them of 25% of clinoptilolite type zeolite with a grain
size of 1-3 mm. replacing the same percentage to
all carriers NPK formulations, in this way to corroborate in field studies at the level of production of
positive results obtained in another series of experiments at controlled scale.

The soil in which the experiments were
conducted are classified as Ferraltic Red Dark
(Soil Institute, 1994), which according to the Soil
Taxonomy correspond to a Rhodic Eutrusteox
(USDA, 1994) deep, flat topography, low organic
matter content (2%), CEC of 13-26 meq/100 g soil
pH less than 6, found in the southwestern plains of
Cuba.

The addition of 25% of natural zeolites to
NPK, increased crop yield by 37.98% on average in
cultures tested Table 3; being reached an improvement in the efficiency of utilization of nutrients in
mineral fertilizers of 44.42%, showing maize the
greatest increases in efficiency of use of fertilizer
(60.83%), mainly because this crop is highly demanding nutrient mainly of nitrogen, which is consistent with that reported by other authors (Soca
1991, Vazquez and Meneses 2010) on the possibility of economizing mineral fertilizers by 25%, using
natural zeolites in agriculture and this thus reduce
154
the negative impact of these on the environment.

When evaluating the results of soil analysis
(0-20 cm depth) in different crops (Table 4), significant differences are not observed in the content
of exchangeable cations, although a slight trend to
increase in Total soil CEC, and the contents of P2O5
and K2O with the addition of natural clinoptilolite,
this indicates the possibility of not only a more efficient management of crop nutrition, but also allows the gradual recovery of fertility degraded soils,
through continued and systematic use of fertilizers
in which the use of this valuable mineral is integrated.
Conclusion

The inclusion of 25% natural Clinoptilolite in
the development of chemical fertilizers significantly

improved the efficiency of fertilization with the consequent reduction of environmental pollution.A
trend was observed to increase the values of
Ca2+,
P2O5, K2O and CCC soil where chemical fertilizers
were applied on natural Clinoptilolite.
References
Clasificacin Gentica de los Suelos de Cuba. Instituto de Suelos MINAGRI; La Habana, Cuba. p. 34,
4v., 1994.
SOCA, M.; FEBLES, j. and ADRIAS, E. Utilizacin
de Zeolitas Naturales en diferentes suelos y cultivos, como va para incrementar la eficiencia de
los fertilizantes minerales. Memorias Zeolitas91.
3rd International Conference on the Occurrence,
Properties and Utilization of Natural Zeolites, La
Habana, Cuba, p.126, 1991.
VSQUEZ HERNNDEZ A. and MENESES I..
Empleo de zeolitas para incrementar la eficiencia
de los fertilizantes qumicos aplicados a maz en
Veracruz. XXXIII Reunin Cientifica-Tecnologica Forestal y Agropecuaria, Veracruz. pp. 39-40,
2010. www.funprover.org/agroentorno. Accessed:
18 jun. 2014.
USDA, Keys to Soils Taxonomy. Soils Conservation
Service. 3 ed., p. 305, 1994.
Keywords: Clinoptilolite, Cation Exchange Capacity, controlled release fertilizer.
Table 1. Chemical composition media

SiO2
74,01
Al2O3
11,56
CaO
5,10
Na2O
2,45
Percentages
Fe2O3
FeO
K2O
2,62
0,81
1,89
TiO2
0,44
MgO
0,65
P2O5
0,08
Table 2. Physical characteristics
Bulk density
Surface Area
Pore Volume
Cation Exchange Capacity
0,98 g/L
40 m2/g
51.1 %
1,57 mg/g
Other
<1.00
pH
7,6
Table 3. Comparison of efficiency of fertilizer incorporation of 25% of clinoptilolite

Crops
Potato
Corn
Bean
Tomato
Cucumber
Sweet
Potato
Formula
10-17-24
9-13-17
8-9-14
6-7-10
9.5-9.5-9.5
7-7-7
9.5-9.5-9.5
7-7-7
8-9-14
6-7-10
8-9-14
6-7-10
Doses
(Kg/ha)
Kg
NPK/ha
Yield
tm/ha
1490
1490
550
550
745
745
730
730
780
780
620
620
AVERAGE
759.9
581.1
170.5
129.25
212.32
156.45
208.10
153.30
241.60
179.40
192.20
142.60
24.31
29.46
3.15
6.10
1.29
1.50
25.50
35.19
32.40
43.60
11.50
14.20
Increment
%
Kg NPK/tm of
production
31.26
19.73
54.13
21.2
164.59
104.30
8.25
4.31
7.46
4.11
16.71
10.04
21.2
93.7
17.0
38.0
35.0
23.0
37.98
NPK
efficienc
y%
36.88
60.83
36.63
47.75
44.90
39.50
44.42
Table 4. Results studies of soil (0-20 cm) with fertilizer with 25% of clinoptilolite
Crops
Potato
Corn
Bean
Tomato
Cucumber
Sweet Potato
Variant
pH
Ca+2
mmoles/100 g of soil
Mg+2
K+
Na+
0
10-17-24
9-13-17
0
8-9-14
6.5-7-10
0
9.5-9.5-9.5
7-7-7
0
9.5-9.5-9.5
7-7-7
0
8-9-14
6-7-10
0
8-9-14
6-7-10
6.7
6.7
6.8
5.1
5.2
5.2
4.60
4.60
4.80
5.1
5.1
5.3
5.5
5.5
5.6
4.3
4.4
4.9
14.21
14.21
14.82
8.20
8.1
8.3
7.00
7.00
7.10
8.20
8.70
9.10
10.70
10.70
11.90
3.00
2.90
4.10
2.37
2.49
2.63
1.63
1.69
1.69
1.40
1.50
1.70
2.27
2.23
2.43
8.10
8.30
8.90
1.60
1.60
2.20
0.67
0.67
0.73
0.76
0.82
0.91
0.26
0.31
0.35
0.30
0.32
0.37
0.60
0.50
0.75
0.50
0.50
0.70
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.15
0.10
0.10
0.15
0.10
0.10
0.15
0.10
0.10
0.25
0.10
0.10
0.15
CIC
17.34
17.46
18.27
10.68
10.70
11.05
8.76
8.91
9.30
10.87
11.35
12.05
19.50
19.60
21.80
5.20
5.10
7.15
mg /100 g of soil
P2O5
K2O
4.12
8.41
9.62
7.8
10.3
16.4
4.70
7.50
10.40
4.10
6.25
8.80
3.75
6.65
9.75
4.75
6.25
12.15
9.42
13.10
15.12
13.3
15.9
17.8
6.70
12.25
17.50
9.75
12.25
15.22
11.75
13.75
15.90
8.15
10.15
16.75
155
156

4
EVALUATION OF THE HYDROXYAPATITE NANOPARTICLES SOLUBILITY

FOR APLICATION AS A SOURCE OF PHOSPHORUS
CAMILA R. SCIENA1, MARIA F. SANTOS2, CAU RIBEIRO3, DANIEL S. CORRA4, ELAINE C. PARIS5
1
Programa de Ps Graduao em Qumica - Departamento de Qumica UFSCar, Caixa Postal 676, So Carlos, 13565-905,
Brasil (carsciena@gmail.com); 2 Programa de Ps Graduao em Biotecnologia - UFSCar , Caixa 676, So Carlos, 13565-905,
Brasil (mf_santos@hotmail.com) ; 3 Pesquisador, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria Embrapa, Caixa Postal 741, So
Carlos, 13560-970, Brasil (caue.ribeiro@embrapa.br); 4 Pesquisador, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria Embrapa,
Caixa Postal 741, So Carlos, 13560-970, Brasil (daniel.correa@embrapa.br); 5 Pesquisadora, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa
Agropecuria Embrapa, Caixa Postal 741, So Carlos, 13560-970, Brasil (elaine.paris@embrapa.br)
Introduction

In the Brazilian agricultural production
about 70% of the fertilizers are obtained from importation.1 Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) is used as the
most employed source of phosphorus (P) fertilizer
to the soil. However, in the production process of
this acid is obtained gypsum (CaSO4), which rep-
resents a great impact on the environment, since

many tons of this product are stocked without application .2

In recent years the rock phosphate has
been evaluated for direct application to the soil as
fertilizer.3 One of the most abundant phosphates in
nature is the class of apatites, making it highly interesting for direct application to the soil, except due to
its low solubility.4 In this way, methodologies which
make possible to increase the apatite solubilization
present great relevance.

In order to reduce external dependence
in achieving such products, this work is based on
synthesizing nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite (HAP)
(Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) in different hydrothermal conditions to evaluate their solubility and ability to release phosphorus (P) in aqueous medium.
Methods

HAP nanoparticles were synthesized by
wet coprecipitation followed by hydrothermal method for different periods of time at 150C. In this way,
calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) and ammonium phosphate aqueous solutions ((NH4)2HPO4) were prepared, respectively. The second one was dripped
slowly into the first solution under a nitrogen atmosphere. The pH was adjusted to 11 with ammonium
hydroxide to form a white suspension, which one
was hydrothermalized for 12, 24 and 36 hours. The
samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction
(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy with field
emission gun (SEM-FEG).
The solubility evaluation of the nanoparticles was

realized using 0.05 g of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles in 250 mL of water at controlled temperature of
40C. Subsequently, aliquots were taken according
to period (4, 8, 12, 24, 48 h). HAP solubility was
analyzed by absorption spectrophotometry in the
UV-Vis region by means of phosphorus complexation, applying the molybdenum method.

The structural characteristics of the HAP
nanoparticles in different hydrothermal conditions
were evaluate by XRD. In Figure 1, the XRD patterns indicate that all samples present a crystalline
structure with HAP single phase, without formation
of undesirable secondary phase. In these results,
it was not found any significant influence on crystallization process when the hydrothermal time is
increased.

The morphology of the HAP nanoparticles
was analyzed by SEM-FEG. The images and the
particles size distribution are presented in Figure
2. From images (Figure 2) obtained by electron
microscopy, it was observed that samples present
rod-like morphology with diameter varying from 1240 nm. No significant variation was observed with
time increasing from 12 to 36 h, since that in all
cases the particles presented the most part of distribution in the range of 18 to 26 nm. However, it is
possible to verify a better definition of the rods with
a decrease of the interval distribution. This fact suggest that shorter periods of hydrothermal process
leads to larger diameter distribution ranges of nanoparticles.

By means of the solubility behavior (Figure
3), it is possible to observe that the hydrothermal
process time did not present significant influence
on the phosphorus concentration in aqueous solution.
Posters | Section 2 | Direct use of rock as fertilizers
Conclusions
References

In this work it was concluded that the hydrothermal time do not present significant influence
in the average diameter of the hydroxyapatite nanoparticles and in the material crystallization process.
In this way, it is possible to conclude that shorter
periods of hydrothermal treatment are preferred,
since there is no significant difference in the HAP
nanoparticles solubility in water.
Keywords: Nanoparticles, hydroxiapatite, phosphorous
Acknowledgements
157
http://www.anda.org.br/index.php?mpg=03.00.00
acessed in 04-16-14
Rutherford, P. M., Dudas, M. J., & Samek, R. A.
(1994). Environmental impacts of phosphogypsum.
Science of the Total Environment, 149(1), 1-38.
2
Khasawneh, F. E., and E. C. Doll. The use of

phosphate rock for direct application to soils. Adv.
Agron 30.1 (1978): 159-206.
3
Chien, S.H.,Menon, R.G., Factors affecting the

agronomic effectiveness of phosphate rock for direct application. Fert. Res., 1995. 41(3): p. 227-234
4
Embrapa Instrumentao, Departamento de Qumica da UFSCar, CAPES.
Figure 1. X-ray diffraction patterns of the hydroxyapatite

nanoparticles synthesized with different hydrothermal
periods.
Figure 3. Phosphorus concentration in function of the

solubilization time for HAP nanoparticles.
Figure 2. Images of the HAP nanoparticles

obtained by electron microscopy and the
respective size distribution.
158

5
PERFORMANCE OF K SILICATE AGROMINERALS FOR CORN CROP

MARIA INS LOPES DE OLIVEIRA1, DER DE SOUZA MARTINS1, MARIANA B. GABOS1, FLVIA
CRISTINA SILVEIRA BRAGA2, JOSIEL PEREIRA DE ALMEIDA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE 2
2
1
Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020 km 8, 73310-970, BRAZIL (minesoliveira2@gmail.com1)
TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL.
Introduction

In general, Brazilian soils are poor in macro and micronutrients. Brazil has only one producing potash mine so that more than 90% has to be
imported, despite its importance as food producer.
This very uncomfortable dependence also has a
significant impact on the countrys trade balance.
Due to actual potash market, it is unlikely that any
significant new production capacity will be developed in Brazil from the local potash salt deposits.

Since 2011 TERRATIVA MINERAIS
screened locations close to agricultural regions
from the Cerrado and with favourable geology and
logistics, for syenite rock with up to 14.5% potash
content and also high content of other macronutrients. This rocks are uncommon, but Terrativa was
able to locate them in key areas by using modern
geological tools. TERRATIVA is developing five
high grade potash mines (with up to 14.5% K2O)
and is planning the installation of four rock powder
plants close to important agricultural zones from the
Cerrado.

A 2 year research program from TERRATIVA with the MIT/USA developed Hydrosyenite, a
second generation low cost high efficiency potash
fertilizer produced from syenite by hydrotermal process, with controlled accelerated release of potash
and also other benefits for agriculture. Embrapa is
running laboratory and agronomic efficiency tests to
evaluate these K silicate agrominerals.

In this way, the objective of this research
was to compare different silicate rocks as K source
for maize as indicator plant in pot experiment.
Methods
The experiment was conduced in greenhouse located at Embrapa Cerrados in Planaltina-DF. The
treatments were the control (TE), 6 kind of silicated
agrominerals (granulometry <0.15 mm), 2 doses
and 3 repetitions. The silicated agrominerals were
TA-15 (PRGB-PCER-MCA-RO0011/ 12,5 % de
K2O); TA-16 (PRTR-PICO-EBT-RO0013/ 13,4% de

K2O); TA-17 (PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0066/ 9,97 %
de K2O); TA-18 (PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0015/ 4,84
% de K2O); TA-20 (PRTD-PSEA-CAL-RO0011/ 14,9
% de K2O) e BX (biotite schist/ 2,66 % de K2O). The
doses were calculated based on the recommended
fertilization of K to corn crops (120 kg ha-1 of K2O),
and another with the double of it (240 kg ha-1 of
K2O). For this calculation were considered the total
K (%) presented in each rock. The treatments were
homogenized with 2 kg of soil (Oxisol), packed in 2L
pots, and seeded 2 plants of corn each.

Passed 45 days after emergency, the
plants were collected and separated shoots and
roots. All the material were dried at 60C, in the sequence, were weighted to the dry mass evaluation
and crushed to the chemical analysis (total extraction). In the same period, the soils were collected,
air dried and analysed for available amount of nutrients.
Results and discussions

In the experiment was observed a increment in the dry mass as a consequence of the increasing dose of all the silicate agrominerals (figure
1). In the low doses (40 and 80 kg ha-1) the dry
mass addition were not different from the control
treatment. The plants in the highest dose (240 kg
ha-1) some silicate agrominerals showed a potencial
in the dry mass increment (figure 1), such as TA-15,
TA-18 and TA-20.

In the dose equivalent of 120 kg per ha of
K2O the biotite schist (BX) had the better development compared with the others agrominerals. However there are no difference in the dry mass production of both shoots as rootsif compared the BX
with all agrominerals. The BX is the knowed silicate
agromineral used as a rock control.

With the application of increasing dose of
agromineral, the K available in soil were proportionally higher (figure 2). The available Si in the soil
treated with silicate agrominerals were simiar to the

control (figure 2B), indicating no difference between
the treatments.

The K amount absorbed by the plants were
compatible with the K available in soils treated with
the silicate agrominerals (figure 3). In the higher
dose (240 kg ha-1) plants from all the treatments
accumulated more K than in the control. The plants
treated with the rocks TA-15, TA-16, TA-17, TA-18
and TA-20, even accumulating lower amount of K
than in the BX treatment, showed similarproduction
of shoot dry mass.

The accumulation of K in plants treated with
biotite schist were higher than in the other treatments. However the tested K silicate agrominerals
have higher total K concentration, for this reason
the amount of rock necessary to apply the same
quantity of K is higher for the biotite schist than for
other rocks. For example, to apply the dose of 240
kg ha-1 de K2O is necessary the addition of 9.02
t ha-1 of biotite schist, and for the other rocks are
1.92; 1.79; 2.40; 4.90; and 1.61 t ha-1, respectively
for TA-15; TA-16; TA-17; TA-18; and TA-20.
Conclusions

The silicate agrominerals TA-15, TA-18 e
TA-20 were the promising rocks for the agricultural
use, in the aspects of development, dry mass production of corn plants and for the K availability in
soil. The TA-15 is from Bahia state (TERRATIVA
Cerama Project Silveira Braga et al., 2014), and
the TA-20 is from Gois state (TERRATIVA Serra
das Araras Project Oliveira et al., 2014a). Both are
159
ultrapotassic igneous rocks classified as alkali feldspar syenite. The TA-18 is from Gois state (TERRATIVA Acrena Project Oliveira et al., 2014b)
and it is alkaline mafic-ultramafic rocks classified as
ugandite.
Keywords: Alternative fertilizer, root zone, silicate
agromineral
References
EMBRAPA. 1997. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de
Solos. Manual de Mtodos de Anlise de Solo. 2
ed. Rio de Janeiro, 212p.
LEITE, A.A. da S.; OLIVEIRA, M. A. de; ALVES, C.
A. L.; ANGLICA, R. S.; MARTINS, E. de S. 2014.
K-silicate Agromineral from the ultrapotassic rocks
of the Brazilian Cerrado. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
OLIVEIRA, M. A. de; LEITE, A.A. da S.; ALVES, C.
K, Ca and Mg-bearing agrominerals from the alkaline ultramafic rocks: an alternative source for soil
conditioners and K-fertilizers. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
SILVEIRA BRAGA, F.C; LEITE, A.A. da S.; OLIVEIRA, M. A. de; MARTINS, E. de S.; GABOS, M. B.;
ANGLICA, R. S. 2014. K-Alternative Fertilizer Project: Biotite-bearing ultrapotassic deposit in Bahia
state. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS
OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
160
Dose 40 kg ha-1
Dose 80 kg ha-1
Dry Mass, g
1,5
1
0,5
Raiz
Root
PA
Shoot
Dry Mass, g
Dose 120 kg ha-1
Dose 240 kg ha-1
1,5
1
0,5
0
Figure 1. Dry mass production

of corn plant (roots and shoots)
culivated in soil pot with silicate
agrominerals aplication.
Rock
Figure 2. Available K(A) and Si (B)in soil for corn plants (variety Sol da manh) by the application of silicate agrominerals.
Figure 3. Accumulation of K in corn plants treated with

doses of silicate agrominerals.
161
FELDSPAR CRISTALLINITY AND POTASSIUM BEHAVIOUR IN SOILS

OVERLYING SYENITES: AGROMINERAL APPLICATION
RMULO SIMES ANGLICA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE2, FLVIA CRISTINA SILVEIRA BRAGA3,
MARCELO AUGUSTO DE OLIVEIRA4, KELLY SILVA OLIVEIRA5, EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS6
Instituto de Geocincias, Universidade Federal do Par, 66075-110, Belm, PA, Brasil (angelica@ufpa.br1 , kesioliveira@gmail.
com5) ; 2,3,4 TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (albano.
leite@terrativa.com.br2, flavia.braga@terrativa.com.br3), marcelo.oliveira@terrativa.com.br4); 6EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR 020 Km 8,
73310-970, Panaltina, DF, Brasil (eder.martins@embrapa.br)
1, 5
Introduction

This work is part of a major projet from
TERRATIVA MINERAIS S.A., related to agrominerals exploration in Brazil. Since 2011 TERRATIVA
MINERAIS screened locations close to agricultural regions with favourable geology & logistics, for
syenite rock with up to 14.5% potash content and
also high content of other macronutrients. These
rocks are uncommon, but TERRATIVA was able to
locate them in key areas by using modern geological tools. TERRATIVA is developing five high grade
potash mines (with up to 14.5% K2O) and is planning the installation of four rock powder plants close
to important agricultural zones from the Cerrado.

Actually Embrapa is running laboratory
and agronomic efficiency tests to certify TERRATIVA rock powder products. Tests will be finished
in Q1-2015. A 2 year research program from TERRATIVA with the MIT/USA developed Hydrosyenite,
a second generation low cost high efficiency potash

The main objective is to present results of
the study about weathering profiles overlying syenite rocks in the Triunfo region, Pernambuco state,
northeastern Brazil, with special attention for the
potassium behaviour from the primary minerals in
the bedrock up to the soils. These rocks have been
explored by Terrativa company with the main purpose of using them for agromineral applications.
Methods

Several soils profiles overlying syenite
rocks were described and sampled in Triunfo region
for further chemical and mineralogical analysis.
Samples were collected according to horizon profile
description.

Mineralogical analysis were carried out by
X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis using a Panalytical XPert PRO MPD diffractometer with a ceramic
X-ray tube ( CuK1=1.540598 ), K Ni filter and
a Xcelerator Position-Sensitive Detector. Phase
identification, cluster analysis and the Rietveld
Method for quantitative phase analyses were carried out using the High Score Plus Software, also
from Panalytical.

Cristallinity index is a very general term to
describe order-disorder in crystal structures, which
can be related to microstrain or crystallite size domains (Jenkins & Snider, 1996). In a very simple
way, it is related to peak broadening in the diffraction pattern, followed by intensities decreasing.
For the feldspar cristallinity, peak broadening of the
XRD patterns (diffractograms) were analysed using the PROFILE FIT software tool, that calculates
the peak profile characteristics by applying a range
of adjustable, mathematical profile functions. These
functions obtain (more accurate) information on
peak characteristics such as position, intensity, and
for this work, width and shape, herein described as
the Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM). Profile
fitting is most often used to deconvolute severely
overlapping peaks into single peaks.

Total chemical analysis were carried out
by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). Available Potassium
analysis were carried out at ESALQ University, by
extraction from the soilusing cation exchange resin and analyzing the filtered extract on an atomic
emission spectrometer. The results are reported as
mmolc.dm3.
Geological setting and location

The Ics Norte Project is located in the municipality of Serra Talhada, approximately 415 km
west of Recife, the capital of Pernambuco State,
Brazil (Silveira Braga et al., 2014). The geology
of this region is mainly represented by the Triunfo
162
batholith, which consist of an assemblage of syenites and mafic rocks (diorite/gabbro) in the form of
late plutonic bodies. These rocks exhibit the same
mineralogical composition (clinopyroxene, K-feldspar, sphenoid, apatite and magnetite), differing
only in relative proportions (Ferreira et al., 1994).

The soil profiles sampled in this work were
developed over an alkali-feldspar syenite (AFS),
comprising the Ics Norte Target from Terrativa.

A typical soil profile from the Ics Norte Project is ilustrated in Figure 1, exhibiting the results of
K2O (total), K (Available) and FWHM of the most
intense peak from K-feldspar in the XRD pattern.

Soil profiles are not deep in the region, typical from arid to semiarid regions from northeaestern Brazil. Fresh rock outcrops are very common
in the landscape overlayed by immature soil profiles
mainly comprised by a C horizon (weathered bedrock).

K-feldspar (microcline) is the main mineral
in the samples. Main mineralogical observation in
the XRD patterns is the kaolinite formation after Kfeldspar hydrolisis and increasing in Fe2O3 contents
to the top of the profiles related to iron oxy-hydroxides formation (Figure 2).

Figure 1 shows the typical K2O deacreasing
to the upper part of the profiles, related to K-feldspar weathering and K release. On the other hand,
it very important to notice that available K contents
increase to the top. Since no new K-bearing mineral
is formed in the soil, K availability is related to Kfeldspar structure, that becomes more loose due
to upwarding weathering. This can be confirmed by
the evaluation of the FWHM values exhibited in Figures 1 and 2. In the lower part of the profile (Sample RO-11), the FWHM value of the main peak of
K-felspar is 0.087o 2q. The increasing of this value
in the upper samples (0.108, and 0.121 o 2q for the
soil) implies that the peak is broadening and the Kfeldspar structure is becoming more weathered and
loose, favouring K availability.

Several other profiles were sampled and
analysed in the Triunfo region, confirming such mineralogical and chemical behaviour.
Conclusion

Soil profiles in Ics Norte area are immature and K2O contents typicaly decrease progressively toward the top of the profile. K2O contents
are relatively high in top soils (~ 5%) compared to
humid/tropical regions (<0.01%). The main reason
is related to arid to semi-arid climate where physical
weathering domains over chemical weathering. The
mineralogy of the soils is dominated by K-feldspar,
whose crystallinity decreases to the top of the profiles, increasing K release/availability.

Clay minerals contents in the soils are very
low, mainly related to kaolinite derived from K-feldspar hydrolisis (no K adsorption/retention).
Keywords: K-feldspar, soil profile, X-ray Diffraction,
Agrominerals
References
Jenkins, R. & Snyder, R.L. 1996. Introduction to
X-Ray Powder Diffractometry. John Wiley & Sons,
New York, 403 p.
Ferreira, V.P.; Sial, A.N.; Whitney, J.A. 1994. Largescale silicate liquid immiscibility: a possible example from northeastern Brazil. Lithos, 33: 285-302.
Silveira Braga, F.C; Leite, A.A. da S.; Oliveira, M.
A. de; Martins, E. de S.; Gabos, M. B.; Anglica,
R. S. 2014. K-Alternative Fertilizer Project: Biotitebearing ultrapotassic deposit in Bahia state. In:
16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC,
2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Soil Profile
Horizon Description
K2O(%)
Kavail
FWHM
SO-03 Transported soil ,

with pisolites.
5.62
2.1
0.121
RO-10 Pisolitic and

concretionary horizon: mm
to
cm
sub-rounded
fragments of weathered
rock, indicating sub-aerial
exposure and reworking.
10.1
1.4
0.108
13.0
1.1
0.087
RO-11 C Horizon:
Saprolite with centimetric
fragments of fresh and
weathered syenite.
Figure 1. Typical soil profile from the Ics Norte Project, exhibiting the results of K2O (total), K (Available, in mmolc.dm3)
and FWHM (in o2q) of the most intense peak from K-feldspar.
Figure 2. XRD patterns of the soil profile (three samples) from Figure 1, mainly composed by K-feldspar. In detail, one observes
the K-feldspar most intense peak used for the FWHM measure and crystallinity evaluation. K: kaolinite; Gt: goethite, Hm: hematite.
163
164

7
K-ALTERNATIVE FERTILIZER PROJECT: BIOTITE-BEARING

ULTRAPOTASSIC DEPOSIT IN BAHIA STATE
FLVIA CRISTINA SILVEIRA BRAGA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE2, MARCELO AUGUSTO DE
OLIVEIRA3, EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS4, MARIANA B. GABOS5, RMULO SIMES ANGLICA6
TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16 andar, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (flavia.braga@
terrativa.com.br1 / albano.leite@terrativa.com.br2 / marcelo.oliveira@ terrativa.com.br3); 4, 5 Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020 km 18,
Planaltina, 73310-970, BRAZIL (eder.martins@embrapa.br4 / marianagabos@yahoo.com.br5); 6 Universidade Federal do Par
UFPA, Augusto Correa avenue, CP1611, Belm, 66075-110, BRAZIL (angelica@ufpa.br)
1, 2, 3
Introduction

Brazilian Cerrado soil is poor in macro and
micronutrients. Despite Brazil being one of the top
countries in agribusiness, Brazil has only one producing potash mine so that more than 90% has to
be imported. This very uncomfortable dependence
also has a significant impact on the countrys trade
balance. Due to actual low potash market prices, it
is unlikely that any significant new production capacity will be developed in Brazil from the local potash salt deposits.

Embrapa is the leading Brazilian research
institute for agriculture and to change the Brazilian
dependence on imported potash, strongly supported the amendment 12,890 (2013) to the Brazilian
Fertilizer Law 6,894 (1980), thus defining officially
rock powder with proven agronomic efficiency as
soil remineralizer and alternative potash fertilizer.

from the Cerrado and with favourable geology &
content and also high content of other macronutrients. These rocks are uncommon, but Terrativa
was able to locate them in key areas by using modern geological tools. TERRATIVA is developing five
Cerrado.


In this scenario, TERRATIVA has several
ultrapotassic igneous rocks projects in different regions of Brazil. In addition, the company is looking
at areas with potential for soil conditioners such as
the Cerama Project.
Location and geological setting

The Cerama Project is located in the municipality of Guanambi, approximately 675 kilometres west of Salvador, the capital of Bahia State,
Brazil (Fig. 1).

The Cerama Project is geologically located
in the domain of the Monzo-syenitic GuanambiUrandi batholith, which consist of multiple intrusions
of syenitic, monzonitic, granitic and monzo-dioritic
rocks (Rosa, 1999).

The geological map of the Cerama Project performed by Terrativa is illustrates at Fig. 2.
The units AFS-GNF, AFS-MAG and AFS are constituted by alkali feldspar syenite, and composed
by the same main minerals, alkali feldspar, biotite
and clinopyroxene. They differ by the proportion of
these minerals and by the texture. The ALU unit is
alluvion.
Mineralogy and chemistry

According to X-ray diffraction and petrographic analysis the AFS-GNF unit is composed by
alkali feldspar (microcline 77.0%), biotite (11%)
and clinopyroxene (11%). Amphibole, titanite,
magnetite and apatite occur as accessory minerals (<1% each one). The rock texture is phaneritic,
inequigranular. The alkali feldspar crystals are anhedral to subhedral, fine to coarse, with film and diffuse pertites types. The main characteristic of this
unit is the intergrowth between microscopic alkali
feldspar crystals as fingerprint, which suggests a
rapid cooling condition of the magma (Fig.3).

The AFS-MAG unit is composed by alkali
feldspar (microcline 67%), plagioclase (12%), biotite (9%), clinopyroxene (6%), amphibole (3%) and
165
quartz (2%). Magnetite, titanite and apatite occur

as accessory minerals (<1% each one). The rock
texture is phaneritic, inequigranular, medium to
coarse, with subhedral alkali feldspar crystals.

All the units mapped has very high K2O
content (predominantly greater than 11%) and high
ratio K2O/Na2O (greater than 6), allowing classifies
them as ultrapotassic. The chemical difference between the units is related the content of Al2O3 and
Na2O. The AFS-GNF unit has Al2O3 content greater
than 17% and Na2O less than 0.7%. The highest Al
concentration in AFS-GNF is related to increased
presence of biotite in this unit compared to the others. The lowest Na concentration is related with the
absence of plagioclase in AFS-GNF.
than the control treatment. The plant development

were even higher 13.3 % than the treatment with
the same dose of a known biotite schist. Those results are supported by the laboratory experiment.
Extractants representing the soluble fraction were
used and showed high extraction of K (2.4 g kg-1 for
citric acid and 1.5 g kg-1 for Mehlich-1).
Mineral potential estimates
Keywords: Alternative K-fertilizer, Ultrapotassic syenite, Soil Conditioner

The mineral potential estimates is been
developing based on the data of 9 core boreholes
(1,506 metres) executed by TERRATIVA in Cerama project (Fig. 2). The model is been blocked to a
regular 50 m x 50 m x 10 m block model to account
for dilution prior to pit optimization.

Considering the preliminary data of the potential estimative, all the drilling zone in the AFSGNF and AFS-MAG units has mineral potential of
67,8 Mt using a cut-off grade of 12.50% of K2O.
Preliminary agronomic tests

Agronomic tests with the K silicate agromineral (100% < 0.15 mm) for corn crop has been done
by Embrapa (Gabos et al., 2014 and Oliveira et al.,
2014) . In a pot experiment was applied the recommended dose to corn crop based in total K rock
content (100 mg of K per kg of soil, equivalent to
240 t ha-1 of K2O). The plant dry mass in the treatment with the K silicate agromineral from the Cerama Project presented an increment 41.5% higher
Conclusions

Cerama Potash Project has mineral potential of 67,8 Mt of syenite using a cut-off grade of
12.50% of K2O. The great results of the AFS-GNF
unit in the agronomic tests is attributed mainly to
the high potash content, the feldspar texture and
the considerable amount of biotite.
References
GABOS, M. B.; MARTINS, E. de S.; MENDES,
D. R.; SANTOS, L. F. dos; OLIVEIRA, M. I. L. de;
LEITE, A. A. da S. 2014. Evaluation of extractants
for characterization of K silicate agrominerals. In:
OLIVEIRA, M. I. L. de; MARTINS, E. de S.; GABOS,
M. B.; SILVEIRA BRAGA, F. C.; ALMEIDA, J.P. de;
LEITE, A. A. da S. 2014. Performance of K silicate
agrominerals for corn crop. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ROSA, M.L.S. 1999. Geologia, Geocronologia,
Mineralogia e Litogeoqumica do Batlito Monzosientico Guanambi-Urandi (SW-Bahia). PhD Thesis. Instituto de Geocincias, Universidade Federal
da Bahia, 186 p.
166
Figure 1. Location of Cerama syenite target
Figure 2. Geological map of Cerama Project.
Figure 3. Pictures of the biotite alkali-feldspar syenite from Cerama Project. (A) Outcrop, (B) Detail in a sample of borehole, (C)
Photomicrography (X nicols) showing the intergrowth of alkali feldspar crystals
167
K-ALTERNATIVE FERTILIZER PROJECT: ULTRAPOTASSIC SYENITE

DEPOSIT IN PERNAMBUCO STATE
FLVIA CRISTINA SILVEIRA BRAGA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE2, RMULO SIMES ANGLICA3,
EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS4, MARIA INS LOPES DE OLIVEIRA5, INGO GUSTAV WENDER6
1,2,6
TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (flavia.braga@
terrativa.com.br1 /albano.leite@terrativa.com.br2/ ingo.wender@terrativa.com.br6); 3Universidade Federal do Par UFPA, Augusto
Correa avenue, CP1611, Belm, 66075-110, BRAZIL (angelica@ufpa.br); 4,5 EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR 020 Km 8 Rod. Braslia /
Fortaleza, Planaltina, 73310-970, BRAZIL (eder.martins@embrapa.br5 / minesoliveira2@gmail.com6)
Introduction



content and also high content of other macronutrients. These rocks are uncommon, but TERRATIVA
was able to locate them in key areas by using modern geological tools. TERRATIVA is developing five
Cerrado.


the Ics Norte Project.

The Ics Norte Project is located in the municipality of Serra Talhada, approximately 415 kilometres west of Recife, the capital of Pernambuco
State, Brazil (Fig. 1).

The Ics Norte Project is geologically located in the domain of the Triunfo batholith, which
consist of an assemblage of syenites and mafic
rocks (diorite/gabbro), such as co-magmatic inclusions and in the form of late plutonic bodies. These
rocks exhibit the same mineralogical composition
(clinopyroxene, K-feldspar, sphenoid, apatite and
magnetite), differing only in relative proportions
(Ferreira et al., 1994).

The geological map of the Ics Norte Target performed by Terrativa is illustrates at Fig. 2.
The unit called as AFS is comprised by alkali-feldspar syenite. The SDG unit includes rocks resulting
from mechanical blend of mafic and felsic magmas
(magma mingling). The GRN unit includes granites,
granodiorites and quartz-syenite.
Mineralogy and chemistry

The alkali feldspar syenite (AFS unit Fig.
3) is predominantly composed by alkali feldspar (75
to 85%) and clinopyroxene (aegirine-augite serie
25 to 15%). Amphibole, biotite, titanite, opaque
minerals, plagioclase, zircon and apatite occur as
accessory minerals (<1% each one). The rock has
phaneritic texture, equigranular to inequigranular,
holocrystalline, leucocratic to hololeucocratic (Fig.
3). Alkali-feldspar crystals are predominantly microcline, subhedral to anhedral, with films and diffuse
168
pertites types. Fine intergranular albite crystals are

common.

The syenite has very high K2O content (predominantly greater than 12%) and high ratio K2O/
Na2O (greater than 6), allowing classifies it as ultrapotassic, as defined by Foley et al. (1987). Based
on surface and borelos chemical data, the three
units mapped have the following K2O and SiO2 content: AFS (Alkali Feldspar Syenite): K2O 9%; SDG
(Mingling = syenite + diorite/gabbro): 5% K2O <
9% and SiO2 < 63%; GRN (Granite): K2O < 9% and
SiO2 63%.
trol treatment. The plants development were similar

the treatment with the same dose of a known biotite
schist. Those results are supported by the laboratory experiment. Extractants representing the soluble
fraction were used and showed relative low extraction of K (0.3 g kg-1 for citric acid and 0.4 g kg-1 for
Mehlich-1).

A hydrothermal process has been developed by MIT to form a second-generation of K-releasing powder, called hydrosyenite (Gadois et al.,
2014). The hydrosyenite produced with samples
from Ics Norte Project showed very high extration
of K (14.5 g kg-1 for citric acid).

The mineral potential estimates was based
on the data of 20 core boreholes (2,961 metres) ex-
Conclusions
ecuted by TERRATIVA in Ics Norte target. Based

on the compilation from surface and borehole data
was generated the geological model present in Fig.
2. The Dip (Z direction) was considered as the direction with more data correlation. Inverse Distance
to the 2rd power (IQD) interpolation was used for the
grade estimation. The model was blocked to a regular 50 m x 50 m x 10 m block model to account for
dilution prior to pit optimization. The pit shell limits
(Fig. 3) are restricted to areas with higher grades
(Area A B). The Mineral Potential Statement for the
Ics Norte deposit is tabulated in Table 1 using a
cut-off grade of 12.50% of K2O
is amenable to open pit mining of a ultrapotassic

syenite using a cut-off of 12.50% of K2O. Agronomic
data indicate that processed sample (hydrosienite)
shows very high extration of K.
FOLEY, S. F.; VENTURELLI, G.; GREEN, D. H.;

TOSCANI, L. The ultrapotassic rocks: characteristics, classication, and constraints for petrogenetic
models. Earth Science Reviews, v. 24, p. 81-134,
1987.

Agronomic tests with the K silicate agromineral (100% < 0.15 mm) for corn crop has been done
by Embrapa. In a pot experiment was applied the
recommended dose to corn crop based in total K
rock content (100 mg of K per kg of soil, equivalent
to 240 t ha-1 of K2O). The plant dry mass in the
treatment with the K silicate agromineral from the
Ics Norte Project were not different from the con-
Ics Norte Potash Project mineral potential
Keywords: Alternative K-fertilizer, Ultrapotassic syenite, Soil Conditioner
References
FERREIRA, V.P.; SIAL, A.N.; WHITNEY, J.A. 1994.
Large-scale silicate liquid immiscibility: a possible
example from northeastern Brazil. Lithos, 33: 285302.
GADOIS, C.; SKORINA, T.; ALLANORE, A. 2014. A

new K-release material from K-bearing silicates. In:
Table 1. Mineral Potential Statment*, Ics Norte Potash Project, Pernambuco State, Brazil
Tonnage
T X 1000
K2O
(%)
SiO2
(%)
Al2O3
(%)
Fe2O3
(%)
CaO
(%)
MgO
(%)
TiO2
(%)
P2O5
(%)
Na2O
(%)
MnO
(%)
BaO
(%)
LOI
(%)
0.29
Area A
3,259
12.63 62.06
15.75
3.33
2.2
0.85
0.31
0.16
1.54
0.06
0.61
Area B
25,664
12.82 61.52
15.97
3.37
2.34
0.89
0.36
0.19
1.38
0.07
0.68
0.4
Total
28,924
12.80 61.58
15.94
3.37
2.33
0.88
0.35
0.18
1.4
0.07
0.67
0.39
The mineral potential is reported within a conceptual pit shell at a cut-off grade of 12.50 % of K2O for AFS Domain, with density
value of 2.53g/cm3. Optimization parameters include a selling price of US$89.73 per tonne of concentrate, a process recovery of
100 percent and overall pit slopes of 55 degrees.
169
Figure 1. Location of Ics Norte syenite target.
Figure 2. Overview of the 3D geological model

with the location of the pit shell limits.
Figure 3. Pictures of the alkali-feldspar syenite from Ics Norte Project. (A) Outcrop, (B) Detail in a sample, (C) Photomicrography
(X nicols) showing the texture of the rock (Abbreviations: Kf alkali-feldspar, Cpx clinopyronexe, Ab Albite).
170

9
K, Ca AND Mg-BEARING AGROMINERALS FROM ULTRAMAFIC

ROCKS: SOIL CONDITIONERS AND K-FERTILIZERS SOURCE
MARCELO AUGUSTO DE OLIVEIRA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE 2, LEANDRO ARB A. NOVAES3,
RMULO SIMES ANGLICA4, MARIA INS LOPES DE OLIVEIRA5, EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS6
1, 2, 3
TERRATIVA MINERAIS S.A, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (marcelo.
oliveira@ terrativa.com.br1, albano.leite@terrativa.com.br2, leandro.arb@terrativa.com.br3); 4Universidade Federal do Par UFPA,
Augusto Correa avenue, CP1611, Belm, 66075-110, BRAZIL (angelica@ufpa.br4); 5, 6EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR020 Km 8 Rod.
Braslia/Fortaleza, Planaltina, 73310-970, BRAZIL (minesoliveira2@gmail.com5, eder.martins@embrapa.br6)
Introduction




Cerrado.

Actually Embrapa is running laboratory and
agronomic efficiency tests to certify TERRATIVA rock
powder products. Tests will be finished in Q1-2015; A
2 year research program from TERRATIVA with the
MIT/USA developed Hydrosyenite (Ciceri et al. 2014),
fertilizer produced from syenite and without by products, with controlled accelerated release of potash

the Acrena project.

The Acrena project is located near the
town of Santo Antnio da Barra, approximately 200
km to the southwest of Goinia, the capital of Gois
state, Brazil (Figure 1). Acrena project comprises
alkaline mafic-ultramafic volcanic rocks emplaced
as lava flows that alternate with pyroclastics deposits and associated late dykes and plugs. These
rocks intruded the Precambrian basement and
Phanerozoic sediments as part of the Late Cretaceous Gois alkaline province.
Chemical and mineralogical

compositions

The alkaline mafic-ultramafic rocks of the
Acrena project has kamafugitic affinity and can be
divided into three varieties according to their chemical and mineralogical characteristics: tephriphonolite, ugandite and mafurite.

Tephriphonolites occur as four N-S elongate bodies of approximately 300 x 200 m (Figure
2), formed by 100% low cristallinity mineral phases,
including sanidine (Figure 3), augita, olivine, and
hematite, in an matrix that contains fine crystals.
These rocks are richer in SiO2 (45 to 54%) and K2O
(6 to 11%), compared to ugandites and mafurites
(Figure 4).

Ugandites also form N-S elongate bodies,
with similar sizes to those of tephriphonolites. The
freshment specimens have a grey color and texturally they consist of an fine-grained matrix with
phenocrysts of clinopyroxene (Figure 3), sanidine,
magnetite, and vesicles filled mostly by K-zeolites
171
(phillipsite, 14% modal) and subordinate carbonates. Their vesicularity varies from almost 5% to
approximately 40%. The matrix and phenocrysts
are composed of the same low crystallinity mineralogy. Chemically, ugandites are ultramafic rocks
as mafurites, and have lower CaO and MgO those.
K2O contents are higher than the mafurites and lower than the tephriphonolites (Figure 4).

Mafurites are the most voluminous rocks
of Acrena project, occurring mainly in the northern and western portions. Texturally, they consist
of an fine matrix with phenocrysts, both composed
essentially por low crystallinity (Fig. 3) clinopyroxene (up to 85% modal), and subordinate magnetite,
Na-zeolite (analcime) and calcite. As in ugandites,
mafurites have vesicles filled with zeolites (anal-
plant, the mineral potential would be able to feed for

at least 30 years.
cime in this case) and carbonates. Mafurites have

the lowest K2O contents and higher CaO and MgO
contents among rocks of Acrena project.

In general, the rocks of Acrena project are
characterized by low-crystallinity mineral phases
that compose them, as well as the expressive K2O,
CaO and MgO contents (Fig. 4).
schist (Oliveira, 2014b).

Those results are supported by the laboratory experiment. Extractants representing the
soluble fraction were used and showed high extraction of K (2.0, 2.0 and 0.8 g kg-1 in citric acid;
and 0.5, 0.6 and 0.8 g kg-1 in Mehlich-1, for both
extractants respectively, Ugandite, Mafurite and
Tephriphonolite).

Despite high K2O contents of tephriphonolites, that would be an alternative to K-fertilizers,
the main intention is to use the rocks of Acrena
project as blend components due to its expressive
K2O, CaO and MgO contents, low silica contents,
the low-crystallinity of their mineral assemblages,
as well as presence of characteristic zeolite, which
has been used in agriculture as an important catalyst efficiency of fertilizer or as soil conditioner and
decontaminant. The rocks of Acrena project or the
product of their blends in suitable proportions can
be used directly as a soil conditioner. On the other hand, the blend between rocks of Acrena and
syenites allow the creation of K-fertilizer more efficiently and better residual effect.

The mineral potential estimates is supported so far only on geological criteria from extensive fieldwork executed by TERRATIVA in Acrena
project. Thus, tephriphonolites and ugandites has
mineral potential of approximately 30 Mt each one,
while mafurites has potential of about 50 Mt. Considering the average fertilizer and soil conditioner
production of 1.5 Mt/year in the Acrena design

Agronomic tests with the K-silicate
agromineral (100% < 0.15 mm) for corn crop has
been done. In a pot experiment was applied the
recommended dose to corn crop based in total K
rock content (100 mg of K per kg of soil, equivalent
to 240 kg ha-1 of K2O). The plants dry mass in the
treatment with the K-silicate agrominerals from the
Acrena Project were higher than the control treatment, the increments were 27.5, 41.5 and 21.1%
for Ugandite, Mafurite and Tephriphonolite, respectively. The shoot development were similar to the
treatment with the same dose of a known biotite
Conclusions

The rocks of Acrena project occur in large
volumes and show mineral potential to be used
directly or in blends with each other or syenites,
as soil conditioner or K-fertilizer. Such rocks have
significant K2O, CaO and MgO contents, important
macronutrients, and low-crystallinity mineralogical
assemblages which facilitates the release of macroand micronutrients and causes a good residual effect for plants.

The chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the rocks of Acrena, as well as the possible products from different idealized blends, makes
them a very interesting alternative to the K-fertilizer
and soil conditioner market. Moreover, the implementation of two mines and ore concentration plant
in the southern state of Gois, in a major consumer
of fertilizers in Brazil markets, will associate the
quality of the product to a drastic reduction in logistics costs.
Keywords: K-fertilizer, Soil Conditioner, Low-crystalinnity minerals, zeolites, residual effect
172
References
CICERI, D.; SKORINA, T.; GADOIS, C.; Li, K.;
ALLANORE, A. 2014. Processing of potassium
silicates for K-release. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Figure 1. Location
OLIVEIRA, M.I.L. de; MARTINS, E. de S.; GABOS,

M.B.; SILVEIRA BRAGA, F.C.; ALMEIDA, J.P. de;
LEITE, A.A. da S. 2014. Performance of K-silicate
Figure 2. Geology
Figure 3. Hand samples and

microtextures.
Figure 4. Content of K2O, MgO and CaO
173
10
K-SILICATE AGROMINERALS FROM THE ULTRAPOTASSIC ROCKS

OF THE BRAZILIAN CERRADO
ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE1, MARCELO AUGUSTO DE OLIVEIRA2, CARLOS ALEX LIMA ALVES3,
MARIANA BASSETTO GABOS4, EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS5, RMULO SIMES ANGLICA6
TERRATIVA MINERAIS S.A, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (albano.leite@
terrativa.com.br1, marcelo.oliveira@terrativa.com.br2, carlos.alex@terrativa.com.br3); 4, 5EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR 020 Km 8 Rod.
Braslia / Fortaleza, Planaltina, 73310-970, BRAZIL (marianagabos@yahoo.com.br4, eder.martins@embrapa.br5); 6Programa de
Ps-Graduao em Geoqumica e Geologia, Universidade Federal do Par.
1, 2, 3
Introduction



institute for agriculture and to change the Brazilian dependence on imported potash, strongly
supported the amendment 12,890 (2013) to the
Brazilian Fertilizer Law 6,894 (1980), thus defining officially rock powder with proven agronomic
efficiency as soil remineralizer and alternative
potash fertilizer.

Cerrado.

Actually Embrapa is running laboratory and
agronomic efficiency tests to certify TERRATIVA rock
powder products. Tests will be finished in Q1-2015; A
2 year research program from TERRATIVA with the
MIT/USA developed Hydrosyenite (Ciceri et al. 2014),
fertilizer produced from syenite and without by products, with controlled accelerated release of potash

TERRATIVA has several ultrapotassic igneous rocks projects in different regions of Brazil. This
paper presents the Serra das Araras, Santa Brbara and Baluarte projects, all located in the Brazilian Cerrado.
Location

The Serra das Araras project is located
near the town of Gois, approximately 150 km to

the northwest of Goinia, the capital of Gois state,
Brazil (Figure 1). The Santa Brbara project is located near the town of Jaragu, approximately 110
km to the north of Goinia (Figure 1). The Baluarte project is located in the north part of the Mato
Grosso state, approximately 750 km to the north of
Cuiab, the capital of state Fig. 1).
Geological setting

The ultrapotassic syenites of the Serra das
Araras project were probably formed during the
Brasiliano orogenic cycle and intruded the archean orthognaisses of the Uv Complex and mafic-ultramafic
rocks of the Crrego Manoel Leocdio Formation.
The project consists of at least three syenitic intrusions, especially NW intrusion, as shown in the map
below (Figure 2) performed by TERRATIVA.

In the Santa Brbara project, the syenitic
intrusions are part of the neoproterozoic Itapuranga
suite that intruded metagranitoids of the paleoproterozoic Jurubatuba suite and schists of the neoproterozoic Arax group (Figure 3a). The rhyolites of the Baluarte project belong to the paleoproterozoic Colder
group and have similar ages compared with the intrusive rocks of the Teles Pires suite (Figure 3b).
Chemical and mineralogical

compositions

The alkali feldspar syenite of the Serra
das Araras project, is predominantly composed by
alkali feldspar (> 97% modal), microcline type, as
174
the main K-silicate agromineral, with subordinate

quartz, clinopyroxene, biotite and opaque minerals
(< 3% modal), and display inequigranular textures,
with medium alkali feldspar crystals in fine matrix
(Fig. 5). The rocks are in general deformed, and
mafic minerals are rare to absent. All the samples
has K2O content greater than 13.2%, SiO2 less than
64% and Na2O less than 1%.

In the Santa Brbara projetc occur dominantly biotite-clinopyroxene-alkali feldspar syenite,
with rare to absent quartz, and display equigranular,
anisotropic, medium to coarse even-grained textures. Alkali feldspar is the forms anhedral crystals.
In comparison with syenites from the Serra das Araras project, the syenites of the Santa Brbara project derived from less evolved magmas, reflecting
from blends with ultrapotassic syenites of the Serra

das Araras project. The Baluarte syenites should
be used for the production of low cost high efficiency potash fertilizer, through the research program
developed by TERRATIVA in partnership with MIT/
USA.
their lower K2O (< 10%) and SiO2 (< 60%) contents,
and higher CaO (> 3%) and MgO (> 3%) contents
(Fig. 5).

The Baluarte project have important occurrences of granophyric microsyenites, composed essentially by alkali feldspar (55% modal) and quartz
(45% modal), with granophyric texture. These rocks
have K2O contents less than 10%, and high SiO2
contents (> 75%).
Better results were observed in plants treated with

K silicate agromineral from Serra das Araras Project, those were 33.3% higher than the control treatment. And the shoot development were similar the
treatment with the same dose of a known biotite
schist (Oliveira, 2014b).

Those results showed a contradiction with
the laboratory experiment. Extractants representing the soluble fraction were used and showed low
extraction of K (0.15, 0.36 g kg-1 for citric acid and
0.21, 0.4 g kg-1 for Mehlich-1, respectively Serra
das Araras and Baluarte project).

The mineral potential estimate are supported so far only on geological criteria from extensive
fieldwork executed by TERRATIVA in the Serra das
Araras, Santa Brbara and Baluarte projects. In the
Serra das Araras project, the cited NW intrusion
has mineral potential of approximately 40 Mt using
a cut-off grade of 13.50% of K2O. Santa Barbara
project with its three main intrusions, has potential
of about 200 Mt using a cut-off grade of 8% of K2O
smaller than that of the Serra das Araras project
but with expressive CaO and MgO contents. In the
Mato Grosso state, Baluarte project has mineral potential of approximately 70 Mt using a cut off grade
of 9.5% of K2O.

The Serra das Araras syenites can be used
directly as K-fertilizer or from blends with mafic-ultramafic rocks with more expressive CaO and MgO
contents and low-crystallinity mineralogy, which
would improve the residual effect. The main potential of the Santa Barbara mafic syenites is being
used directly as a soil conditioner or as K-fertilizer

Agronomic tests with the K silicate agromineral (100% < 0.15 mm) for corn crop has been done.
In a pot experiment was applied the recommended
dose to corn crop based in total K rock content (100
mg of K per kg of soil, equivalent to 240 kg ha-1
of K2O). The shoot dry mass in the treatment with
the K silicate agromineral from the Baluarte Projects were not different from the control treatment.
Conclusions

The ultrapotassic rocks of Serra das Araras, Santa Brbara and Baluarte projects occur in
large volumes and show mineral potential to be
used directly or in blends, as K-fertilizer or soil conditioner. Such rocks have significant K2O contents
(up to 15%) and, in the case of Santa Brbara mafic
syenites, CaO and MgO contents also.

The Serra das Araras ultrapotassic syenites has high potential for direct use as K-fertilizer or
as Hydrosyenite, while Santa Brbara mafic syenites may be used as soil conditioners. On the other
hand, the Baluarte syenites should be used primarily as a source for production of Hydrosyenites. The
implementation of one mine and ore concentration
plant in the north-central part state of Mato Grosso
(Baluarte project) and two mines and ore concentration plant in the southern state of Gois, in a
major consumer of fertilizers in Brazil markets, will
associate the quality of the product to a drastic reduction in logistics costs.

Keywords: K-silicate agrominerals, alternative potash fertilizar, Soil Conditioner, ultrapotassic syenite
References
OLIVEIRA, M.I.L. de; MARTINS, E. de S.; GABOS,

M.B.; SILVEIRA BRAGA, F.C.; ALMEIDA, J.P. de;
LEITE, A.A. da S. 2014. Performance of K-silicate
CICERI, D.; SKORINA, T.; GADOIS, C.; Li, K.;

ALLANORE, A. 2014. Processing of potassium
silicates for K-release. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
Figure 1. Location
Figure 3a. Geology of Santa Brbara Project
Figure 4. Minerals
175
Figure 2. Geology of Serra das Araras Project
Figure 3b. Geology of Baluarte Project
Figure 5. Chemical diagram
176

11
USING A NEW EXTRACTION SOLUTION FOR ANALYZING

THE FERTILITY OF THE REMINERALIZERS
SUZI HUFF THEODORO1
1
Petrobras (cedida para a Secretaria de Polticas para as Mulheres, Presidencia da Repblica). Setor de Clubes Esportivos Sul,
Trecho 2. Braslia. CEP: 70.200-02.Brasil (suzi.theodoro@spm.gov.br)
Introduction

Brazil stands as one of the major producers
of food and commodities around the planet. Among
the many points that contribute to this impressive
Brazilian accomplishment, the following are worth
mentioning: the weather, the availability of water for
irrigation, the existence of potentially productive yet
still cheap farmlands, the technological development (bringing the adaptation of several varieties
of crops), the entrepreneurship of farmers and the
facilitated access to financing in the purchase of
inputs, seeds and equipment. An important concern
inmaintaining Brazils high agriculture production
is the countrys dependence on imported fertilizers.
According to the Brazilian government, in the last
10 years about 70% of what has been consumed
in the country had to be imported. In order to overcome this weakness, the use of regional sources,
based on geological resources, has been suggested. It consists on use of remineralizers or rocks
powders, rich in macronutrients (K, P, Ca, Mg) as
well as in micronutrients (Zn, Cu, Mo, V etc.), which
have the potential to positively change the levels
of soil fertility (Leonardos et. al., 1976). Such materials behave as a mechanism for rejuvenation of
poor or leached soils. The use of crushed rocks is
the main premise of the stonemeal technology, that
can also be understood as a bank of nutrients or a
smart fertilizer, once it provides nutrients for plants
in quantities that supply their demands (Theodoro
et. al, 2010).

Recently, as if showing the protagonism of
Brazil in this dynamic sector, the use of such geological materials was included in the countrys legal framework, through Law no.12.890/2013, which
modified the precedent Law n 6.894/1980 (also
known as the Fertilizers Law). This victory has been
gained over the years, due to several surveys regarding this topic conducted in Brazil.The earliest
research dates from the 1950s (Ilchenko and Guimares). Later, in the 1970s-80s, Leonardos and
Fyfe (1978), Fyfe et. al., (1983) published studies
showing the potential of rocks for this purpose. But

it was only in late 1990s and early 2000s (Theodoro, 2000; Theodoro and Leonardos, 2006, Theodoro et. al., 2013; Carvalho, 2012; Fernandez,
2008; Silveira, et al, 2009 and others) that the research gained a broader character, involving several institutions such as Petrobras, Embrapa and the
Universities of Brasilia, Minas Gerais and Viosa.

The accumulated results obtained over
this period by these authors working on the subject show that the use of remineralizers is a positive
changer for soil fertility levels and is appropriate for
tropical countries, where the soils are depleted in its
major macro and micronutrients, due to weathering
processes. Other important results include: a) the
productivity achieves at least equal or higher levels
compared to the obtained in areas where conventional fertilizers are used; b) the level of humidity
around the plants fertilized with rock dust increases,
due to the action of clays present in the material,
which have a capacity of retaining water; c) the
plants present a much more exuberant green matter, as well as larger tillering and lagger root sistem
than plants where conventional fertilization is applied and d) remineralizers are significantly cheaper
(costs around 70%) less than the conventional fertilizers, and their effect may extend for up to 4 or 5
years, due to the slow release of nutrients effect,
which represents an economy in inputs.

We can said that such inputs may play an
important role in maintaining of the current levels
of success of the Brazilian agriculture, either in the
form of complementarity to the internal demand for
inputs, either as an alternative to the agroecological
agriculture. But, despite such potentialities, there is
still much to be done in order to transform the use
of rock powders or remineralizers into a widespread
and accepted practice /technology able to guarantee the important role of Brazilian agriculture.
Among the measures that need to be improved
stands is the methodology used in fertility analysis
of these materials. Considering this bottle neck, the
main purpose of this paper is to discuss the methods and extracting sulution used in routine analysis.
Methods

The methodology of analysis of soil fertility, the analytical procedures and the extracting
solution used (especially Mehlich I) are already a
fully accepted pattern in agricultural research. The
responses obtained have provided results that indicate the loading doses of fertilizers, liming etc.
However, when rock powders are used, along with
its solubility being completely different from chemical fertilizers which have beem developed to provide the nutrients quickly to soil and plants, it is essential that the extraction solution used in the analysis and therefore the analysis methodology be
is reconsidered in order to understand the dynamics of nutrient release coming from such materials.
In general, the methodological procedures used
in experiments and tests regarding remineralizers
have been conducted as follows: (a) selection of
the types of rocks; (b) collecting, grinding, quartering and division of the samples into several parts
for different types of analyses; (c) determination of
the abrasion pH; (d) geochemical characterization
of the selected rocks; (e) petrographic descriptions
of the rocks; (f) characterization of clay minerals
through X-ray Diffraction; (g) fertility analysis (Mehlich I - 0.05 MHCl + 0.0125 MH2SO4) for both
soil and rocks; (h) determination of macronutrients
(P, K, Ca and Mg) and micronutrients (B, Zn, Cu,
Mn and Fe) readily available (read of results in
ICP- Inductive Coupled Plasma); (i) determination
of quantities of organic matter; (k) determination of
the potential acidity and the CEC (Cation Exchange
Capacity).
Results and Discussion

Van Straaten (2010) considers it important
to analyze not only the total chemical compositions,
but also the availability of cations in the extractors that simulate soil conditions. Theodoro et. al.
(2012), show that the results obtained in a research
that used five different kinds of rocks with five types
of agricultural crops, in a rotation system, presented
important alterations regarding fertility levels, regardless of the type of extractor used (Mehlich I,
citric acid -2% and oxalic acid- 5%) in the verifica-
177
tion of availability of nutrients after a year. Figure 1

show the results and alterations on the main macronutrients (P, K, Ca and Mg). The use of different rocks favored a positive change in fertility for all
macronutrients.

It can be noticed from Figure 1 that nutrients
such as calcium and phosphorus present different
behaviors depending on the extractor solution (Ca
had a poor performance when analyzed with oxalic
acid,while P had its results significantly increased
by the same extractor). The explanation to this phenomen refers to chemical reactions present with
this reagent, which captures calcium and releases
phosphorus when both are in a soluble state. These
results indicate, among other facts, that it is necessary to reconsider the methodologies of fertility
analysis, since, depending on the type of extractor, it is not possible to determine the real changes
that occur in soils due to interactions of the rocks
with acids available by microbial activity in the soil.
These acids have the potential to stimulate a faster
release/solubilization of nutrients after the mineral
attack process, even if being considered weak acids. In addition, van Straaten (2010) and Theodoro
et. al. (2012) also mention that the particle size of
materials is an important factor for becoming aware
the potential of cations being released to plants.
Van Straatem (2010) reports that in the case of minerals such as micas (biotite), the efficacy of weathering by citric and oxalic acid (produced by the metabolism and biological exudation of the roots) enhances the release of potassium. The sequence of
potassium release, according to this author, based
on silicates via treatment with citric and oxalic acid,
was: biotite> microcline>muscovite. The ferrous
iron in biotite can be complexed with oxalate (or
citrate), leading to the breakdown of biotite and to
the potassium release from the mineral structure.
The roots and rhizosphere of the plants were the
leaching active biological agents that transformed
micas (biotite and phlogopite into vermiculite), with
concomitant release of potassium.Therefore, considering that the citric and oxalic acids are usually
found in the rhizosphere of plants and that they
have the capacity to better extract the nutrients, it
may be inferred that they have better possibilities of
indicating the real potentiality of remineralizers as
effective fertilizers.
178
Conclusions

Even in countries like Brazil, where the productive and economic success of the agricultural
sector is unquestionable, the existence of alternative forms of production which can ensure productive autonomy, reduce dependence on the international trade of fertilizers and boost the use of other
production routes, such as remineralizers, is crucial;
such factors are intrinsically related to the countrys
sovereignty. However, it is necessary to review the
methodologies of extraction solutions used in fertility analysis, once they may indicate differences
regarding demands and charge of the material to
be used. The use of citric and oxalic acids as an
extraction solutions mimics the reality found on the
rhizosphere, indicates that analysis methods, depending on the extraction solution, may be a more
accurate indicador for looking at the nutritional profile of the soil and its fertility.
Keywords: Fertilization, methodology, extraction solution, remineralizer.
References
CARVALHO, A.M. 2012. Rochagem e suas interaes no ambiente solo: contribuies para aplicao em agroecossistemas sob manejo agroecolgico. Ph.D. Thesis, Universidade Federal de Viosa.
129 pp
FERNANDEZ, M. M . 2013. Viabilidade Agronmica do Uso do Rejeito de Garimpos do Distrito Pegmattico de Araua/MG. Ph.D. Thesis, UFMG em
2008.
FYFE, W. S., KRONBERG, B. I., LEONARDOS, O.
H. & OLORUNFEMI, N. 1983. Global Tectonics and
Agriculture: A geochemical perspective. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ., pp.: 383 - 399.
LEONARDOS, OH, FYFE, WS AND KRONBERG,

BI. 1976. Rochagem: O mtodo de aumento da fertilidade em solos lixiviados e arenosos. Anais 29
Congresso Brasil. Geol., Belo Horizonte, pp.: 137145
SILVEIRA, C. A. P., FERREIRA, L. H. G., PILLON,
C. N. GIACOMINI, S. J. E SANTOS, L. C. 2010.
Efeito da combinao de calcrio de xisto e calcrio dolomtico sobre a produtividade de gros de
dois sistemas de rotao de culturas. Anais do I
CBR. Braslia Embrapa. Braslia/DF. Pp 215 219.
THEODORO SH. 2000. A Fertilizao da Terra pela
Terra: Uma Alternativa de Sustentabilidade para o
Pequeno Produtor Rural. (Ph.D. Thesis, University
of Brasilia, 231 p. http://www.unbcds.pro.br/publicacoes/SuziHuff.pdf
THEODORO S H AND LEONARDOS O H. 2006.
Sustainable farming with native rocks: the transition
without revolution.An Acad. Bras. de Cincias.78n.
4: 715-720
THEODORO, S. H., LEONARDOS, O. H., REGO,
K. G., MEDEIROS; F. P. de, TALINI, N. L. e SANTOS, F. dos 2012. Uso de rochas e materiais
orgnicos para fertilizao e remineralizao dos
solos.Workshop Insumos para agricultura Sustentvel/Embrapa Clima Temperado. http://www.cpact.
embrapa.br/eventos/2012/workshop_insumos/PALESTRAS%20PDF/Theodoro.pdf.
THEODORO, S. H & ALMEIDA, E. 2013. Agrominerais: e a construo da soberania em insumos
agrcolas no Brasil. Agriculturas. V. 10. N. 1. Pp 2228: http://aspta.org.br/revista-agriculturas/
VAN STRAATEN, P. 2010. Rochas e minerais
como fertilizantes alternativos na agricultura: uma
experincia internacional. IN: Agrominerais para o
Brasil/Eds. Francisco et. al. Rio de Janeiro: CETEM/MCT, PP 235 - 264.
Figure 1. Availability of nutrients (K, P, Ca and Mg) measured using three different extracting solution
179
180

12
MICROORGANISMS IN THE PHOSPHORUS

AVAILABILITY FOR SUGARCANE
LETCIA DE ABREU FARIA, CARLOS ANTONIO COSTA DO NASCIMENTO, VANESSA BENACI
GALVO, MARCOS AGOSTINHO PETEAN GOMES, GODOFREDO CESAR VITTI
Department of Soil Science/ Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture. Av. Pdua Dias,11, So Dimas, Piracicana,13418-900, Brazil.
(evazoot@yahoo.com.br cacnagro@yahoo.com.br - gcvitti@esalq.usp.br); Agrivale, Salto, 13322-900, Brazil. (vanessa@
casabugreind.com.br - marcos@casabugreind.com.br)
Introduction

Agricultural soils have large reserves of P.
Alkaline soils there is a soluble reserve in consequence of P binding with calcium and magnesium
leading to unavailability for plant uptake. There are
abundance of acid soils in Brazil, however the high
reactivity of P produces insoluble compounds with
iron, aluminum and organic matter (Lpez-bucio et
al. 2002).

The rhizosphere acidification in a plant can
promote absorbed of P forms connected to the Ca
(Ca-P) in soil, as non-labile form (HEDLEY et al.
1982). Certain microorganisms in soil have an important role in the P cycling due to hydrolyse of organic forms to inorganic forms through action of hydrolytic enzymes allowing them availability to plants
(BARROTI; NAHAS, 2000).

Hedley et al. (1982) suggested a fractionation technique to estimate P fractions in soil according to their lability and organic or inorganic form in
an attempt to understand how the accumulation of
soil P occurs when making fertilization or addition of
organic waste, or, which is the P fraction extracted
in studies of depletion or when grown without fertilization.

The aim was to investigate the effect of
ProfixS and Native on the P fractions in soil cultivated with sugarcane, dry mass production.
Methods

The research was conducted in a greenhouse with completely randomized design in factorial 2 x 2 + 1 + 1 comprising two soils (sandy-loam
and clayey), two products ProfixS (0.5 kg ha-1) and
Native (1.5 kg ha-1) and a control for each soil with 4
replicates.

The initial content of P-resin from soils
were 4.7 mg dm- in clayey ( Nitossolo Vermelho
) and 3 mg dm- in sandy-loam (Neossolo Quartzarnico). Experimental soils received fertilization
with reactive phosphate rock to raise the content

to 40 mg dm- of P. Nitrogen, potassium and micronutrients fertilization were applied at planting in
enough quantities for similar levels in both soils.

The experimental unit consisted of a
rizobox (4 kg of soil) cultivated with sugarcane presprouted of the variety IAC SP-95 5000 for 45 days
excluding root region to provide enough condition
for evaluation of isolated effect of the root exudates
of sugarcane over fractions of P in soil, without interference of P from root tissue.

Effect of the products on the P fractions of
soils were verified through P-resin and P-Ca according fractionation method by Hedley et al. (1982)
with modifications by Condron et al. (1985). The
plant parameters evaluated were production dry
mass and roots.

Results were analyzed by statistical program SAS (2004) . Treatments were compared by
Tukey test (p <0.05).

Treatments influenced dry matter production. Control treatment showed up lower than
the other treatments in an average of 24%, which
showed similars for both soils. Treatments showed
no influence in roots production (Figure 1).

Native and ProfixS provided the largest dry
matter production as consequence of increased nutrient uptake by plants. This can be observed by reducing of the available P content of in soils (Figure
2), which indicating higher P uptake by plants.

Higher content of P extracted with resin
was obtained for control treatment (Figure 2). This
represents a higher P extracted by the planta, in
average of 40%, for ProfixS and Native treatments.

The fraction of P extracted through HCl 1
mol L-1 represents the P bound to calcium (P-Ca)
in calcareous soils and soil previously fertilized with
reactive rock phosphates. The P-Ca fraction was
influenced by interaction of soil x treatment presenting higher P content for control on clayey (Figure 3).
Results showed greater extractive capacity of the
roots in sandy-loam regardless of treatments. On
clayey, which has higher capacity of P binding, the
Native and ProfixS treatments showed significant
influence in extraction of this fraction by roots.

Effects of the products in the solubilization
of P was evident in clayey. The control treatment in
this soil showed higher P-Ca fraction, on average
70% higher than the treatments receiving application of ProfixS and Native. This indicate a positive
effect of the interaction between microorganisms
from the products and the sugarcane roots in clayey soils. The microorganisms ability in promote biochemical changes in nutrients is recognized making
them available for plants (Moreira; Siqueira, 2006).
Conclusions

According this research carried on greenhouse, ProfixS e Native application, respectively at
doses 0.5 and 1.5 kg ha-1, in pre-sprouted seedlings
Dry matter (g)
Control
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
of the sugarcane IAC-95 SP 5000, increased the

dry matter production and solubilization of reactive
phosphate rock in clayey. However, in sandy-loam
there was no difference among treatments.
Keywords: Soil, Fertilizer, Hedley
References
BARROTI, G.; NAHAS, E. Populao microbiana
total e solubilizadora de fosfato em solo submetido
a diferentes sistemas de cultivo. Pesq. Agrop. Bras.
35: 2043-2050, 2000.
LPEZ-BUCIO, J., HERNNDEZ-ABREU, E.;
SNCHEZ-CALDERN, L.; NIETO-JACOBO, M.F.;
HEDLEY, M.J.; STEWART, W.B.; CHAUHAN, B.S.
Changes in soils and sediments. Soil Sci. Soc. Am.
Proc. 37: 658660, 1982.
MOREIRA, F.M.S.; SIQUEIRA, J.O. Microbiologia
e bioqumica do solo. 2.ed. Lavras, MG: Universidade Federal de Lavras, 2006. 729 p.
Native
ProfixS
a
Dry matter production
181
Root
Figure 1. Dry matter production (left) and root (right) of sugarcane after 45 days of cultivation. Averages followed by same
letter do not differ statistically by Tukey (P=0.05)
14
12 b
Control
P (mg dm-3)
12
ProfixS
CV: 43 ; DMS 2,7

7,6 a
10
8
6,2 a
Native
4
2
0
Control
ProfixS
Native
Figure 2. P content extracted by anion exchange resin (P-resin). Averages followed by same letter do not
differ statistically by Tukey (P=0.05)
20
P - HCl 1 mol L-1 (mg dm-3)
182
18,0 Aa
Sandy-loam
15
10
9,4 Ba
Clayey
9,9 Aa
5,9 Ab
5,6 Aa
6,0 Ab
5
0
Control
Native
ProfixS
Figure 3. Interaction of soil x treatment on the P content extracted by HCl 1 mol L-1. Averages followed by
same letter uppercase and lowercase do not differ statistically, respectively for soil and for treatments, by
Tukey (P=0.05)
183
13
NUTRIENT DESORPTION FROM BASALTIC ROCK

CLARISSA TROIS ABREU1, JACKSON KORCHAGIN1, MAGDA BERGMANN2,
EDSON CAMPANHOLA BORTOLUZZI1
1
Laboratrio de Uso e Manejo do Solo e de Recursos Naturais, Universidade de Passo Fundo BR 285, Passo Fundo, Cep 99052900, BRASIL (clarissabreu@upf.br, jack_korch@hotmail.com, edsonb@upf.br); 2 CPRM, Servio Geolgico do Brasil, Banco da
Provncia, 105 - Santa Teresa Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil CEP: 90840-030, BRASIL (magdageologa@yahoo.com.br)
Introduction

The basalts from Paran volcanic province
correlates with the Etendeka basalts in Africa, and
belong to the largest continental igneous province
(Rosenstengel & Hartmann, 2012). The Serra Geral where the Ametista do Sul (Rio Grande do Sul
State, Brazil) is located, represent the largest well
know mining district of amethyst geodes. The basalt that host the geodes is highly altered by hydrothermal process, resulting in the alteration of the
microcrystalline matrix to clay minerals. According
to Meunier et al. (1988), the main minerals found in
this altered basaltic rock are plagioclase, pyroxenes
augite and pigeonite, olivines and volcanic glass
that are highly altered to clay minerals, and rare
but not least important apatite needles. The alteration minerals observed are the clay minerals Mg-Fe
smectite, celadonite and an interstratified saponiteceladonite-chlorite, calcite, silica (opal, chalcedony,
and quartz) and zeolites (mordenite and heulandite).

Considering the rock situation, where the
minerals presents different stages of alterations
and crystalline lattice openness, our research group
goal is to study the rock powder nutrient desorption
phenomena, in order to access the capacity in nutrients release when applied in soil system.
Methods

In Ametista do Sul Mining District were collected eight rock samples from mine wastes in an
active geode mining. Samples total chemical contents were proceeded by ACME, Analytical Laboratories Vancouver, Canada, table 1. The major
and trace elements total amount were analyzed by
emission spectrometry (ICP) following a lithium metaborate/tetraborate fusion and dilute nitric acid digestion. Petrography observations were proceeded
through rock thin section analyzed in optical microscope with polarized light source aiming to identify
the major minerals and the clay minerals presence.

Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) was
proceeded aiming to identify the clay minerals mass
and the most ordinary minerals, as well elemental semi-quantitative X ray analysis by dispersive
energy. Basaltic powder samples (from two positions inside the mine: near and far the geode) of
0.5 g were submitted to seven successive ion extractions, using cation and anionic exchange membrane (CAER). Phosphorus (P) concentration was
performed in acid solution and determined by spectrophotometry V-Vis. Potassium (K) measures were
given by flame spectroscopy emission. These results were presented in diagram form with cumulative values of desorption of P and K. Commonly
used, the successive extractions methodology, is
applied to simulate the nutrient potential release for
soils and sediments (Bortoluzzi et al., 2013).

The amounts of CaO, MgO, K2O and P2O5
in table 1, besides trace elements as Cu and Zn,
indicate the potential use of basaltic rock powder
as soil amendment and remineralization. Silva et
al. (2012) and Ribeiro et al. (2010) studying silicate rocks indicate the use as an alternative to lime
sources, while supplying K and other nutrients.

Celadonite and plagioclase were identified
(figures 2A and 3A) and clay minerals may be able
to K release. The desorbed phosphorus comes from
the Fluor apatite observed as accessory minerals
in basaltic rock (Figure 2B). Two positions inside
the mine: near and far the geode were sampled
to P and K desorption, figure 4. The ions shows
distinct behavior, where P desorption is very similar
between two samples position, while K desorption
close to geode is greater than far the geode rock
samples. The total desorbed P (1.325 mg kg-1) and
K (1.578 mg kg-1) near geode and P (6.368 mg kg1
) and K (213 mg kg-1) far distant geode are higher
than those found in Bortoluzzi et al. (2013) which
analyzed water sediments.
184
Conclusions

The influence of hydrothermal process
seems to be related to geode bearing processes,
so rock alteration is postulated to be dependent to
the rock position around the geode. In this sense,
the dynamic of alteration of primary minerals to the
clay minerals and their consequence on the chemical properties is still under discussion. Nutrient saturation essays are also planned aiming to test the
sorption capacity and desorption potential focusing
in nutrient slow release products.
Keywords: Nutrient sorption, basaltic rock powder.
Aknowledgements
The authors thank to Fapergs-Capes (DOCFIX
scholarship to C. Abreu), CNPq (Doctorate scholarship to J. Korchagin: CT-Mineral, proc. 1406172014-0), CNPq for the fellowship (Produtividade
em Pesquisa E.C. Bortoluzzi) and project support
(CT-Mineral 51/2013 proc. 406763/2013-5). Special
thanks to Margarete Wagner Simas from CPRM for
microscope images.
References
BORTOLUZZI, E.C., REINHEIMER, D.S., SANTANA, M.A. & CANER, L. Mineralogy and nutrient
desorption of suspended sediments during a storm
event. J Soil & Sediments, 13:10931105, 2013.
MCKEAN, S.J. & WARREN, G.P. Determination of

phosphate desorption characteristics in soils using successive resin extractions. Commun Soil Sci
Plant Anal., 27:2397-2417, 1996.
MEUNIER, A., FORMOSO, M.L.L., PATRIER, P. &
CHIES, J.O. Alertion hydrothermale de roches volcaniques lie la gense des amthystes basin
du Paran sud du Brsil. Geochimica Brasiliensis,
2:127-142, 1988.
ROSENSTENGEL, L.M. & HARTMANN, L.A. Geochemical stratigraphy of lavas and fault-blocks
structures in the Ametista do Sul geode mining district, Paran volcanic province, southern Brazil. Ore
Geology Reviews, 48:332-348, 2012.
RIBEIRO, L.S., SANTOS, A.R., SOUZA, L.F. &
SOUZA, J.S. Rochas silicticas portadoras de potssio como fontes do nutriente para as plantas
solo. R. Bras. Ci. Solo, 34:891-897, 2010.
SILVA, D.R.G., MARCHI ,G., SPEHAR,C.R., GUILHERME, L.R.G., REIN, T.A., SOARES, D.A. & VILA, F.W., Characterization and nutrient release from
silicate rocks and influence on chemical changes in
soil. R. Bras. Ci. Solo, 36:951-962, 2012.
Table 1. Basaltic rock chemical content.
Chemical element expressed in oxides

Fe2O3
Al2O3
CaO
MgO
Na2O
K2O
P2O5
MnO
Cr2O3
------------------------------------------------------- % -----------------------------------------------45.93
15.38
12.47
8.81
4.68
2.24
0.78
0.53
0.22
0.003
SiO2
TiO2
ppm
3.66*
Elementar (ppm)
V
Ba
Cu
Zn
Co
462.75
452.62
154.1
84.37
42.15
ppm
Ni
Pb
Mo
Cd
Hg
15.25
3.28
0.27
<0.01
<0.01
Figure 1. Photomicrography from the rock thin sections. A) Phenocrysts of plagioclase at the center and green
mass celadonite and smectite clay minerals inside diktaxitic cavities in the left side. White crystals of plagioclase
and grey grains of pyroxene. B) Apatite crystals pointed by arrows.
B
Figure 2. Scanning electron microscope images (SEM). A) Rock thin section, green - brown clay mineral. B) X ray
semi quantitative elements analysis by dispersive energy.
Phosphorus
Potassium
1650
225
near basalt geode
distant basalt geode
1500
-1
K desorbed by resin, mg kg
-1
P desorbed by resin, mg kg
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
1350
1200
1050
900
750
600
450
300
150
0
0
16
32
48
64
80
Desorption time, h
96
112
16
32
48
64
80
96
112
Desorption time, h
Figure 3. Cumulative potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) desorbed by successive cation-anion exchange
membrane extractions from the basaltic rock powder.
185
186

14
MARKET OUTLOOK OF MINERAL-ORGANIC FERTILIZERS IN BRAZIL

JOICE OLIVEIRA1, MARIA REGINA CAPDEVILLE LAFORET2, RACHEL BARDY PRADO2, VINCIUS DE
MELO BENITES2, JOS CARLOS POLIDORO2, ESTEVO FREIRE3
1
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Departamento de Processos Orgnicos. Av. Horcio Macedo, 2030, Rio de Janeiro,
CEP: 21.941-909 BRASIL (joice.eq@gmail.com); 2Embrapa Solos. Rua Jardim Botnico, 2014, Jardim Botnico, Rio de Janeiro,
CEP: 22.460-000 BRASIL (jose.polidoro@embrapa.br); 3Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Departamento de Processos
Orgnicos. Av. Horcio Macedo, 2030, Rio de Janeiro, CEP: 21.941-909 BRASIL (estevo@eq.ufrj.br).
Introduction

Agribusiness can be considered one of the
biggest deals of Brazilian and world economies. According to the annual report Agricultural Outlook
2010-2019, Brazil will be one of the largest agricultural producers in the world in the next decade as
well as one of the largest suppliers of agricultural
products [1]. The production of fertilizers is linked
to the growth of agricultural production and the productivity and the availability and competitiveness of
raw material [1]. According to ANDA, in Brazil, the
fertilizer market in 2013 was 31.09 million tonnes,
while Mato Grosso was responsible for 17.8% of
sales, 13.6% So Paulo,Rio Grande do Sul 12.7%
Paran 12.2%, Minas Gerais 11.3%, and Gois
8.9% [2]. The specialization of rural workers and
the advances in agricultural research to improve
agricultural productivity in a sustainable basis have
increased in recent decades. On the other hand, is
not observed in the same rate the development of
new technologies for the manufacture of fertilizers
and its supply in the domestic market.

Brazilian law defines fertilizer as mineral
or organic, natural or synthetic substance, provider
of one or more plant nutrients and mineral-organic
fertilizer as the product resulting from the physical mixture or combination of mineral and organic
fertilizers. Therefore, the manufacturing depends
on the mixture of mineral and organic base and the
final product must meet standards set by law. Class
of fertilizers is also defined in rules. [3]

The manufacturing and marketing of mineral-organic fertilizers has increased in the Brazilian market considering the deficit of the commercial
trading of mineral fertilizer and also the difficulties of
logistics and supply for the organic fertilizer. These
and other challenges for the use of mineral fertilizers and organic compounds generated the need
to fit the production chain by developing mineralorganic fertilizers as an alternative to attenuate the
demands imported manufactured mineral fertilizers

and increase the efficiency of this agronomic use
on the agricultural sector. It is emphasized that the
use of agroindustry organic waste, specially from
poutry and swin for the production of fertilizers is
a way to adding value to the discarded material,
and to be in accordance with the Brazilian National
Solid Waste Politics [4].

Accordingly, the aim of this work is to identify producers of organic-mineral fertilizers in Brazil
and analyze the characteristics of the manufactured
products.
Methods

In this work a bibliometric analysis was
used to collect and analyse data concerning domestic manufacturing of fertilizers and biofertilizers.
Official information available in sites of the brazilian
federal government, especially MAPA - Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Supply were used. Publications of ANDA - National Association for the Diffusion of Fertilizers and EMBRAPA - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation were also used. The
data were selected to represent the sector.

The registration, production and marketing
of organic-mineral fertilizers in the country are suveyed by MAPA [3], the agency that keeps track of
products through registration. This control allowed
the mapping of manufacturers distributed in Brazil
and characterization of products. Research to identify registered establishments was performed using
the MAPA site by entering the requested information AREA OF INTEREST: Agricultural raw materials, ACTIVITY: Producer, CLASSIFICATION:
Organic Fertilizer, ADDITIONAL FEATURE:
Mineral Organic. The result is shown in Figure 1,
which shows that the country has 217 registered
establishments are divided into 15 (fifteen) Federal
Posters | Section 3 | Economical and social impacts of fertilizer use
States: AL, BA, EC, ES, GO, MG, MS, MT, PE, PR,
SC, SE, SP, RN and RS. So Paulo is the state with
the largest number of producers, followed by Minas
Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paran.

From the information collected, we attempted to check the amount of products registered by
registered establishments showed in Figure 1 as
well as class information products, year of registration, application route and origin. It is observed
in Table 1 that in 2756 registered products were
found. It is noted that the Class A organomineral
fertilizers represents 84% of all registered products,
followed by Class B organo fertilizers (5.7%) and
Class A organic compound (5.2%). It can be noticed
d again the greatest amount of product registrations
in the states of So Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Table 2 presents data for the year in which
registrations were granted, the mode of application
and its origin. The increasing trend of granting registrations each year, with a slight reduction in the
years 2009 and 2012 can be observed. Data found
in 2014 can be explained by the fact that the year
did not end and there are still ongoing processes.
Foliar, fertigation and soil are the main modes do
application. It can also be seen that 95% of products presents national origin.
Conclusions

The country has a strong demand for agricultural raw materials and production of mineral-organic fertilizers is an interesting alternative to meet
187
the domestic market, very harmed by the import of

mineral fertilizers.

Registered establishments as well as the
bulk of registered products of organic and mineralorganic fertilizers are concentrated in the southeast
region, especially the state of So Paulo. The number of granted establishments shows a trend of annual increases and origin of the product is essentially national. The application mode keeps preferably through soil or leaf application and fertigation.
Keywords: Fertilizers, Mineral-Organic, Agricultural
and Production.
Acknowledgements
EMBRAPA. Rede FertBrasil. DFIA-MAPA.
References
Ministrio do Desenvolvimento, Indstria e Comrcio Exterior: http://www.desenvolvimento.gov.br.
Accessed 21/05/2014.
ANDA. Cmara temtica de insumos agropecurios 72 reunio. Braslia, 17/03/2014.
Ministrio da Agricultura, Pecuria e Abastecimento: http://www.agricultura.gov.br/. Accessed
29/05/2014.
Poltica nacional dos resduos slidos: http://www.
planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato 2007-2010/2010/lei/
l12305.htm. Accessed 21/05/2014.
Figure 1. Location of establishments

producing mineral-organic fertilizers
in Brazil.
188
Table1. Total registered mineral-organic and organic fertilizers and production per UF
Fertilizer
Mineral-Organic
Class A Class B
Total: 2756
2319
Organic
Simple Compound Compound Misto
Mixed Mineral
*
Class A Class A
Class B Classe A Class B
157
75
143
UF
AL
19
Not
Found**
Others
***
23
10
% Registered products/UF
0,6%
BA
1,3%
8,7%
CE
0,4%
3,5%
4,3%
ES
1,9%
2,8%
8,7%
GO
0,9%
2,7%
0,7%
10,5%
MG
22,4%
13,4%
9,3%
9,8%
5,3%
4,3%
SP
42,4%
86,6%
46,7%
43,4%
57,9%
30,4%
28,0%
0,7%
10,5%
8,7%
3,5%
PR
7,7%
SE
1,3%
RN
1,2%
1,3%
MS
2,8%
1,3%
0,7%
MT
4,1%
2,7%
13,3%
PE
0,3%
SC
5,6%
5,3%
0,7%
RS
8,4%
1,3%
18,9%
100%
100%
100%
4,3%
4,3%
5,3%
2,1%
4,3%
10,5%
21,7%
*Mineral Fertilizer: Presents only record of mineral fertilizers.

**Not Found: Registration number of the establishment has no product report.
***Others: Products registered without identification or distinct from the object of research. Example: Beverage.
Table2. Year of registration, mode of application and product origin.

Year Concession Registry
Year N Products Year N Products
2003
0
2009
216
2004
9
2010
322
2005
65
2011
434
2006
133
2012
2007
137
2013
2008
268
2014*
*2014: current year.
424
585
113
Mode of application of the product

Pathway of application N Products
Soil
1476
Leaf
1013
Fertigation
134
Hydroponics
Seed
Ready Use
Not Informed
6
26
9
92
Origin of the product

Origin
N Products
National
2621
Imported
82
Not Informed
53
Posters| Section 4 | Fertilization and food quality
189
15
GENOTYPIC VARIATION AND TRANSCRIPTOME LEVELS OF

UPLAND RICE PLANTS IN RESPONSE TO SELENIUM SUPPLY
ANDRE RODRIGUES DOS REIS1, MILTON FERREIRA MORAES2, KARINA CARVALHO GUIMARES3,
FABRCIO RIBEIRO ANDRADE3, VALDEMAR FAQUIN3, LUIZ ROBERTO GUIMARES GUILHERME3,
LARISSA VENUCIA FREITAG VARJO ALVES2
2
1
Biosystems Engineering, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Campus de Tup, 17602-496, BRAZIL (andrereis@tupa.unesp.br)
Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Barra do Garas, 78600-000, BRAZIL (moraesmf@yahoo.com.br;
larifreitag@gmail.com); 3 Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, 37200-000, BRAZIL (kcg.itu@hotmail.
com; fabricioandradeagro@gmail.com; vafaquin@dcs.ufla.br; guilherm@dcs.ufla.br)
Introduction
Material and methods

Cereal production has maintained the same
growth rate as that of human population. It is anticipated that world demand for food will double in the
period 1999 2030, and up to three and half times
in developing countries (Garvin et al., 2006). On
the other hand, malnutrition has increased, reaching almost half of mankind, particularly pregnant
women, infants and children (Graham et al., 2007).
This development is partly due to the focus of plant
breeding, which aims on improving gains productivity. These gains are inversely related to the mineral
content of the grains (Garvin et al., 2006).

Malnutrition is a consequence of large intake of cereals (rice, maize, wheat) poor in vitamins
and minerals (Ramos et al., 2011). Deficiencies of
iron, selenium (Se) and zinc are the major concern
in relation to human health today, especially in developing countries. Among the strategies applied for
reducing the prevalence of Se deficiency problem in
human populations, enrichment (biofortification) of
food crops with Se through agricultural approaches
is a widely applied strategy. Agronomic biofortification (e.g., fertilizer application) represents a complementary and cost-effective agricultural approach
to the problem (White & Broadley, 2009).

Exploiting genotypic variation is likely to be
an effective method for Se biofortification in crops.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotypic
variation of rice germplasm in response to selenate
treatment. The effect of Se on plant growth, total Se
and S levels, and the expression of genes involved
in Se/S uptake and assimilation were examined in
attempting to provide the information for the selection of rice germplasm with substantial Se accumulation without negative effect on plant growth and
nutritional characteristics.

A population of 14 diverse accessions of
upland rice were obtained from the Germoplasm
Bank from Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA), Santo Antnio de Gois-GO.
The cultivars used in this study were (1) Dourado
precoce, (2) IAC 202, (3) Primavera, (4) Caiap, (5)
IAC 165, (6) Prato, (7) BRSMG Conai, (8) Cateto
Seda, (9) BRSMG Relmpago, (10) Bonana, (11)
Bico Ganga, (12) Beira Campo, (13) Prola e (14)
Arroz Preto. Seeds of each accession were sown
in distilled water and growth in a germbox with a
14-h light and 10-h dark photoperiod at 25 C. The
15-day-old young seedlings were transplanted to
1L pots containing Hoagland nutrient solution with
25% ionic strength and grown hydroponically for
one week. The next two weeks the nutrient solutions ionic strength was increased to 50% and
75%, respectively. After 30 days of transplantion,
these plants were either grown in the nutrient solution or exposed to the nutrient solution containing
10 M sodium selenate. This concentration of Se
was chosen as it showed to be the most suitable
with minimal effects on plant growth in our preliminary studies with a few cultivars. The nutrient solution was changed once a week. The fresh weights
of aerial part were weighted. The young leaf samples from each plant were immediately frozen in
liquid nitrogen and stored at -80 C. For analysis of
total Se and S, the leaf samples were dried at 65 C
in an oven for 48 hours.
Analysis of total Se and S

Total Se and micronutrient contents in the
samples were determined in a PerkinElmer Analyst
800 atomic absorption spectrophotometer (PerkinElmer Inc., San Jose, USA) with electrothermal
190
atomization by (pyrolytic) graphite furnace. Briefly,

dried tissues (approximately 500 mg) were weighed
and acid digested in 10 mL HNO3 in Teflon PTFE
flasks (Corporation, Matthews, USA) and submitted
to 0.76 MPa for 10 min in a microwave oven (CEM,
model Mars 5 CEM Corporation, Matthews, USA).
After cooling to room temperature, the extract was
filtered (Whatman No. 40 filter) and diluted by adding 5 mL of bi-distilled water. Certified reference material (tomato leaves, NIST 1573a, National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg,
USA) were included for quality control. Blank and
certified reference samples were analyzed along
with every batch of digestion.
contribute to the different levels of Se accumulation

in rice shoot tissues (Fig. 1). In addition, the total sulfur content and the relative gene expression of sulfite
reductase and the sulfur transporter OsSultr2;1, OsSultr2;2, and OsSultr4;1 increased significantly in
respose to Se supply. Essential micronutrients (i.e.,
Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn) remained unchanged among
half of the germoplasm (data not shown). Therefore,
significant varietal differences in the Se concentration
in Brazilian upland rice grains were observed, ranging from 15 to 130 g/kg DW. Selenium application
significantly increased the Se concentration in shoot
tissues.
RNA extraction, reverse transcription,

and quantitative PCR

Total RNA from leaves of rice plants was
extracted using Concert reagent according to the
manufactures instruction (Applied Biosystems).
A quantitative reverse transcription polymerase
chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed using the
SYBR Green Universal Master Mix (PE Applied Biosystems) with gene-specific primers as listed in Table 1. The synthesized cDNA were diluted ten times
in water and their quality was checked based on the
amplification of rice Actin and Ubiquitin gene. The
PCR program used was 50 C for 10 min and 95 C
for 2 min, followed by 40 cycles of denaturation for
15 s at 95 C and annealing/extension at 60 C for
1 min. PCR amplification with gene-specific primers
and the calculation of the relative transcript levels
were performed as described previously (Lyi et al.,
2007). The analysis of all gene expression was run
in triplicate.

Upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) fortified with Se
has been promoted as a functional food. Here, we
evaluated 14 upland rice accessions for their capacity
to accumulate Se and for their responses to selenate
treatment in terms of nutritional qualities and sulfur
gene expression. We found that the total Se content
varied with over 2-fold difference among the shoot tissues of upland rice accessions when the plants were
treated with 10 M sodium selenate. Transcriptional
regulation of adenosine phosphosulfate reductase
and serine acetyl transferase gene expression might
Conclusion
Significant varietal differences in the Se
concentration in Brazilian upland rice grains were

observed, ranging from 15 to 130 g/kg DW. Transcriptional regulation of adenosine phosphosulfate
reductase and serine acetyl transferase gene expression might contribute to the different levels of
Se accumulation in rice shoot tissues.
Keywords: biofortification, plant breeding, selenium,
Oryza sativa
Reference
Garvin, D.F., Welch, R.M., Finley, J.W. (2006).
Historical shifts in the seed mineral micronutrient
concentrations of US hard red winter wheat germplasm. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 86 (13): 2213-2220.
Graham, R.D., Welch, R.M., Saunders, D.A., OrtizMonasterio, I., Bouis, H.E., Bonierbale, M. et al.
(2007). Nutritious subsistence food systems. Advances in Agronomy 92: 1-74.
Lyi, S.M., Heller, L.I., Rutzke, M., Welch, R.M.,
Kochian, L.V., Li, L. (2005). Molecular and biochemical characterization of the selenocysteine
Se-methyltransferase gene and Se-methylselenocysteine synthesis in broccoli. Plant Physiology
138:409-420.
Ramos, S.J., Yuan, Y., Faquin, V., Guilherme,
L.R.G., Li, L. (2011). Evaluation of genotypic variation of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italic) in
response to selenium treatment. Agricultural and
Food Chemistry 59: 3657-3665.
Posters| Section 4 | Fertilization and food quality
191
White, P.J., Broadley, M.R. (2009). Biofortification of

crops with seven mineral elements often lacking in
human diets iron, zinc, copper, calcium, magnesium, selenium and io-dine. New Phytologist 182:
49-84.
Table 1. List of primers used in this study
Gene
OsAPR
OsAPS1
OsAPS3
OsSAT3;1
OsSAT3;2
OsSR
OsSultr2;1
OsSultr2;2
OsSultr4;1
OsAct
OsUBQ
Forward
Reverse
CGGCACAGCCATCATTTG
GCCGAGTTCCTCCAAGCA
GCCGAGTTCCTCCAAGCA
CAGTGAGGTTTTTGCAGTGGATAT
CAGTGAGGTTTTTGCAGTGGATAT
CGTCGTCGGCCAGCATA
TCTCTTAGCATACAGATGGCCATT
CTGACCGTACGCATTGAAACA
TCCTCGAGATGTCCCCTGTTA
CCATTGGTGCTGAGCGTTT
ACCCTAATACTAATACACCGGATCATG
TGGGCACGGACATGTTGA
TGGGCACGGACATGTTGAC
AGACCCGTTCCATGATCCAA
AGACCCGTTCCATGATCCAA
TCTCAACCTTGCTCCTCTTAACTTC
TCAACCACACCTGCCAATTTC
TCGGTTACCCATCCCATGA
TGGCGATCCCTATATTCTTGATACA
CGCAGCTTCCATTCCTATGAA
ACACCAAGCCCAAGAAGCAG
GGCGTCGTCCACCTTGTAGAAC
Gene
accession
TC522484
TC491767
TC491767
TC496458
TC496458
TC488030
TC553091
TC487831
AF493793.1
NM_001057621.
1
AK061988
Abbreviation: OsAPR adenosine phosphosulfate reductase; OsAPS - adenosine 5-phosphosulfate sulfurylase; OsSAT - serine
acetyl transferase; OsSR sulfite reductase; OsSultr sulfur transporter; OsAct actin gene; OsUBQ ubiquitin gene.
Figure 1. Relative expression of genes involved in Se/S transport and assimilation in shoot tissues of upland rice (O. sativa L.)
acessions. Transcript levels of genes in upland rice accessions with low (1, 2, 5, and 3) and high (7, 13, 6, 4, 10, 9, 8, 14, 11,
and 12) Se contents upon 10 M Se treatment were measured by qRT-PCR. The expression of ID 11 in non-Se-treated was
set to 1. Data are means of three technical trials. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean (n =3).
192

16
CO2EMISSIONS BY CONVENTIONAL, SLOW-AND CONTROLLEDRELEASED ANDSTABILIZED NITROGEN FERTILIZERS INCOFFEE CROP

ANDR BALDANSI ANDRADE1, DOUGLAS RAMOS GUELFI SILVA, EDUARDO BUCSAN
EMRICH;WANTUIR FILIPE TEIXEIRA CHAGAS;ANDR LUIZ CARVALHO CAPUTO;
LORENA SOLAR SILVA OLIVEIRA
1
Soil Science Department, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitrio, s/n, Lavras MG, CEP: 37200-000, Brazil (andre.
batp@hotmail.com; douglasguelfi@dcs.ufla.br; eduardo@bucsan.com.br; wantuirfilipe@gmail.com; caputoandre@gmail.com;
lorenasolar@hotmail.com.br).
Introduction

Global warming is a climatic effect closely
linked to the increase of gases emissions (IPCC,
2007). Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most important gases in the process. Agriculture is responsible for 75% of total CO2 emissions in Brazil (Embrapa, 2006). Anthropogenic practice changes the
activity of soil microorganisms, increasing gases
fluxes to the atmosphere. One of those practices is
the application of nitrogen fertilizers on crops. Fertilizers can influence the fluxes of CO2 from the soil
by increasing biomass promoted by N supply, and
also, by plant residues.

An alternative to reduce this effect is the
use of fertilizers with enhanced efficiency. These
fertilizers are compounds that, chemically, physically or microbiologically, control the release rates
of nutrients (Shaviv, 2005), reducing nutrient losses
in soil-plant-atmosphere system, minimizing environmental impact (Shaviv, 2005; Trenkel, 2010). In
this work it was aimed to quantify CO2 emissions
of conventional fertilizers, as well as of slow-and
controlled-release and stabilized nitrogen fertilizers
in a coffee crop.
Methods

The experiment was carried out on an area
of Federal University of Lavras (Minas Gerais, Brazil) in adystrophic RedLatosol of loamy texture.
The experimental design utilized was completely
randomized blocks with three replicates. Treatments were constituted by one control and nine
N fertilizers, divided into conventional: urea (45%
of N); urea dissolved in water (50g L-1 of water);
ammonium nitrate; ammonium sulfate; and as enhanced efficiency: urea + 25% of N-(n-butyl) tiophosphoric-triamide (NBPT); urea + sulfur (S) + polymer; urea + plastic resin; urea + 0.15% of copper
(Cu) as copper sulfate + 0.4% of boron (B) as boric
acid; urea formaldehyde.

The chemical and physical characteristics
in the 0 to 20 cm layers are: pH(water) = 5.4; O.M.
= 30 g kg-1; P (Mehlich-1) = 7.21 mg dm-3; K+= 138 mg
dm-3; Ca2+= 1.9 cmolc dm-3; Mg2+= 0.5 cmolc dm-3;
Al3+= 0.3 cmolc dm-3; V = 34% and clay content of
470 g kg-1. Sixty days before fertilization, liming was
performed at rate of 2 ton ha-1. The maintenance
fertilization was conducted with 450 kg ha-1 of N,
300 kg ha-1 of K2O parceled out in three applications in intervals of sixty days and 100 kg ha-1 P2O5
applied as a single dose in the first fertilization. As
K2O source it was used potassium chloride (50%
of K2O) and as P2O5 source, it was used the simple
superphosphate (20% of P2O5). The first, second
and third fertilizations were applied, respectively,
on November 19th (2013), January 18 th (2014) and
March 18 th (2014). A foliar application of micronutrients was performed.

To quantify daily CO2 fluxes, it was utilized
the method of dynamic chamber that consists of
a closed system, where a PVC collar (0.10 m diameter) is inserted into the soil of plants canopy
(Healy et al., 1996). Each plot received three collars. These collars have been used subsequently
during the evaluation period, in order to reduce the
intervention of external factors.

It was used the device LICOR 8100A,
portable infrared gas analyzer (IRGA), which determines the changes in CO2 concentration inside
the chamber by the action of an optical absorption
spectroscopy. In this system, the air continually
passes from the chamber to the IRGA and CO2 concentration is measured according to the variations
within the chamber.
CO2 fluxes inside the chamber were measured during a period of 2 minutes for each portion,
starting days before the fertilizers applications. Analyzes were performed at the same time of day, from
Posters | Section 5 | Fertilizers and environmental impacts
8:00 to 10:00, in order to reduce the interference of

environmental temperature on CO2 fluxes.

In the first fertilization, in relation to fertilizers considered with enhanced efficiency, in the
third day after fertilizer application, urea + 0.15%
Cu + 0.4% B presented average values emissions
of 6.0 mol m-2s-1 of CO2. In the fourth day after
application, urea + sulfur (S) peaked an average
value of 3.87 mol m-2s-1 of CO2. In the fifth day, the
maximum emission peak occurred for urea + S +
polymer, reaching 8.42 mol m-2s-1 of CO2, followed
by urea + Cu + B that presented a peak of 5.16
mol m2s-1 of CO2. The others N fertilizers did not
statistically differ from each other. For conventional
fertilizers, peaks occurred for urea in days 3 and
5 with values of
8,66 and 6,85 mol m-2s-1 of CO2,
respectively (Figure 1).

In the second fertilization, urea showed
maximum peak emission of 20.64 mol m-2s-1 of
CO2 in the first day after fertilizantion. The same occurred for urea dissolved in water, with average of
7.0 mol m-2s-1 of CO2. For urea + Cu + B and urea
+ S + polymers, there were peaks of more than
10.0 mol m-2s-1of CO2 in the second day after fertilization. In the third fertilization, a peak for urea
dissolved in water occurred in the first day after fertilization, with an average value of 5 mol m-2s-1 of
CO2. In the fifth day occurred a peak of 15 mol
m-2s-1 of CO2 for urea.
Conclusions

Among the enhanced efficiency fertilizers, urea + plastic resin, urea formaldehyde, urea
193
+ NBPT showed lower emissions of CO2 in all fertilizations. The urea dissolved in water had lower
CO2 emissions than urea applied in topdressing,
being an important alternative to mitigation of global
warming.
Keywords: Nitrogen, coffee, urea.
Acknowledgements
To FAPEMIG, CNPq and CAPES for scholarships
concessions.
References
EMBRAPA & CNPMA. Primeiro inventrio brasileiro
de emisses antrpicas de gases de efeito estufa:
emisses de xido nitroso proveniente de solos
agrcolas. Ministrio da Cincia e Tecnologia, Braslia, 2006.
TRENKEL, M. E. Slow and Controlled-Release and
Stabilized Fertilizers: An Option for Enhancing Nutrient Efficiency in Agriculture. Second edition, IFA,
Paris, France, October 2010.Copyright 2010 IFA.
ISBN 978-2-9523139-7.
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York,
NY, USA. 2007.
SHAVIV, A. Controled release fertilizers. IFA International Workshop on Enhanced-Efficiency Fertilizers. Anais...Frankfurt: IFA, 2005.
194
Enhanced Efficiency
Conventional
9
Urea
Urea
Urea
Urea
Urea
7
6
5
f ormaldehyde
+ 0.15% Cu + 0.4%B
+ NBPT
+ plastic resine
+ S + polymer
urea
urea dissolved in water
Controle
1
0
-2
-1
10 11 14 17 18 21 24 27
12
-2
-1
10 11 14 17 18 21 24 27
25
10
2st fertilization
11
20
9
8
15
7
6
5
10
4
3
1
0
0
-2
-1
10
12
15
17
-2
-1
10
12
15
17
25
25
20
20
15
15
10
10
3st fertilization
CO2 Flux (mol m-2s-1)
ammonium sulfate
ammonium nitrate
1st fertilization
0
-1
11
13
19
21
-1
Days after application

Figure 1. CO2 flux (mol m-2s-1) for N fertilizers in three applications on coffee crop.
11
13
19
21
195
17
THERMOPHOSPHATES OBTAINED OF THE COMBINATION OF

ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE AND SLAG
EDILSON CARVALHO BRASIL(1), EFRAIM CEKINSKI(2,5), CATIA FREDERICCI(2), MARCONDES LIMA
DA COSTA(3), LETCIA CUNHA DA HUNGRIA(4), RBIA CARLA RIBEIRO DANTAS(1)
Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (Embrapa) Oriental Amazon, Travessa Enas Pinheiro, n/n, Belm-PA, 66095105, BRAZIL (edilson.brasil@embrapa.br); (2) Technological Research Institute of So Paulo, Av. Prof. Almeida Prado 532 Cid.
Universitria Butant, So Paulo-SP, 05508-901, BRAZIL; (3) Federal University of Par, Centre of Geosciences, Department of
Geochemistry and Petrology. Av. Augusto Correa, 1, Belm-PA, 66075-900, BRASIL; (4) Agronomy, Universidade Federal Rural da
Amaznia, Av. Presidente Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm-PA, 66077-901, BRAZIL; (5) Maua Technological Institute, Praa Maua, 1
Sao Caetano do Sul, SP, 05508-901, 09580 900 BRAZIL
(1)
Introduction

The use in natura of aluminum phosphate
(AP) is infeasible agronomically due to its low solubility, caused by the high bond strength between
phosphate and aluminum in the mineral. Studies
show that this kind of phosphate is their increased
solubility, when it is subjected to thermal calcination process, favoring breakage of the crystalline
structure of the mineral, increasing the phosphorus
available to plants.

The use of aluminous phosphates from
State of Par, obtained of the mixture with molten
slag mass (liquid), removes the energetic restriction
on production process of thermophosphate, favoring the reduction of the environmental liabilities of
the steel companies in the production of pig iron, as
well as contributing for the development of agriculture in the state of Par and Amazon, which have
high dependence of phosphate fertilizers from other
regions of the country.

The work aims to develop technology strategies to enable the production of a thermophosphate from the use of slag mixed with aluminum
phosphate, in deposits originating from the Northeast of Par.
Methods

The development of production process of
thermophosphate was conducted at the Technology
Research Institute of the State of Sao Paulo. The
work in experimental scale involved tests of calcination, for the use of rock phosphate of aluminum
originating in the Northeast Para, in mixtures of different ratios of masses with molten slag, to obtain
thermophosphates that were evaluated in terms of
their final content of P2O5.

Treatments involving mixing of different
proportions of mass /mass of raw material to define
of relations that contain levels more acceptable of

P2O5 in desirable terms of solubility of final products. The aluminum phosphate rock was initially assessed for total phosphorus content of the sample
and samples with content of P2O5 total suitable, in
order to allow acceptable minimum levels of thermophosphates produced, since after the mixture
there is reduction of initial levels of phosphorus in
different combinations of the mass.

For the tests of calcination, in bench scale,
combinations of mass of raw materials were established. To compose the AP mixtures, samples
of blast furnace slag were used and subjected to
different calcination temperatures. The products
obtained of calcination tests were evaluated on
the basis of the contents of P2O5, using the official
method of the Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil.

Based on the composition of the raw material, the AP had appropriate content of P2O5 to allow the mixture of mass with slag, for the obtaining
of thermophosphate. The phosphate also showed
high levels of aluminum oxide, which is not available for uptake by plants and thus without the possibility of damaging their growth. The slag of the
blast furnace is the largest portion of the total waste
generated in the steel industry, being obtained by
the reaction of flux and impurities of iron ore, which
results in high levels of oxides of silicon (SiO2), aluminum (Al2O3), iron (Fe2O3) and calcium (CaO). The
slag composition varies according to the chemical composition of the raw material (iron ore, coal,
limestone) used in the manufacturing process of pig
iron.

Considering the contents of P2O5 in thermophosphates obtained by combining masses
of AP and slag, in general, the solubility of ther-
196
mophosphates increased as there was an increase

in temperature, in differents combinations of aluminum phosphate and slag.

The calcination promoted reduction of the
total levels of P2O5 in AP in the temperatures used.
The low water solubility of thermophosphates indicates the reduced availability of phosphorus fertilizer for plants. When the extracting solution of citric acid 2% was used, there was an inverse effect
on the P2O5 levels, observing an increase in the
solubility of thermophosphates with the increase
of temperature. In this solution, the variation in the
concentration of P2O5 was about 8%.

Among the thermophosphates obtained,
some combinations of AP and slag showed total
levels of P2O5 above of the values minimum requirements, established by Brazilian legislation.
Conclusions

The total content of P2O5 in thermophosphates produced, ranged within different combinations of aluminum phosphate and slag. The solubility of thermophosphates increased with the increase
of temperature. Some combinations of AP and slag
showed total levels of P2O5 within the minimum requirements established by Brazilian legislation.
Keywords: Fertilizer, phosphorus, solubility
Financial support: FAPESPA/VALE
197
18
SORPTION OF PB/CD BY FIVE TYPES OF PHOSPHATE FERTILIZERS

MARIA LUIZA KEDE1, DANIEL VIDAL PREZ2, MARCIA MARQUES3, JOSINO MOREIRA4,
LUIZ CARLOS BERTOLINO5
1
Programa de Ps-graduao em Meio Ambiente, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UERJ, Rua Francisco Xavier, 524,
Maracan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEP: 20-550-900 e-mail: mluizakede@gmail.com; 2 Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research
Soils-EMBRAPA (RJ), Rua Jardim Botnico, 1024, Jardim Botnico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEP: 22-460-000 e-mail: daniel.
perez@embrapa.br; 3 Departamento de Engenharia Sanitria e Ambiental, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-UERJ, Rua
Francisco Xavier, 524, Maracan, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEP: 20-550-900 e-mail: marciam@uerj.br; 4 Escola Nacional de Sade
Pblica (ENSP), Fundao Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Rua Leopoldo Bulhes, 1480, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEP: 21041-210. Josinocm@fiocruz.br; 5 Centro de Tecnologia Mineral (CETEM), Av. Ip, 900, Ilha do Fundo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CEP:
21-941-908 e-mail: lcbertolino@cetem.gov.br
Introduction

A great number of areas are contaminated with toxic metals in Brazil and in many cases
they affect the health of the local population. The
municipality of Santo Amaro da Purificao, Bahia
state, has another old Plumbum plant which operated for 33 year, until 1993. High levels of Pb and
Cd in blood and their toxic effects were observed
in children and adults who lived nearby (Carvalho
et al. 2003). Measures to reduce the solubility and
bioavailability of metals in environmental samples
have been proposed as a means of reducing the
impact of their contamination on human populations
and ecosystems. Some authors have shown that
the remediation of contaminated soils using phosphates is efficient in the transformation of more soluble chemical forms of Pb (non-residual) into less
soluble forms (residual). The objective of this study
was to evaluate the efficiency of immobilization of
Pb and Cd in remediation of soils contaminated
with five types of commercial phosphate fertilizers: mono ammonium phosphate (MAP), simple
superphosphate (SSP), reactive natural phosphate
(RNP), thermophosphate (TP) and triple superphosphate (TSP).

Characterization of phosphate fertilizer samples

The concentrations of Pb and Cd in the
fertilizers were determined with the 3051a method
(USEPA, 2007). Approximately 0.5 g of fertilizer
sample were weighed in 100-mL tubes in triplicate and digested with a mixture of 9 mL of nitric
acid (HNO3, 70%, ultra pure, Vetec) and 3 mL of
hydrochloric acid (HCl, 32%, ultra pure, Vetec).
The samples were transferred to a Multiwave 3000
Anton Paar microwave apparatus programmed to
raise the sample temperature to 175 C at 16 atm
in 5.3 min, hold time of 4.3 min, and reduce the

temperature and pressure in 10 min. The extracts
were cooled and centrifuged in a FANEM centrifuge
(Model 206 - R) and the volumes were completed to
30 mL with distilled water and filtered with a paper
filter. The concentrations were determined by ICPOES (Perkin Elmer OPTIMA 3000).

The percentage of P2O5 in the samples
of the five phosphate fertilizers was obtained by
measurement with molybdophosphoric acid in a
Femto 600s spectrophotometer (Brazil, 2006).
Sorption experiment

The generic term sorption has been used
here to indicate the retention of soluble sorbates by
the solid phase due to the difficulty in distinguishing the different processes involved (Violante et al.
2013). Sorption was conducted in a batch-type experiment using 1 g of sample of each fertilizer and
40 mL of Pb and Cd mono- and bimetallic solutions
in polyethylene tubes. The mixtures were agitated
horizontally at 150 rpm at room temperature. The
experiment was conducted following Pierangeli
(2001) with duration of 72 h and alternate agitation
and rest every 12 h. The solutions were prepared
with Pb(NO3)2 and Cd(NO3)2.4H2O in the following concentrations: 50, 100, 200, 500, 800, 1000
mg L-1. After centrifuging the samples for 15 min at
3000 rpm, the supernatants were filtered with paper
filter, the samples were diluted to 0.25% with HNO3
and analyzed by ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer, OPTIMA
3000).
Isotherm Fitting Tool (ISOFIT) and Akaike information criterion
Isotherms were used to describe the correlation between the reaction time and the adsorbate (metals)
and adsorbant (phosphate fertilizers) and the con-
198
centration of the substances in the equilibrium solution. The type of isotherm that best represents the
results was determined with the software Isotherm
Fitting Tool (ISOFIT), which adjusts the isotherm
parameters to the experimental data through the
minimization of a weighted sum of squared error
(Matott et al. 2008).

According to the Akaike theory (Wu et al.
1998), the most accurate method is the one with
the smallest AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) or
AICc (Akaike Information Criterion for a small set
of samples, normally smaller than 40). Very close
values of AIC (or AICc) suggest that some models
may be adequate to estimate the experimental data
obtained. Next, the models can be compared using the AIC, more than two distinct forms, using the
corroborate the literature results that the sorption of

Pb in soils or phosphate fertilizers is independent of
the presence of Cd (Violante et al. 2013) and of pH
variation range.

The five phosphate fertilizers had different
adsorption capacity. Fertilizers TP and RNP had a
greater Cd sorption capacity in all concentrations
of both mono- and bimetallic solutions. The pH of
the solution in equilibrium is probably related to
this behavior, considering that Chen et al. (1997)
reported that the sorption of Cd increased at higher
pH values (close to or higher than 6).The sorption
sequence for the monometallic solution was TP >
RNP > TSP > SSP > MAP. For the bimetallic solution, TP continued to be more efficient than RNP
and SSP, TSP and MAP did not have significant
AIC and the weighted AIC. The AIC is obtained

by subtracting the AIC of the model and the AIC of
the best model, that is, that which had the lowest
AIC. A model is considered good when its w value is
lower than 10% of the greatest w value of the set of
calculated models (Mazerolle 2004).
variations of sorption capacity.

ISOFIT showed that two models, the Linear and the Langmuir models, represented the experimental data the best and had the best results in
nine of the ten experimental conditions (five fertilizers vs. two types of solution, mono- and bimetallic).
Conclusion
Characterization of the phosphate fertilizer samples

The five samples of phosphate fertilizers
investigated in this study (mono-ammonium phosphate, simple superphosphate, reactive natural
phosphate, thermophosphate and triple superphosphate) immobilized Pb in mono- and bimetallic (Pb/
Cd) solutions efficiently. Cd was most efficiently immobilized by thermophosphate in both conditions.
Without taking cost into consideration, thermophosphate is the most indicated fertilizer for the remediation of soils contaminated with Pb and Cd.

The analysis of the metals contained in the
fertilizers showed that Pb and Cd were present in
the compositions of only RNP and TP (Table 1).
RNP released 33 mg L-1 of Cd and TP, 66 mg L-1 and
1.4 mg L-1 of Pb/Cd, respectively, when submitted
to the USEPA 3051a method. Normative Instruction no. 27 (Brazil 2006) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply sets the maximum
concentrations of toxic metals in imported fertilizers
and fertilizers produced in Brazil. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in the five fertilizers that were
analyzed were below the regulation limits (Table 1).
Sorption experiment

The isotherms show that the sorption of Pb
by the five fertilizers was rather efficient after 72 h,
the sorption being complete for MAP, regardless of
the fertilizer concentration. For the bimetallic solution, in general the sorption decreased, as expected, due to the competition by the two ions for the
sorption sites. As a result, the isotherm calculation
with the ISOFIT was not used. The data obtained
Keywords: Phosphate fertilizers, sorption, desorption, isotherm, Pb, Cd.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Environment Graduate Program of the UERJ, CAPES, EMBRAPA-Solos, FIOCRUZ, CBPF and CETEM for the support to this
study.
References
BRAZIL. Normative Instruction (2006) Treats of
fertilizers, liming, and inoculants biofertilizers to be
produced, imported or sold, shall meet the limits
set out in Annexes I, II, III, IV and V of this Instruction as regards the maximum levels permitted for
phytotoxic agents pathogenic to man, animals and
plants, heavy metals, pests and weeds. Official Gazette [of] the Federative Republic of Brazil, Brasilia,
DF, Section 1, 2006 p.15.
CARVALHO, F. M.; SILVANY-NETO, A. M.; TAVARES, T. M.; COSTA, A. C. A.; CHAVES CdElR;
NASCIMENTO, L. D.; REIS, M. de A. (2003) Blood
lead levels in children and environmental legacy of
a lead foundry in Brazil. Rev. Panam. Salud Publica
13:19-23.
199
MAZEROLLE M. J. (2004) Mouvements et reproduction des amphibiens en tourbires perturbes.

Ph. D. thesis, Universit Laval, Qubec (Canada).
PIERANGELI, M. A. P.; GUILHERME, L. R. G.;
OLIVEIRA, L. R.; CURI, N.; SILVA, M. L. N. (2001)
Effect of ionic strength of the equilibrium solution
upon lead adsorption/desorption in Brazilian Oxisols. Pesq. Agropec. Bras. 36:1077-1084.
USEPA (2007) Method 3051a Microwave Assisted
Acid Digestion of Sediments, Sludges, Soils, and
Oils, Washington, DC, 1-30.
CHEN, X.; WRIGHT, J. V.; CONCA, J. L.; PEURRUNG, L. M. (1997) Effects do pH on Heavy Metal
Sorption on Mineral Apatite. Environ. Sci Technol.
VIOLANTE, A. (2013) Elucidating mechanisms of

competitive sorption at the metal/water interface.
Adv. Agron. 118:111-176.
MATOTT, L .S.; RABIDEAU, A. J. (2008) ISOFIT

- A program for
tting sorption isotherms to experimental data. Environ. Model. Soft. 23:670-676.

doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2007.08.005
WU, T. J.; SEPULVEDA, A. (1998) The weighted

average information criterion for order selection in
time series and regression models. Statist. Probab.
Letters 39:1-10.
Table 1. Concentrations of P, Cd and Pb in the phosphate fertilizer samples.
Fertilizers
MAP
SSP
RNP
TP
TSP
P2O5
%
56
21
30
17
46
Extraction
Cd
Limits
Pb
Cd
Pb
-1
---------------------------------- mg kg ---------------------------------b
< DL
< DL
33
1.4
< DL
< DL
< DL
< DL
66
< DL
176
80
116
68
180
880
400
580
340
900
Maximum allowed concentration toxic metals in mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus according to Normative
Instruction 27 (Brasil, 2006).
b
Detection limits: the quantification of trace element concentration of Cd and Pb were 3 mg L-1 and 30 mg L-1, respectively.
a
200

19
EFFECT OF LEONARDITE DERIVED FERTILIZER ON THE

PRODUCTION OF LETTUCE AND SOIL HUMIC FRACTIONS
DICK, DEBORAH. P., ; MOROSINO, LUIZA; VICENTE KRAEMER; LUDTKE, ANA CRISTINA
1
Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. debby.dick@gmail.com ,lu_
morosino@hotmail.com, vicente_kraemer@hotmail.com; Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agronomy Federal University of
Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. krisludtke@yahoo.com.br
Introduction

Humic substances influence the physiologi-
cal processes of plants, nutrient uptake and growth

of roots and shoots of plants (Nardi et al., 2002).
One of the contributions of the humic substances
to the yield and quality of many crops is due to the
fact that these substances facilitate the absorption
of nutrients by the roots and also improve soil structure. Organic fertilizers are important source of humic substances when added to the soil and may
affect the distribution of soil humic compartments.
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of
commercial organic fertilizers, derived from leonardite, rich in humic acids (HA) and fulvic acids (FA)
on soil properties and their agronomic efficiency on
the production of lettuce.

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the experimental field of the Faculty of
Agronomy, UFRGS. Two commercial fertilizers,
derived from leonardite, were tested: Humic Soil
(HS), rich in HA (16, 6% m/m) and Growmater
Plant (GP), rich in FA (35, 5% m/m).The experimental design was randomized blocks with four
replications and six treatments, regarding the addition of fertilizer: control (treatment without fertilizer),
Humic Soil (HS); Humic Soil+NPK (NPK+HS);
NPK; Growmater Plant (GP) and Growmater
Plant +NPK (NPK+GP). Soil fertilization followed
the recommendation for the lettuce crop (100 kg
ha-1 N, 100 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 160 kg ha-1 K2O). The
applied doses for the two commercial humic fertilizers were 4L ha-1, which is the agronomic recommended dose. The lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa),
Veronica variety, were evaluated weekly throughout the cycle in relation to the number of leaves
and plant height and diameter. At the 21th, 35th
and 48th days after transplanting (dat) 4 plants of
each treatment were collected and the root length
was determined. Soil samples were collected at 21
and 48 dat, the chemical fractionation of soil organic matter (SOM) was performed and the following fractions were obtained: soluble fraction in 0.1M
HCl, FA, HA and humin (HU). The CHCl, CHS (soluble
humic substances) and CFA fractions were quantified by determining the absorbance at 580 nm (Shimadzu FTIR 8300), after oxidation with K2Cr2O7 in
acidic medium at 60 C for 4 hours (Dick et al.
1998). The content of C and N in the soil was determined by dry combustion (Perkin Elmer 2400).
The chemical composition of HA was investigated
by means of FTIR spectroscopy.

In general, the highest values of number of
leaves, plant height and diameter were found for the
treatment Growmater Plant+NPK: in comparison
to the control, the results differed (5% significance
level) for the number of leaves at 14 dat, plant diameter at 21 dat and root length at 35 dat. The
lettuce from the treatment Plant Growmater+NPK
showed an average of 27.5 leaves, 34.7 cm diameter, 15.2 cm plant height and 24.2 cm root length
at the end of the experiment. Following this treatment, the treatment Humic Soil+NPK stands out
with respect to the agronomic efficiency. For the
cited characteristics, the Humic Soil+NPK treatment showed higher values that these observed for
the control (5% significance level) at the 21, 35 and
48 dat (Figure 1). For the mineral fertilizer NPK the
leaf number differed from the control at 48 dat and
did not differ from values observed at Growmater
Plant and Soil Humic alone (Figure 1). For the
plant diameter, the NPK treatment differed from the
control at 21 and 48 dat, surpassing the values observed for GP and HS only at 21 dat. Regarding
plant height, NPK differed from the control at 28 and
42 dat and regarding root length only at 48 dat.

It follows that in the treatments Growmater Plant+NPK and Soil Humic+NPK a synergistic effect occurs and enhances the separated
201
effects of both fertilizers. The content of CHCl at

21 dat in the treatments Humic Soil+NPK, NPK,
Growmater Plant and Growmater Plant +NPK
was smaller than in the control (Table 1). But at
the 48 dat the situation is reversed and the highest values were observed for Growmater Plant
and Soil Humic+ NPK. Regarding CHS, two groups
were distinguished: for treatments Humic Soil and
Humic Soil+NPK the CHS content increased and
that of the HU decreased over time. In the second
group (NPK, Growmater Plant and Growmater
Plant+NPK treatments) CHS was higher than in the
control at 21 dat and decreased to values comparable or lower than these observed for the control at
48 dat. For the treatments Humic Soil and Humic
Soil+NPK, CFA fraction was in general higher that
the CHA fraction at 21 dat while at 48 dat the values

tended to be similar (Table 1).Consequently the ratio CHA/CFA was lower at 21 dat and higher at 48
dat (Table 1). The increase in the content of larger
humic micelles, i.e. HA, may be an indicative of the
increase of the stabilization of the humified material. The NPK treatment showed on average lower
levels for CFA when compared to Humic Soil, Humic Soil+NPK, Growmater Plant and Growmater
Plant+NPK. The content of CHA was higher than
the content of CFA for all treatments after 48 dat and
the enrichment of the fraction is reflected in the ratio
CHA/CFA with values greater than 1 (Table 1).
Conclusions

The addition of organic fertilizer rich in humic substances favored the development of lettuce
plants in the evaluated variables: plant height and
diameter, number of leaves and root length. Humic compartments were affected by the addition of
these fertilizers, and an increase of the proportion
of humic substances, mainly that of humic acids at
21 dat, occurred. The humic rich fertilizers seem to
promote the stabilization of soil humic matter.
Keywords: Humic substances, FTIR spectroscopy,
alternative sources
Acknowledgements
The authors thank FAPERGS and CNPq for financial support.
References
DICK, D. P.; GOMES, J.; ROSINHA, PB Characterization of humic substances extracted from soils
and organic sludge. (In Portuguese). Brazilian Journal of Soil Science, Viosa, v. 22, n. 4, p. 603-611,
1998.
NARDI, S. et al. Physiological effects of humic
substances on higher plants. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Elmsford, v.34, p.1527-1536, 2002.
Table 1. Distribution of chemical compartments of carbon in different treatments: control; Humic Soil (HS); Humic
Soil (HS)+NPK; NPK; Growmater Plant (GP) and Growmater Plant (GP)+NPK at 21 and 48 days after transplanting
(dat)
Treatment
Date (days)
CHCl
CHS
CFA
CHA
CHU
CHA/CFA
-1
---------------------------------------------- g kg soil ----------------------------------------------
CONTROL
HS
HS+NPK
NPK
GP
GP+NPK
CONTROL
HS
HS+NPK
NPK
GP
GP+NPK
21
48
2.0a
2.9a
0.6b
0.4b
0.8b
1.2b
0.8b
0.9b
1.4a
0.6c
1.2a
0.9b
5.8 c
6.7bc
5.5bc
11.3a
10.0a
10.2a
8.0c
12.9a
9.0b
7.3c
9.5b
4.8d
2.0b
4.0a
3.3a
3.4a
3.0a
2.2ab
4.0b
7.1a
4.6b
0.5d
1.5c
1.7c
Means followed by the same letter in the column do not differ by Tukey test at 5% probability
3.8c
2.7b
2.1b
7.9a
7.0a
8.0a
8.3a
8.7a
5.0b
6.8b
8.0b
3.1c
9.8a
8.0a
10.8a
5.5b
5.9b
6.2b
6.6bd
4.5d
8.0bc
10.2b
8.2bc
11.5a
1.8a
0.6b
0.6b
2.3a
2.3a
3.7a
2.0b
1.2b
1.0b
12a
5.2b
1.7b
202
Figure 1. Number of leaves, plant diameter and height and root length (cm) in different treatments over the lettuce cycle.
203
20
EFFECT OF SWINE SLUDGE COMPOST ON THE PRODUCTION

OF LETTUCE AND ON THE SOIL ORGANIC MATTER
LUDTKE, ANA CRISTINA, DICK, DEBORAH. P,; MOROSINO, LUIZA AITA, CELSO
1
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agronomy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
krisludtke@yahoo.com.br.; 2 Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. debby.
dick@gmail.com; lu_morosino@hotmail; 3 Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Santa Maria UFSM, Santa Maria,
Brazil. celsoaita@gmail.com.
Introduction

The southern region of Brazil concentrates
48% of the national herd of swine (IBGE, 2010).

The swine waste is usually handled and stored in
liquid form and applied in natura to the soil, in order to provide nutrients the plants (Ceretta et al.,
2010). Repeated disposal swine waste in the same
area may cause environmental problems such as
over accumulation of nutrients and soil contamination by metals, among others. An alternative to traditional waste management is composting, where
organic waste is converted into solid matrix (Senesi
et al, 2007). The degree of stability and maturity of
organic matter in the final product may be inferred
from the composition of humic substances (HS),
i.e., the amount of humic (HA) and fulvic acids (FA).
On the other hand, HA and FA are considered the
main fraction of soil organic matter (SOM), contributing to reactions with ions and minerals due to the
abundance of oxygenated functional groups such
as carboxyl and hydroxyl (Dick et al., 2009). This
study aimed to investigate the impact of the addition to the soil of two compounds derived from pig
slurry, on the chemical composition and content of
SOM.
randomized block design with 3 treatments and 4

replications: T1 (soil), T2 (soil + NC) and T3 (soil +
AC ). Immediately after application of the compost,
lettuce (Lactuva sativa L, Amanda variety) was cultivated in all blocks. Soil samples were collected at
0-10 cm depth at 0, 40, 52 and 64 days after application (daa) of the compost. Chemical fractionation
of SOM was performed and the following fractions
were obtained: soluble fraction in 0.1 M HCl, alkaline soluble humic substances (HS), HA, FA, and
and humin (HU). The CHCl, CHS and CFA concentrations were quantified by determining the absorbance at 580 nm (Shimadzu FTIR 8300) after oxidation with K2Cr2O7 in an acidic medium at 60 C for
4 hours (Dick et al. 1998). The HA were purified
with HCl/HF (5%/5%) solution (Dick et al. 1998) and
its chemical composition was determined by FTIR
spectroscopy (Shimadzu FTIR 8300). The carbon
content in the HA (CHA) was calculated by the difference: CHA= CHS - CFA. The content of C present
in the form of HU (CHU) was obtained by: CHU = CT
- (CHS + CHCl), where CT is the soil carbon content.
The ratio the CHA/CFA was calculated. The CT and
soil nitrogen (N) contents were determined by dry
combustion (Perkin Elmer 2400).

The experiment was established in May
2012 on a Red Ultisol located at the experimental
area of the UFSM. The used compost was obtained
from a 156 days composting of 8.3 kg L-1of pig
slurry mixed with sawdust and shavings (233 kg).
Two composting media were used regarding the pH
level: 1. neutral pH (7.0) (neutral compost, NC); 2.

The content of CT ranged from 16 to 21 g
kg-1 (Table 1) and the values did not differ between
treatments and between the evaluated times in
comparison to the reference. However, between 40
and 52 daa there was a trend of increasing CT in the
treatments with NC and AC from 17.8 to 20.5 g kg-1;
there after CT tended to stabilize at 21.3 g kg-1. As
Acid pH at 6.0 by adding concentrated phosphoric

acid (85% and density of 1.6 g cm3) (acid compost,
AC). The compound was incorporated into the soil
to 0.15 m in order to simulate the fertilizer applied
to the lettuce in a single dose (70.4 t ha-1 of NC
and 94.3 t ha-1 AC).The experimental design was a
for the content of CT in the reference treatment, the

values remained relatively constant over time. The
trend observed in T2 and T3 may be due to decomposition of the residue shavings (with size > 2 mm)
contained in the compost after 52 daa, that due to
its humification contributes to the SOM with size <
204
2mm. For the determination of CT, the sample had

to be sieved for a size < 2mm, since the elemental
analyzer is not suitable for particles greater than 2
mm, and therefore this source of C is not accounted
for the CT. The N content was not affected by the
addition of compost and varied from 1.2 to 1.5 g kg-1
(Table 1). The C/N ratio ranged between 12.3 and
15.2 and did not differ between treatments at the
evaluated times either (Table 1).

In T1, the carbon content of the HCl extract
was 0.05 g kg-1 at 40 daa and increased to 0.4 g kg
-1
after 64 days. The CHS increased from 3.9 g kg-1at
40 daa to 8.1 g kg-1 at 52 daa and remained aroundt
this value until 64 daa. The content of CFA gradually
increased from 1.9 to 5.1 g kg-1 to 64 days, whereas
CHA ranged from 2.0 to 4.3 kg-1 (Table 2). Between
52 and 64 days there was a redistribution of these

two humic fractions. This behavior of humic fractions might be a consequence of the restabilization
of the system, due to the variation of local environmental conditions during the experiment. The variation of CHCl with time in T2 and T3 showed the same
trend as that observed in T1, but the greater value
in both T2 and T3 at 52daa surpassed that of T1
with 1.4 g kg-1. The levels of CHS in T2 and T3 were
greater than that these observed in T1 and in the
reference, with a maximum at 52 daa. However, in
relation to the fractions CFA and CHA, the behavior
was different between T2 and T3 with time. At 40
daa treatment T2 showed a predominance of HA
(6.3 g kg-1) in comparison to FA(3.2 g kg-1) with CHA/
CFA= 2.0. In T3, the opposite occurred: CHA (2.3 g
kg-1) was smaller than CFA (6.5 g kg-1) and CHA/CFA
was 0.5. During the experiment CHA decreased in
T2 and increased in T3. Consequently, CHA/CFA decreased in T2 following the trend observed in T1.In
contrast, in T3 this ratio tended to increase. This
result can be interpreted as a greater stabilization
of SOM in T3 since it showed the highest amount
of HA, that are larger humic micelles than FA. The
chemical composition of the HA evaluated by FTIR
indicated that the HA in T3 tend to be less aromatic
and more carboxylated that HA from the treatment
with the addition of neutral compost.
Conclusion

A single application of compost from swine
manure did not affect the carbon content of the soil
but affected the dynamics of soil organic matter, favoring the production of humic substances at the
expenses of the humin fraction and of the shavings.
The addition of acid compost stimulated the formation of larger humic micelles that were higher functionalized than those found after the addition of the
neutral compost.
Keywords: humic fractions, FTIR, organic carbon,
humic micelles
Aknowledgements
The authors thank Fapergs and CNPq for financial
support
References
CERETTA, C.A. et al. Phosphorus fractions in soil
after repeated applications of swine manure on
tillage. (In Portuguese). Brazilian Agricultural Research, Brasilia, v.45, n.6, p.593-602, 2010.
DICK, D.P, et al. Chemistry of soil organic matter
(In Portuguese). In: Melo, V.F. & Alleoni, L.R.F., eds.
Chemistry and Mineralogy of soil. Viosa, Brazilian
Society of Soil Science, 2009. P.1-68.
DICK, D. P.; GOMES, J.; ROSINHA, PB Characterization of humic substances extracted from soils
and organic sludge( In Portuguese). Brazilian Journal of Soil Science, Viosa, v. 22, n. 4, p. 603-611,
1998.
IBGE 2010.Livestock production.Agricultural Census. Brazilian Institute of geography and statistics
Available in: www.ibge.com.br. Acesso em 25 de
maro de 2013.
SENESI, N. et al. A comparative survey of recente
results on humic-like fractions in organic amendments and effects on native soil humic substances. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Emlsford, v.39,
p.12441262, 2007.
205
Table 1. Contents of CT and N, and C/N ratio in Red Ultisol with and without application of organic compost
Treatments
Days
CT
daa
Reference
N
-1
--------------------- g kg --------------------ns
1.1Bb
14
16.5
ns
17.8
ns
17.8
ns
1.2Aa
1.3Aa
1.3Aa
13
ns
13
ns
13
16.1
ns
20.1
ns
20.5
ns
1.3Aa
1.4Aa
1.5Aa
12
ns
14
ns
13
ns
1.2Aa
1.4Aa
1.5Aa
13
ns
15
ns
14
16.4
T1
(2)
T2
(3)
T3
40
T1
T2
T3
52
(1)
T1
T2
T3
C/N
16.6
ns
21.3
ns
21.2
64
ns
ns
ns
ns
soil without addition of commpost (2) soil + NC and (3) soil+ AC. ns not significant at 5%. Means followed by the same
capital letters do not differ between treatments and by the same lowercase letters do not differ in different times, Tukey
test at 5% probability level.
(1)
Table 2. Distribution of C in humic fractions in a Red Ultisol without the addition of compost (T1), after the addition
of neutral compound (T2) and after the addition of acid compost (T3)
Treatments
Days
daa
CHCl
CHS
CFA
CHA
CHU
CHA/CFA
-1
----------------------------------------- g kg soil -----------------------------------------
Reference
0.04Cd
3.6Cc
1.7Cf
1.9Bc
12.6Aa
1.1Ab
T1
T2
T3
40
0.05Cd
0.07Cd
0.7Bb
3.9Cc
9.8Bb
8.9Bb
1.9Cf
3.2Bde
6.5Abc
2.0Bc
6.3Aa
2.3Bc
12.5Aa
7.9Bc
8.3Bc
1.0Ab
2.0Aa
0.5Bc
T1
T2
T3
52
0.8Bb
1.4Aa
1.5Aa
8.1Bc
14.5Aa
15.1Aa
3.9Bde
8.0Aa
7.4Aa
4.3Bbc
6.4Aa
7.7Aa
7.2Ac
4.1Bd
4.5Bd
1.1Ab
0.7Bc
1.0Ab
T1
T2
T3
64
0.4Dc
0.5Dc
0.5Dc
8.2Bb
9.0Bb
9.7Bb
5.1Acd
5.4Abcd
4.4Ade
3.1Abc
3.5Abc
5.3Aab
7.9Bc
11.0Bab
10.9Bb
0.6Bc
0.8Bc
1.2Ab
Same capital letters do not differ between treatments in columns in the same time and same lowercase letters do not differ
between the different treatments in a givemn time, Tukey test at 5% probability level.
206

21
POTENTIAL OF BIOFERTILIZERS IN PLANT PRODUCTION

SILKE RUPPEL1, KATJA WITZEL1, HENRI FANKEM2, BETTINA EICHLER-LBERMANN3
1
Department of Plant Nutrition, Leibniz-Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops Grossbeeren/Erfurt e.V., TheodorEchtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Grossbeeren, Germany (ruppel@igzev.de, Witzel@igzev.de); 2 Faculty of Science, University of Douala,
P.O.Box 24157 Douala, Cameroon (fankemhenri@yahoo.fr); 3 Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of
Rostock, Justus-von- Liebig Weg 6, 18059 Rostock (bettina.eichler@uni-rostock.de)
Introduction

Biofertilizers are gaining increasing interest
in agricultural and horticultural practice for sustainable management. These fertilizers consit of living
microorganisms which are administered to seeds or
young plants. The colonization and establishment
of introduced bacterial or fungal cells at or inside
the living plant leads to an improved plant growth,
health condition and yield.

The best known plant growth promoting
microorganisms are Rhizobium bacteria. These organisms form a symbiosis with leguminous plants
by producing nodules at roots where bacteria fix atmospheric nitrogen and transfer the nitrogen to the
plant. Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (VAM)
are famous for their widely distributed colonization
of land plants and their ability to transport nutrients
(mainly phosphates) over a greater distance to
plant roots. Recently, also plant growth-promoting
bacteria (PGPB) are selected and used as bioinoculants in crop production systems worldwide. Their
potential and mode of action is analyzed using the
highly efficient bacterial strain Kosakonia radicincitans (DSM 16656), which we have isolated, selected
and described as a new species. We reveal some
basic interactions between plant nutrition, plant
health and bacterial colonization and survival using
omics technologies. Finally we document the way
from basic research to a commercial product - from
omics to field.

The bacterial strain Kosakonia radicin-
citans (DSM 16656) was isolated from the phyllosphere of winter wheat as diazotrophic (associative
atmospheric nitrogen fixing) bacterial strain. In addition, production of phytohormons (auxins and cytokinins) and solubilisation of calcium-, Al- and Fephosphates are characteristic for this bacterium. In
laboratory and greenhouse experiments on model
plants and vegetables we analyzed the bacterial enzyme activity and gene expression and investigated
plant transcriptomic and proteomic responses to
endophytic growth.

Current techniques as microarray, next
generation sequencing and quantitative real-time
PCR allow us to more deeply analyze the in vivo
expressed activities of the inoculated bacterial cells
and their effect on the native microbial population.
The sequenced genome of Kosakonia radicincitans
revealed its genetically determined potential of various known plant growth-promoting activities such
as shown in the figure.
Conclusion

Tailored efficient biofertilizers will be developed and produced in near future with our increasing understanding of the complex interaction between plants and their microbiome. These
products may help to use mineral fertilizers, especially N and P, more efficiently and help to sustain a healthy and diverse nature in productive
agricultural systems.
Keywords: Plant growth-promoting bacteria, biofertilizer, biological nitrogen fixation, P-solubilization,
omics approaches
207
208

22
SITE-SPECIFIC N2O EMISSION FROM SOIL RELATED

TO FERTILIZATION AND SUGARCANE TRASH ADDITION
ANA PAULA PACKER1, IRACEMA A.M. DEGASPARI1, IGOR MARTINS MORASI1, VIVIANE A.A.
VILELA1, VIVIANE C. B. MAXIMILIANO1, JULIANA DE OLIVEIRA SANTOS1, NILZA PATRICIA RAMOS1,
OSVALDO M.R. CABRAL1, RAFFAELLA ROSETTO2
1
EMBRAPA Meio Ambiente, Rodovia SP 340, km 127,5, Jaguarina, 13820-000, Brazil (paula.packer@embrapa.br); 2 Agncia
Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegcios (APTA), Polo Regional Centro Sul, Rod. SP 127 - km 30, Piracicaba, 13400-970, Brazil
(raffaella@apta.sp.gov.br)
Introduction

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and mitigation potential in the sugarcane
sector is necessary to manage these emissions and
identify responses that are consistent with the status
of economically and environmentally friendly source
of energy (do Carmo, et al., 2012).

In the sugarcane sector, GHG emissions
from the agricultural system can be originate from
several sources, the most important being: a) conversion or land use change and its effects on C
and N stocks of ecosystems; b) fertilization and irrigation; c) management of waste, including burning before harvesting; and d) operations in planting.
Decomposition of industrial and agricultural waste
such as straw and sugarcane vinasse contribute to
29% of GHG emissions resulting from the formation
N2O and CO2, while another 10-20 % correspond to
emissions of CO2 and N2O by the use of nitrogen
fertilizers (Figueiredo, et al., 2010). The inefficient
use of fertilizers by crops is regarded as an important factor controlling N2O flux from soil (Bouwman,
1998).

Fertiliser application alters the concentration of N in different soil compartments, causing
leaching of nitrogen compounds and the emission
of N2O or N2, by the action of soil microorganisms
that govern the processes of nitrification and denitrification (Smith, 1997). The most important factors
affecting N2O emissions from fertilizers are the climate, the carbon (C) organic soil, soil texture, soil
drainage, plenty of NO3-N and soil pH, plus the
related to management factors, which are the rate
of application of N fertilizer by type, rate and technique of application of these fertilizers and crop type
(Wrange et al., 2001; Snyder et al, 2009; Carmo et
al, 2012). Generally, the longer the time in which the
compounds from N fertilizers, organic wastes, crop
residues etc. are available for the microbes in the
soil and without competition absorption by plants,
the higher should be the emission of N2O from the

nitrification and denitrification process.

In Brazil, as manual harvesting is been
gradually substituted by mechanized methods,
the sugarcane crop residue (trash) left on the soil
surface is increasing (do Carmo et al., 2012). The
maintenance of the crop trash in the field, increase
the organic matter content of the soil and creates
favorable conditions for the establishment of a microclimate in those areas, since no abrupt changes
occur in the temperature and humidity of the soil,
favoring the establishment of a biological community that decompose straw, allowing the reuse of
nutrients (Huang et al., 2013).. Focusing conservationist management practices, the ideal amount of
crop residues to be left on the field is still unknown,
which can differ regarding soil characteristics, environment, and variety. However, the maintenance
of the straw in the field can change the GHG flow,
which may have important reflection on global carbon and nitrogen equivalent system.

Despite the importance of the subject, data
are still limited and controversial related to the interaction between sugarcane trash left on the field
and the emission of N2O from fertilized soil (Figueiredo, et al., 2010). Thus, the understanding of how
fertilization and different levels of trash interfere in
the GHG emissions, to report a consensus emission factors for the sugarcane sector, become vital
to the overall carbon balance in ethanol production
and can be decisive for an international acceptance
of this fuel in the short and medium term.
Methods

The samples were collected during the
sugarcane season 2012/2013 in commercial area
located in Iracempolis City, So Paulo, Brazil (coordinates 22 34 S and 47 31 W). The sugarcane
variety used was the CTC -14 in the second ratoon
cane grown on soil classified as loamy Oxisol. Three
treatments were evaluated, no trash (T0), 50 % (T1)

and 100 % (T2) of straw left on the field. Therefore, after mechanized harvesting the trash left on
the field was 6.0 and 12.26 ton ha-1. After the trash
material was placed onto the soil, the experimental
plots were fertilized with 100 kg N ha-1 (ammonium
nitrate). Fixed PVC chambers to collect the GHG
samples were installed in the experimental plots,
and remained in the same location throughout the
experiment (Davidson & Schimel, 1995; Varner et
al., 2003). A total of eight chambers were installed
in each treatment, divided in 2 subplots with and
without fertilizer. The GHG fluxes were sampled
every other day, from the 1st to the 46th day after the
fertilizer application, since January 2013. The gas
samples were analyzed by gas chromatography
(Shimadzu model GC 2014). Final flow was determined by linear regression of the curve. Soil samples were collected from the 0-10 cm layer, ground
and sieved to 100 mesh for determination of total
carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) by dry combustion in
an elementary analyzer (LECO Tru-Spec CN analyzer).

As expected, daily fluxes of N2O in plant
cane varied among treatments (Figure 1), increasing in the first month after the fertilizer application,
decreasing exponentially to near background after
this period. The N2O flux reaches higher values
around the 20th day after fertilization. The treatment
that left all the trash (100 %) a higher N2O flux from
the nitrogen fertilizer applied. This increase may
have been due to accelerating microbial nitrification and denitrification processes with the coupling
of mineral N, available carbon, and favorable temperatures and soil moisture. On the other hand, the
treatment with no trash and the 6.0 ton ha-1 presented similar emission. Despite the difference in
the amount of dry matter left on the field, the CO2
emissions were constant for all treatments in the
same order of magnitude. Also, there were no increases in concentrations of N and C in soils for the
treatments.
Conclusions

As expected, higher N2O emission are associated with fertilizer application and all the har-
209
vesting trash left on the soil surface (100 %). However, low fluxes found for 6.0 ton ha-1, similarly to
the no trash treatment, are good information for
managing amount of trash to be left on the sugarcane field for soil conservation and restoration.
Although the results presented an information for
the sugarcane sector, more studies are needed to
provide information for managing trash accumulation in fields.
Keywords: Sugarcane trash, ammonium nitrate, nitrous oxide emission
Acknowledgements
Embrapa and CNPq for financial support
References
ALVES, B.J.R.; SMITH, K.A.; FLORES, R.A.; CARDOSO, A.S.; OLIVEIRA, W.R.D.; JANTALIA, C.P.;
URQUIAGA, S.; BODDEY, R.M. Selection of the
most suitable sampling time for static cambers for
the estimation of daily mean N2O flux from soils.
Soil Biology & Biochemistry, v.46, p.129-135, 2012.
BOUWMAN, A.F. Nitrogen oxides and tropical agriculture. Nature, 392, 866-867, 1998.
DAVIDSON, E.A. & SCHIMEL, J.P. Microbial processes of production and consumption of nitric
oxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. In: Methods in
Ecology: Trace Gases. P. Matson and R. Harriss
(Eds.). Blackwell Scientific. p. 327-357, 1995.
DO CARMO, J.B., FILOSO, S., ZOTELLI, L.C., DE
SOUSA NETO, E.R., PITOMBO, L.M., DUARTENETO, P.J., VARGAS, V.P., ANDRADE, C.A.,
GAVA, G.J.C., ROSSETTO, R., CANTARELLA, H.,
NETO, A.E., MARTINELLI, L.A. Infield greenhouse
gas emissions from sugarcane soils in Brazil: effects from synthetic and organic fertilizer application and crop trash accumulation. GCB Bioenergy,
1-14, 2012.
FIGUEIREDO, E. B., PANOSSO, A. R., ROMO,
R., LA SCALA JR, N. Research Greenhouse gas
emission associated with sugar production in southern Brazil. Carbon Balance and Management, 1-7,
2010.
HUANG, T.; GAO, B.; CHRISTIE,P.; JU, X. Net global warming potencial and greenhouse gas intensity
210
in a double-cropping cereal rotation as affected by

nitrogen and straw management. Biogeosciences,
10, p.7897-7911, 2013.
SMITH, K., MCTAGGART, I., & TSURUTA, H. Emissions of N2O and NO associated with nitrogen fertilization in intensive agriculture, and the potential for
mitigation. Soil Use and Management, 13, 296-304,
1997.
SNYDER, C.S., BRUULSEMA, T.W., JENSEN, T.L.,

FIXEN, P.E. Review of greenhouse gas emissions
from crop production systems and fertilizer management effects. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 133, 247266, 2009.
WRAGE, N.; VELTHOF, G. L.; van BEUSICHEM,
M. L.; OENEMA O. Role of nitrier denitrication in
the production of nitrous oxide. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, Oxford, v. 33, p. 17231732, 2001.
Figure 1. Daily mean fluxes of N2O-N (mg m-2

day-1) measured in a ratton cane with crop trash
left on the soil surface, with (T0) no crop trash,
(T1) 6.0 ton ha-1 and (T2) 12 .3 ton ha-1 of crop
trash. The values represent the average of four
replications
Posters | Section 6 | Methodologies for fertilizer characterization
211
23
EVALUATION OF EXTRACTANTS FOR CHARACTERIZATION

OF K SILICATE AGROMINERALS
MARIANA B. GABOS1, DER DE SOUZA MARTINS1, DOUGLAS R. MENDES1, LUIZ FERNANDO
DOS SANTOS1, MARIA INS LOPES OLIVEIRA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE2
1
Embrapa Cerrados, Rodovia BR-020, km 18, Caixa Postal: 08223, Planaltina DF, CEP: 73310-970, BRAZIL (mbgabos@gmail.
com); 2 TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, rua Bernardo Guimares 245 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (albano.leite@
terrativa.com.br)
Introduction

In general, Brazilian agricultural soils are
poor in macro and micronutrients. Brazil has only

one producing potash mine so that more than 90%
has to be imported, despite its importance as food
producer. This very uncomfortable dependence
balance. Due to actual potash market, it is unlikely
that any significant new production capacity will be
developed in Brazil from the local potash salt deposits.

from the Cerrado and with favourable geology and
Cerrado.

A 2 year research program from TERRATIVA with the MIT/USA developed Hydrosyenite, a
second generation low cost high efficiency potash
and also other benefits for agriculture. Embrapa is
running laboratory and agronomic efficiency tests to
evaluate these K silicate agrominerals.

In this way, the objective of this research
was to compare procedures of extraction of the bioavailable nutrients in silicate agrominerals.
Methods

The experiment was conduced with 11
silicate agrominerals, which potentials of use have
been evaluated by TERRATIVA. Each rock sample
were grounded in two granulomety, <2.00mm and
<0.15mm. All the analyses were made in triplicate

and in the three methods studied were analysed a
knowed silicate agromineral, the biotite schist (BX).

For the hot water extraction was used the
methodology established by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture for K fertilizer regulation (MAPA,
2007). In the method the proportion of sample/solution was 1:50. This mixtures were heated until the
boiling point (approximately 90 minutes). The solutions were firtered and the K analysed in spectrophotometer.

The Mehlich-1 extractant was originally designed to evaluate the nutrients bioavailable in soil
(EMBRAPA, 1997). It is as double acid extractant
in low concentration (H2SO4 0,0125 molL1 + HCl
0,05 molL1). The acid solution is shaked with the
sample for 5 minutes in a proportion of 1:10. The
solutions were also firtered and the K analysed in
spectrophotometer.

The extraction by the citric acid is also a
methodology adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of
Agriculture, but it is for a P fertilizer regulamentation
(MAPA, 2007). The citric acid solution is prepared in
concentration of 2 %. The proportion sample/solution used was 1:100, and those were shaked for 30
minutes. The solutions were also filtered and the K
analysed in spectrophotometer.

All the tested extractants were able to solubilize part of the total K present in the grounded
rocks, but the proportion extracted between the
methods were different for each rock (Figure 1).
Independent of the extractant, in almost all the
case, the extraction were higher in the samples
with smallest particle sizes (granulometry lower
than 0.15mm). These results indicate that the K in
grounded rocks in smaller granulometry have more
K available to the crops.

The extraction by the hot water was the
212
lowest compared with the others. It represents the

fraction of K which is ready to use, it is the most
available portion of K (Figure 1). The intermediate
K extraction was observed in the Mehlich-1 method.
The citric acid solution was the extractant that presented the highest extraction of K (Figure 1). It indicates the portion of K that is able to be solubilized
by exsudates of plant roots in a short time.
The proportion of K extracted by the three mothods from the total K were different for each silicate
agromineral studied (Table 1). The highest extraction in absolute amount was observed in the sample from the Cerama study (PRGB-PCER-MCARO0011). However this sample did not have the
highest extraction relative terms (Table 1). In general, the samples with the lower total K had higher
relative extraction.
Conclusions

The citric acid extraction seems to be the
best method to evaluate the K portion available
for crop by the silicate agrominerals application in
the soil. Rocks with higher potencial for agronomic
uses, presenting K available similar or higher than
the biotite schist were PRGB-PCER-LCO-RO0048;
PRGB-PCER-MCA-RO0011;
PRRV-PACR-CALRO0015; and PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0066. The first
two samples are from Bahia state (TERRATIVA
Cerama Project Silveira Braga et al., 2014), and
they are ultrapotassic igneous rocks classified as
alkali feldspar syenites. The last two are from Gois
state (TERRATIVA Acrena Project Oliveira et al.,

2014) and they are alkaline mafic-ultramafic rocks.
The sample PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0015 is classified as ugandite and PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0066 is
tephriphonolite.
Keywords: Alternative fertilizer; K sources; silicate
agrominerals
References
EMBRAPA. 1997. Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de
Solos. Manual de Mtodos de Anlise de Solo. 2
ed. Rio de Janeiro, 212p.
MAPA Ministry of Agriculture, Lifestook and Food
Supply. 2007. Manual of official analytical methods
to mineral, organics and correctives fertilizers. (In
Portuguese).
OLIVEIRA, M. A. de; LEITE, A.A. da S.; ALVES, C.
K, Ca and Mg-bearing agrominerals from the alkaline ultramafic rocks: an alternative source for soil
conditioners and K-fertilizers. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
SILVEIRA BRAGA, F.C; LEITE, A.A. da S.; OLIVEIRA, M. A. de; MARTINS, E. de S.; GABOS, M. B.;
ANGLICA, R. S. 2014. K-Alternative Fertilizer Project: Biotite-bearing ultrapotassic deposit in Bahia
state. In: 16th WORLD FERTILIZER CONGRESS
OF CIEC, 2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
K, mg kg-1
Mehlich1
Citric
Ac.
Rocks
Figure 1. The K concentration extracted by the three methods (Mehlich-1; Citric Acid 2%; and Hot Water)
Rocks
213
Table 1. Porcentage of the K total of each silicate agromineral extracted by the three methods (Mehlich-1; Citric Acid
2%; and Hot Water)
Silicate Agromineral ID
PRCO-PBLE-MAF-RO0007 (< 2 mm)
PRCO-PBLE-MAF-RO0007 (<0,15 mm)
PRGB-PCER-LCO-RO0048 (< 2 mm)
PRGB-PCER-LCO-RO0048 (<0,15 mm)
PRGB-PCER-MCA-RO0011 (< 2 mm)
PRGB-PCER-MCA-RO0011 (<0,15 mm)
PRPG-PIPR-PLS-RO0024 (< 2 mm)
PRPG-PIPR-PLS-RO0024 (<0,15 mm)
PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0015 (< 2 mm)
PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0015 (<0,15 mm)
PRGB-PCER-MCA-RO0011 (< 2 mm)
PRRV-PACR-CAL-RO0066 (< 2 mm)
PRRV-PJAT-CAL-RO0007 (< 2 mm)
PRRV-PJAT-CAL-RO0007 (<0,15 mm)
PRTD-PSEA-CAL-RO0011 (< 2 mm)
PRTD-PSEA-CAL-RO0011 (<0,15 mm)
PRTD-PSEA-DKC-RO102 (< 2 mm)
PRTD-PSEA-DKC-RO102 (<0,15 mm)
PRTR-PICO-EBT-RO0013 (< 2 mm)
PRTR-PICO-EBT-RO0013 (<0,15 mm)
BX
Total
79.3
79.3
43.1
43.1
103.7
103.7
42.0
42.0
40.2
40.2
12.2
12.2
82.7
82.7
17.3
17.3
123.6
123.6
118.7
118.7
111.2
111.2
26.6
g kg-1
Mehlich-1
0.26
0.50
1.44
1.78
1.02
1.51
0.23
0.43
1.69
1.28
4.15
4.81
0.61
0.95
0.88
1.25
0.10
0.17
0.16
0.32
0.24
0.44
2.03
Citric Acid
Hot Water
------------------- % ----------------0.25
0.21
0.45
0.28
1.64
0.50
2.14
0.59
1.51
0.31
2.35
0.38
0.29
0.29
0.39
0.24
4.48
0.34
4.98
0.24
11.20
0.51
16.40
0.11
0.79
0.29
0.97
0.29
0.77
0.59
1.15
0.22
0.25
0.08
0.12
0.08
0.15
0.10
0.30
0.10
0.19
0.13
0.34
0.17
2.73
0.66
214

24
X-RAY POWDER DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS AS A TOOL IN MINERAL

EXPLORATION FOR AGROMINERAL EVALUATION
RMULO SIMES ANGLICA1, ALBANO A. DA SILVA LEITE 2, FLVIA CRISTINA SILVEIRA BRAGA3,
MARCELO AUGUSTO DE OLIVEIRA4, KELLY SILVA OLIVEIRA5, EDER DE SOUZA MARTINS6
Instituto de Geocincias, Universidade Federal do Par, 66075-110, Belm, PA, Brasil, (angelica@ufpa.br1, kesioliveira@gmail.
com5); 2, 3,4TERRATIVA MINERAIS SA, Bernardo Guimares street, 245, 16th floor, Belo Horizonte, 30140-080, BRAZIL (albano.
leite@terrativa.com.br2, flavia.braga@terrativa.com.br3), marcelo.oliveira@terrativa.com.br4); 6EMBRAPA Cerrados, BR 020 Km 8,
73310-970, Panaltina, DF, Brasil (eder.martins@embrapa.br)
1, 5
Introduction

X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis is the
main tool in the analysis of the crystal structure of
solid materials. It has been used since the beginning of the 20th century in the analysis of diferent
kinds of inorganic materials (metals, alloys, soils,
minerals, rocks, cements, etc.), besides organic
and biological molecules. Since then, an specific
scientific discipline has emerged X-ray Crystallography which plays a very important role in the
development of many scientific fields. Although the
theoretical fundamentals of X-ray crystallography
are somewhat difficult for non-academic users, the
most common application phase identification is
relatively easy to use in many laboratories in both
universities and industry.

Soils scientists have also used XRD analysis very often in order to understand soil mineralogy (e.g., iron and aluminium oxi-hydroxides and
clay minerals) and the relationship with its chemical composition and element bioavailability for soil
agricultural and environmental quality. With the increasing technology of laboratory equipments and
improved software for mineral identification, routine
use of XRD analysis in soil mineralogy and also
for mineral exploration programs has become more
common.

The main objective of this work is to show
the power of this tool X-ray Powder Diffraction
Analysis for soil mineralogy, mainly in mineral
exploration for agromineral evaluation. This is part
of a major project developed by TERRATIVA MINERAIS. Since 2011, this company screened locations close to agricultural regions in Brazil and
with favourable geology & logistics conditions for
agrominerals exploration.
Methods

The mineralogical composition of the bulk
materials (randomly oriented samples) and the
clay fractions (oriented samples) was carried out

by Powder X-ray diffractometry, using a Panalytical
XPert PRO MPD (PW3040/60) diffractometer with
a ceramic X-ray tube ( CuK1=0.1540598 nm), K
Ni filter and a Xcelerator Position-Sensitive Detector. The following analysis conditions were used: a)
Randomly oriented samples: scan range from 2 to
52 2, 40 kV and 30 mA, 0.02 step size and 60s
time/step; divergent slit of 1/8 and anti scattering
of 1/4. b) oriented samples: scan range from 3 to
35 2, 40 kV and 30 mA, 0.02 step size and 30s
time/step; divergent slit of 1/8 and anti scattering of
1/4. XRD patterns were obtained three times: the
first was air-dried, the second after treatment with
ethylene glycol and a third after heating at 550 C.

Different results will be presented related
to the several examples applied to soil science and
agromineral evaluation.
Phase Identification (PI) and Crystallinity
Evaluation

Powder diffraction data are commonly
used to identify or finger print crystalline materials.
Phase identification of a mixture of mineral phases
is based in the comparison of the peak position in
the obtained X-Ray Diffractogram with patterns from
a database. The most common is the PDF (Powder
Difraction File) from the International Centre for Diffraction Data (www.icdd.com).

Cristallinity index is a very general term to
describe order-disorder in crystal structures, which
can be related to microstrain or crystallite size domains (Jenkins & Snider, 1996). In a very simple
way, it is related to peak broadening in the diffraction pattern, followed by intensities decreasing. A
very interesting example can be given for apatite,
the main source of phosphorus for fertilizers (Fig.
1). Mineral deposits of apatite in rocks are of two
215
main types: igneous (carbonatites) or sedimentary.

The first are related to high temperature rock formation and apatite exhibt high crystallinity. On the
other hand, in sediments and sedimentary rocks,
apatite can be related to biogenic origin and low
temperature formation, giving rise to low crystallinity apatite crystals.

In exploration programs por phosphates,
soils samples colected during field work were routinelly send to chemical analysis, mainly for P2O5
determination. Nowadays, mineralogical analysis
are also been carried out in order to identify the
possible origins of the apatite source (igenous our
sedimentary) during the early stages of exploration.
A good example in Brazil is the National Programa
for Phosphates Exploration, that has been car-
overlapping with the illite peak.
ried out by CPRM, the Geological Survey of Brazil

(CPRM, 2011).

Finally, XRD can also successfully identify
other kinds of phosphate minerals, for instance,
Al-phosphates of the Crandallite group, very common in soils from lateritic terrains in northern Brazil
(Costa et al., 1980), which may also be suitable for
agronomic use after calcination (Francisco et al.,
2007).

Very interesting examples of K-feldspar
crystallinity in different rocks and overlying soils
for agromineral use are being studied by our group
in several areas in Brazil, and will be presented in
another work in this conference.
agricultural purposes. New equipments are more

efficient and relatively easy to use, associated to
new, friendly-user softwares data evaluation. Phase
identification is the main result obtained but several
other kinds of analysis and informations can be obtained from a diffraction pattern, including: crystallinity evaluation, quantitative analysis, isomorphic
substitutions (e.g., Al-goethite, Mg in the calcite
structure), among others.
Clay Minerals Analysis

Clays and clay minerals are important constituents of most sediments and soils on the Earths
surface and are of great importance for agricultural
purpouses. Because clay particles (< 2mm) can not
be investigated under macro or microscopic methods, XRD Analysis has become the primary method
for analyzing those minerals. Figure 2 shows the
XRD patterns of the clay fraction from a siltstone
of the Pedra de Fogo Formation (Parnaba Basin,
northern Brazil), which exhibits K2O > 7%, mainly
related to the interlayer space of the crystal structure from the clay minerals present in the sample
(smectite and illite). The air-dried difractogram
shows the typical shift of the d(001) peak of smectite
from 15.3 to 17.3 in the etilenoglycol state. After
heating, one observes the typical collapse to 10 ,
Quantification: The Rietveld Method

Since the beginning of XRD analysis, quantitative estimation of the mineral phases has been
a challenge due to different factors that influence
peak intensities. The Rietveld Method is a powerfull
tool for the refinement of crystal structures based
in the fitting of the entire profile of the diffraction
pattern to a calculated profile using a least-squares
approach. Many commercial and free softwares are
available for this purpose.
Conclusions

X-Ray Powder Diffraction Analysis is a
powerfull tool in the analysis of mineral phases for
Keywords: X-ray Diffraction, Agrominerals, Clay

Minerals, Soils
References
Costa, M.L.; Costa, W.A.M.; Schwab, R.G. 1980.
Mineralogia das ocorrncias de fosfatos laterticos
do Par e Maranho-Brasil. In: Cong. Bras. Geol,
1980, Cambori. Anais. v.4, p. 1982-1996.
CPRM, 2011. Projeto Fosfato Brasil. Parte 1. Informe de Recursos Minerais, Srie Insumos Minerais para a Agricultura No 13. CPRM, Programa
Geologia do Brasil. 57 p.
Francisco, E.A.B.; Prochnow, L.I.; Toledo, M.C.M.;
Ferrari, V.C.; Jesus, S.L. 2007. Thermal treatment
of aluminous phosphates of the crandallite group
and its effect on phosphorus solubility. Scientia Agricola, v. 64, p. 269-274.
Jenkins, R. & Snyder, R.L. 1996. Introduction to
X-Ray Powder Diffractometry. John Wiley & Sons,
New York, 403 p.
216
Counts
Apatite (Igneous Rock)

1600
400
0
400
Apatite (Bone)
100
10
20
30
40
Position [2Theta] (Copper (Cu))
50
60
Peak List
00-034-0011; Fluorapatite, syn; Ca5 ( P O4 )3 F
Figure 1. X-Ray Difractograms of two different apatites, related to igneous rocks (top) and a bone (base),
exhibiting different crystallinity related to distinct peak broadening.
Figure 2. X-Ray Difractograms of oriented slides (clay fraction) of a siltstone from the Paranaba Basin, Northern
Brazil: airdried, glycolated, and heated at 550 C. Sme (Smectite) and Ill (Illite).
217
25
BIOSTIMULANTS: AN APPROACH TO HARNESS THE POWER

OF THESE COMPLEX COMPOUNDS
GIOVANNI POVERO, GIANLUCA DI TOMMASO, DONATA DI TOMMASO,
ALBERTO PIAGGESI, PREM WARRIOR
Valagro SpA-Global R&D Dept., Via Cagliari 1, Atessa (CH), 66041, ITALY (g.povero@valagro.com)
Introduction

Agriculture of the future will require sustainable and environmentally friendly systems to face
the continuously growing demand for crops. One
of the most innovative and promising solutions to
address such agricultural challenges consists of the
use of plant biostimulants (PBS).

PBS formulations may be proprietary, but
generally based on seaweed extracts, natural plant
growth regulators, amino-acids and humic acids.
Extensive reviews have been focused on the large
group of PBS derived from seaweeds, in particular
Ascophyllum nodosum (Sharma et al., 2014; Craigie, 2011; Khan et al., 2009) and the beneficial effect of natural biostimulants on distinct aspects of
plant growth, production and fruit quality in different
crops has been demonstrated (Paradikovic et al.,
2011).

If on the one hand the knowledge on the
benefit of PBS on plants -especially in field and
greenhouses conditions- is constantly increasing,
on the other hand little attention is being paid to the
scientific steps required for an optimal selection
and characterization of biostimulant compounds,
based on deep chemical and biological studies
to get the best solutions for specific agronomical
needs.

In this work, we propose a robust approach
based on combination of technology, know-how and
processes consolidated over years of experience
aimed to investigate and develop effective PBS.
Methods

The proposed method for selection and
characterization of PBS compounds is summarized
in Figure 1.

To Define Agricultural Unmet Need

PBS are referred as materials which contain substance(s) and/or micro-organisms whose
function when applied to plants or the rhizosphere

is to stimulate natural processes to enhance/benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to
abiotic stress, and/or crop quality, independent of
its nutrient content (European Biostimulant Industry Council, EBIC 2012). In line with this definition,
the first step is to define a specific agricultural need
(eg. yield increase, resistance vs. a specific abiotic
stress, etc.) that can be satisfied using PBS.
Bibliography Search/Study, Scientific Networking,
And Raw Material Selection

Once the need is defined, through the access to scientific databases (eg. ISI Web of Knowledge, Pubmed) and collaboration with Universities/
Research Centers, the potential of distinct natural
compounds can be studied. Selected materials -including micro-organisms and/or their culture brothsare therefore procured and then used in the following R&D phases.
Extraction, Chemical And Biological
Characterization

As also reported in previous publications,
selected raw materials can be processed by means
of several extraction techniques: acidic, basic, with
enzymes and specific for families of active ingredients (Sharma et al., 2014), in order to get the specific components sought and produce ad hoc mixtures of distinct extracts to satisfy the need. In this
step cutting-edge analytical equipments for qualiquantitative determinations are needed, such as
IC, HPLC-DAD-FLV, GC-MS, LC-MS-MS, Q-ToF.
Whenever a side-product is obtained, a parallel project is opened to give added value to this potential waste, looking at it as a resource. Chemical
analyses are accompanied by a biological characterization, in order to study at different levels (omic
approach, see later) the physiological mechanisms
activated by specific compounds. This is useful to
enrich the internal library to link each component
to a specific function and use this information to
218
better set prototype formulations according with the

need.
Prototyping

Once the desired combination of actives is
reached, it is very important to match the regulations
of the different Countries and markets where they are
intended to be distributed. Simultaneously, a primary evaluation of the formulation for the safety profile
should be performed. The technology to realize prototypes in liquid, emulsion, microgranular and powder
form is required to fulfill the need of the market. To
assess and assure the shelf-life, stability trials in accelerated aging conditions, in warm (45C) and cold
environments (+4, -4 and -20C) on each prototype in
the final packaging are carried out.
Screening Trials

Omic approach. Recently, the use of microarrays allowed to dissect the effects of PBS
at molecular level (Santaniello et al., 2013), highlighting the ability of raw materials that are used
to formulate PBS to induce the expression of various sets of genes. In line with this, using molecular
tools it is possible to detect possible transcriptomic
changes associated with a certain PBS. In parallel, through phenomics it is possible to study the
effect of PBS on plant growth, performance, and
composition to detect morphometric/physiological
parameters (Furbank and Tester, 2011). With this
multi-spectrum high-throughput image analysis system, more than 3,000 samples can be screened
per day to map physiological responses to different
environmental conditions. The validity of such integrated molecular/phenomic analysis to characterize
the role of specific PBS was recently demonstrated
(Petrozza et al., 2014).

In vitro bioassays. These tests help in making the process of preliminary screening very quick
and efficient. Plants are sown under sterile conditions in petri dishes or flasks, and then grown on
a liquid or a solid medium in a special incubator,
where light and temperature parameters can be
modulated and monitored. Such conditions allow to
screen prototypes effect on plants, eliminating the
influence of soil and other disturbing environmental parameters (rain, wind, etc.).

Plant growth chambers and greenhouses.
Screening under plant growth chambers and greenhouses are performed to evaluate the agronomical
validity of prototypes. Plants are grown directly on
soil, pots, or liquid media (hydroponic solution), and
treated with prototypes (foliar and/or root applications). This approach allows to find the best application methods, timing and rates of prototypes, obtaining also preliminary indications about eventual
phytotoxicity problems. The use of the plant growth
chamber is ideal for studies of specific kinds of
stress, such as chilling or heat stress, giving quantitative and qualitative evidences related to the prototype.
Product Development: Phytotoxicity, REACH
Compliance, Field Testing

Phytotoxicity. These test are essential to
discover eventual negative/toxic effects of the selected prototype on plants. For this reason, several
phytotoxicity tests are carried out on different target
crops, using a large range of rates of application in
order to exclude any negative effect due to prototype application.

Field testing. Once the agronomic performances of a certain prototype are known, it is suggested to start a series of experimental tests undertaken in several geographical areas worldwide, in
order to test the efficacy of products under distinct
environments.

REACH compliance. The preliminary safety
evaluation is integrated with the REACH compliance assessment, that includes toxicology and ecotoxicology evaluations.
Process Development

Once a prototype has been positively tested, process development is carried out in order to
develop a consistent manufacturing process and
optimize yields and costs. This step is performed
using lab and pilot plant facilities (upstream and
downstream equipments), with the aim of simulating plant scale conditions.
Conclusions

In this study we propose a highly differentiated PBS development, characterization, and
production platform, to which we gave the name
GeaPowerTM. Through GeaPowerTM, we integrate
and analyze large amounts of complex data in order to assess and validate the potential uses of
candidate natural compounds and micro-organisms
in improving biological performance. Our systematic approach, from access to raw materials through
extraction methods to product development, helps
us efficiently turn prospective active ingredients into
high quality nutrient solutions. We have successfully deployed GeaPowerTM in agricultural applications and recently started to deploy its capabilities
in animal feed and human health and beauty applications. In conclusion, integrated capabilities of our
GeaPowerTM platform may confer unique properties
to PBS and specialty nutrients.
Keywords: GeaPowerTM, Plant biostimulants, Seaweeds, Special fertilizers.
References
Craigie JS. 2011. Seaweed extract stimuli in plant
science and agriculture. Journal of Applied Phycology 23:371-393.
EBIC (2012) http://www.biostimulants.eu/ website.
Accessed 21 June 2014.
Furbank RT, Tester M. 2011. Phenomics-technologies to relieve the phenotyping bottleneck. Trends
in Plant Science 16:635-644.
219
Khan AS, Ahmad B, Jaskani MJ, Ahmad R, Malik

AU. 2012. Foliar application of mixture of amino acids and seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) extract
improve growth and physicochemical properties of
grapes. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 14:383-388.
Paraikovi N, Vinkovi T, Vinkovi Vrek I, untar
I, Boji M, Medi ari M. 2011. Effect of natural
biostimulants on yield and nutritional quality: an example of sweet yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum
L.) plants. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 91:2146-2152.
Petrozza A, Santaniello A, Summerer S, Di Tommaso G, Di Tommaso D, Paparelli E, Piaggesi A,
Perata P, Cellini F. 2014. Physiological responses to
Megafol treatments in tomato plants under drought
stress: a phenomic and molecular approach. Scientia Horticulturae 174: 185-192.
Santaniello A, Giorgi FM, Di Tommaso D, Di Tommaso G, Piaggesi A, Perata P. 2013. Genomic
approaches to unveil the physiological pathways activated in Arabidopsis treated with plant-derived raw
extracts. Acta Horticulturae 1009:161-174.
Sharma HS, Fleming C, Selby C, Rao JR, Martin
T. 2014. Plant biostimulants: a review on the processing of macroalgae and use of extracts for crop
management to reduce abiotic and biotic stresses.
Journal of Applied Phycology 26:465-490.
220
C
C
Figure 1. (A) Research steps for the discovery and characterization of innovative PBS. (B) Development phase involving field trials
on farm, REACH and phytotoxicity evaluations. (C) The 4 fundamental pillars underpinning investigation on plant biostimulants.
221
26
A SIMPLE METHOD FOR NITROGEN ANALYSIS OF SOLID FERTILIZERS

CATIA B. KLEIN1, PEDRO A. V. ESCOSTEGUY2, SULEN NAVARINI3, JULIANA HNEL4;
OSVALDO A. P. ROSSO5
1
Graduate student, Graduate Program in Agronomy (PPGAgro), University of Passo Fundo (UPF). Fellow student at Capes.
BRAZIL (catiabklein@hotmail.com); 2 Professor, PPGAgro, UPF, Caixa Postal 611. CEP 99001-970 Passo Fundo (RS), BRAZIL
(escosteguy@upf.br); 3 Chemistry, Soil and Fertilizer Analysis Laboratory, UPF, BRAZIL (suellennavarini@hotmail.com)
4,5
Undergraduate students, School of Agronomy, UPF. Fellow students at Fapergs, BRAZIL (julianahanel@hotmail.com, osvaldo.
rosso@hotmail.com)
Introdution

In Brazil, one of the most used official
method to analyze nitrogen (N) on solid fertilizer
samples uses salicylic acid for this nutriente extration (Brasil, 2007). This standardized method is
time consuming (about 3 and a haf hour) and require a digestion-destilation equipament which runs
six samples by turn. Besides, this method requires
expressive amount of chemical reagents increasing
liquid wastes in the laboratory. On the other hand,
the Micro-Kjeldahl method has been used for N extration on soil and tissue samples. This method was
extensively reviewed and consist on mixing sulfuric
acid and hydrogen peroxido to digest the samples
on a heatted block. After the digestion the samples
is destilled on a micro-Kjeldahl instrument and titrated with sulfuric acid (Tedesco et al., 1995). On
comparasion to the salicylic acid method, the MicroKjeldahl method can be considered faster, simpler
and lower cost, thus contributing its application to
analytical laboratories. Micro-Kjeldahl method for N
analysis was proposed by Bremner and Mulvaney
(1982) and was not investigated for fertilizers samples so far. The aim of this work was to adapt the
Micro-Kjeldahl approach used to extract N from soil
and plant samples (Tedesco et al., 1995) to analyse
this nutrient content on solid fertilizers.
Methods

Forty seven solid fertilizers of several minerals, organics and organic-mineral samples of
known N content were collected from the UPF Soil
and Fertilizer Analysis Laboratory. The samples
were dried (12 h, 65 C), milled and powered (mortar), and sieved (0.84 mm), before analysed for total
N by using the salicylic acid method (Brazilian oficial method) as the standard method and the adapted Micro-Kjeldahl approach. For the tested method,
the digestion was taken in a pyrex-glass tube with
25 cm of height and 2.2 cm of internal diameter,
where 0.2 to 1.0 g sample aliquots were digested

in a heated block with a capacity of 40 tubes. To
which a digestion solution (2.0 mL of sulfuric acid
an 1.0 mL of hydrogen peroxido) was added. The
tubes were placed in the digestion block, which was
previously equilibrated at 160-180 C, for 30 min.
After, the temperature equilibrate at 350-375 C the
digestion was performed until the sample became
white on color for 60 min. After cooling, distilled water was added to each tube and the volume was
made up to 50 mL. Twenty mL of digested solution
aliquots was mixed with 10 mL of 10 M NaOH to
distill in a micro Kjeldahl apparatus. The acceptor
solution for the destilled was 5 mL boric acid. To
determine the N content, titration was carried out by
adding drop by drop of standardized sulfuric acid,
until a pink permanent color developed (Tedesco
et al., 1995). Blanks and samples were carried out
in triplicates and the results were compared with
the Brazilian official method, which was used as the
standard approach.

The mean, the median, the minimum and
maximum value of the N concentration in the solid
fertilizer samples are show in Table 1.

The slope and intercept of the regression
equation fitted with the Tested and the Salicylic
acid methods values indicated the high similarity
of these two methods (Fig.1). Besides, it is verified by the high correlation coefficients (r2) and
the similarity in the values obtained (Fig. 1, Table
1), showing that the two methods were similar
and efficient in evaluating the N contents of the
fertilizer samples.
Conclusions

The Micro-Kjeldahl-tested method can be
used for analysing N content in solid fertilizers without losing the reliability of results.
222
Keywords: Nitrogen fertilizers, method of nitrogen

analysis, fertilizer analysis, salicylic acid method.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the PPGAgro of University of
Passo Fundo and the UPF Soil and Fertilizer Analysis Laboratory.
References
Brasil. Manual de mtodos analticos oficiais para
fertilizantes minerais, orgnicos, organominerais
e corretivos. 2007.
Ministrio da Agricultura,
Pecuria e Abastecimento. Secretaria de Defesa

Agropecuria. Coordenao-Geral de Apoio Laboratorial; Murilo Carlos Muniz Veras (Org.). Braslia :
MAPA/ SDA/CGAL.
Bremner, J.M.; Mulvaney, C.S. 1982. Nitrogen-total. In: PAGE, A. L. (Ed.). Methods of soil analysis.
Madison: ASA.
Tedesco, M.J.; Gianello, C.; Bissani, C.A.; Bohnen,
H.; Volkweiss, S.J. 1995. Anlise de solo, plantas
e outros materiais. 2.ed. Porto Alegre: UFRGS-Departamento de Solos. (Boletim Tcnico, 5).
Table 1. Mean, median, minimum, and maximum values of nitrogen (N) in solid fertilizers samples (n = 47) analysed
by using the salicylic acid and the Micro-Kjeldahl-tested methods
Salicylic acid method
Tested method
_________________________________
Mean
Median
Minimum
Maximum
___________________________________
5.42
3.07
0.48
31.27
Brasil, 2007. 2 Adapated from Tedesco et al. (1995)
N % (m/m) Tested method
40
Tested method = 0.94 Salicylic acid +

0.43
(p < 0.001; r2 = 0.98)
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
Tested method = 0.98 Salicylic acid

(p < 0.001; r2 = 0.98)
40
N % (m/m) Tested method
6.20
3.27
0.31
31.75
N, % (m/m)
10
20
30
N % (m/m), salicylic acid method
40
10
20
30
N % (m/m), salicylic acid method
40
Figure 1. Relationship of nitrogen (N) content extracted from solid fertilizers samples by using the salicylic acid and a Micro-Kjeldahltested methods
Posters | Section 7 | Nutrients recovery from residues
223
27
EFFECT OF A ZINC MINE BY-PRODUCT IN ZINC AVAILABILITY

IN TROPICAL SOILS
GUILHERME SOARES DINALI1, GUILHERME LOPES1, ENIO TARSO DE SOUZA COSTA2,
LUIZ ROBERTO GUIMARES GUILHERME1
Federal University of Lavras, Soil Science Department, Lavras MG, 37200-000, Brazil. (gsdinali@gmail.com; guilherme.lopes@
dcs.ufla.br; guilherm@dcs.ufla.br); 2 Federal University of Uberlndia, Campus Monte Carmelo, Monte Carmelo MG, 38500-000
Brazil. (eniotsc@gmail.com)
Introduction

World population growth is a well-known
concern. Meeting future food demand for such increasing population requires a joint effort of scientists and farmers, who need to work together in
order to increase food production. Besides food
quantity, we have also to center our efforts on the
nutritional aspect of food, due to its importance for
human health and society development. Much of
the agricultural research in the last century has focused on increasing grain production and less on
enhancing nutrient and vitamin content of crops.
Low contents of essential elements such as zinc
(Zn) found in most crops have been considered a
problem in terms of human health, especially in developing countries, such as Brazil. One of the possible reasons for this is the native low soil fertility,
which is especially relevant in tropical regions. Low
micronutrient availability (e.g., Zn and boron), as
well as inadequate levels of calcium and magnesium, combined with aluminum toxicity are major
constrains affecting adequate crop production in
Brazil. Therefore, agricultural practices such as liming, application of gypsum, as well as build-up and
maintenance fertilization are important to achieve
high crop yields (Malavolta, 2006; Souza & Lobato,
2004).

Zinc is an essential element not only for
plants, but also for animals and humans. It is crucial
for important functions in plants, such as respiration, synthesis of amino acid and proteins (Malavolta, 2006).Yet, this micronutrient is ranked first in
terms of native deficiency in Brazilian soils (Lopes,
1999). It is estimated that one-fifth of the world population do not take up enough Zn in their diets (Hotz
& Brown, 2004). Because of that, studies evaluating
different amendments for providing enough Zn to
soils and plants have become of great relevance.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a carbonaceous zinc mine by-product, used
primarily as a liming material, as a source of Zn in

oxidic soils.
Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted under
greenhouse conditions using two acidic soils with
different clay contents: 74% (very clayey soil) and
26% (loamy soil). A sample of the zinc mine byproduct (ZMBP) as well as a sample of a commercial lime (used for comparison) were provided
by Votorantim Metais S/A. The characterization of
these materials is shown in Table 1.

Total Zn concentration in the soils as well
as in the two products (ZMBP and commercial lime)
was determined after acid digestion in a microwave
oven according to the 3051 A Method (USEPA,
1998) (Table 2). For that, two standard reference
materials (Montana Soil 2710a and BCR 032)
were also included to ensure a good quality control
of the analysis. Following acid digestion, Zn contents were analyzed using a flame atomic absorption spectrometry. All these procedures were performed in triplicate.

The tested products (ZMBP and commercial lime) were either surface-applied or incorporated into soil pots (15-cm depth) in order to simulate different management systems (conventional
versus no-till). The applied doses were calculated
for both soils in order to increase base saturation
((Ca+Mg+K+Na)/CEC*100) to 50%. The recommended dose (RD) for the very clayey and loamy
soils were, respectively, 4.2 and 1.6 t ha-1 for ZMBP
and 4.0 and 1.5 t ha-1 for commercial lime. Our treatments consisted on using RD, as well as half and
twice the RD. An additional treatment for simulating
surface application (as it occurs in no-till systems)
used half of the RD without incorporation. After
the incubation period (44 days), soil samples were
stratified in different layers for analysis, as follow:
0-2.5; 2-5; 5-10, and 10-15 cm. Zinc contents in all
224
treatments were analyzed using both Mehlich-1 and

DTPA solutions (Embrapa, 2009).

The Mehlich-1 and DTPA-extractable Zn
contents are shown in Figure 1A. Zinc contents extracted by Mehlich-1 and DTPA solutions increased
significantly in both soils where the ZMBP has been
incorporated. Greater Zn extractable contents were
found in the very clayey soil when compared with
the loamy soil due to both the higher dose and
greater CEC of the clayey soil (Figure 1A). When
both products (ZMBP and commercial lime) were
surface-applied (Figure 1B), there is a great effect
of ZMBP in increasing the extractable content of Zn
in the first soil layer (0-2.5 cm), which did not occur following the application of the commercial lime.
Our results indicate that the ZMBP is an effective
amendment for increasing soil Zn availability, which
is important taking into account the Zn deficiency
found in most Brazilian soils, especially in the Cerrado biome (Barbosa Filho et al., 1994).

Therefore, in addition to acting as a liming
material (data not shown), we have shown that the
ZMBP could be used also as an effective source
of Zn, which is a competitive advantage over the
application of commercial liming materials. Finally,
taking into consideration that increasing soil pH
could reduce Zn availability, we have noticed that
such effect was not seen following the application
of twice the RD for ZMBP. In contrast, a decrease in
the extractable content of Zn in the soil (using Mehlich-1 and DTPA solutions) was seen upon increasing the doses of the commercial lime (Figure 1A),
which can be attributed to the increase of soil pH.
Conclusion

While acting as a liming material, the application of the zinc mine by-product (incorporated or
surface-applied) increased the extractable content
of Zn in the studied soils.
Keywords: Zn-mine byproduct, micronutrient availability, lime
Acknowledgements
The authors thank FAPEMIG, CNPq, CAPES, and
Votorantim Metals Zinc S/A for financial support.
References
BARBOSA FILHO, M.P., FAGERIA, N.K., FONSECA, J.R. Tratamento de sementes de arroz com
micronutrientes sobre o rendimento e qualidade
de gros. Pesq Agropec Bras,v.18, n.3, p.219-222,
1983.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA AGROPECUARIA. Manual de anlises qumicas de
solos, plantas e fertilizantes. 2 edio revisada
e ampliada. Editor Silva, F.C. Braslia, Distrito
Federal: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2009.
627 p.
HOTZ, C.; BROWN, K. H. (Ed.). Assessment of
the risk of zinc deficiency in populations. Food and
Nutrition Bulletin, v. 25, n. 1, p. S130-S162, 2004.
(Supplement, n. 2).
LOPES, A.S. Micronutrientes: filosofia de aplicao
e eficincia agronmica. Associao Nacional para
Difuso de Adubos ANDA. Boletim tcnico, 8.
So Paulo SP. 1999. 72p.
MALAVOLTA, E. Manual de nutrio de plantas.
Editora Agronmica Ceres. So Paulo SP. 2006.
638p.
SOUZA, D.M.G.; LOBATO, E. Correo da acidez do solo. In: SOUZA, D.M.G.; LOBATO, E.
(Eds). Cerrado: Correo do solo e adubao.
Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica. Braslia DF.
2004. 416p.
UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - USEPA. Method 3051A: Microwave assisted acid digestion of sediments, sludges, soils, and oils. In: SW-846. Test methods for
evaluating solid waste, physical/chemical methods; Office of solid Waste. Washington, DC: U.
S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1998. p. 1-20.
Table 1. Chemical characterization of the tested products (1).
CCE
Products
ZMBP
RNV
CaO
MgO
--------------------------------------- % ---------------------------------------
(2)
Commercial Lime
97.77
97.98
95.80
29.1
19.7
104.39
96.16
100.38
28.9
21.5
Performed according to Embrapa (2009). (2) Zinc mining by-product. RNV: Relative Neutralization Value; CCE: Calcium
Carbonate Equivalent; F: Finesses
(1)
Table 2. Zinc contents in the soils as well as in the tested products.

-1
Sample
Zn (mg kg )
Products
ZMBP
(1)
4458283
Commercial lime
(1)
8.10.4
Standards
BCR 032
(2)
284.519.5
Certified value
253.06.0
Recovery (%)
Montana soil2710 a
112
(3)
43088
Certified value
4180150
Recovery (%)
103
Soils
Very clayey
(1)
5.90.5
Loamy soil
(1)
3.60.9
225
226

28
ASH BIOMASS AS A NEUTRALIZING AND FERTILIZER

IN DIFFERENT SOILS OF THE SOUTH OF CHILE
FELIPE GALLARDO1, JAVIER ESTAY2, MANUEL PAREDES2, FERNANDO RAMIREZ3, CRISTINA DIEZ4
Chemical Science and Natural Resource Department. La Frontera University, PO Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile; 2 Research and
DevelopmentCentre for Waste Management (CIDGRO). PO Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile; 3 Bioforest. Camino a Coronel Km 15,
Concepcin Chile. (fernando.ramirez@arauco.cl); 4 Chemical Engineering Department. La Frontera University, PO Box 54-D,
Temuco, Chile; (felipe.gallardo@ufrontera.cl; javier.estay@ufrontera.cl; manuel.paredes@ufrontera.cl, cristina.diez@ufrontera.cl)
1
Introduction

Approximately 15,000 tons of biomass ash-
es are produced annually in a typical pulp mill in

Chile. The application of these ashes can counteract the natural or anthropogenic acidification of forest soil and nutrient loss due to harvesting of trees
(Abyhammar et al., 1994). Biomass ashes have adequate capacity to neutralize the acidity and to provide cations to the soils and its capacity depends
mainly of the oxides, hydroxides and carbonates
of Ca, Mg and K. In volcanic soils as a result of
degradative processes, the content and quality of
organic matter has been modified (Martinez et al.,
2008) as well as the exchangeable basis, resulting in increased acidity. The last in variable charge
soils is particularly important because it generates
a change in the reactivity of regulating soil colloidssolution interface and in the microbiological activity in regulating biological soil fertility. This study
concerns the evaluation and analysis of application
of biomass ash as a neutralizing and fertilizer in 4
types of soil of southern Chile. We evaluated the
phytotoxic effects, fertilizer capacity and soil properties of 4 dose of biomass ash and one of commercial lime.

Materials

The soils used were 4 types of soil of La
Araucania region of Chile. Series Nahuelbuta (Las
Mercedes field), Freire (Maquehue field), Lastarria
(Collico field) and Santa Barbara (Hijuela K field). The
ashes were obtained from a pulp mill biomass boiler.
Pine and eucalyptus ashes in a 1:1 ratio and commercial lime were used. The calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of ash was 17.6% and for commercial lime
was 53.8%. Nutrients intake rom the different doses of
ash and lime are shown in Table 1.
Germination Test

Previous to the productivity assay a ger-
mination test was conducted in order to evaluate

phytotoxicity of the ash used. Ryegrass (Lolium
perenne) variety Nui and radish (Raphanus sativus)
variety Sparkler seeds were used for the germination test (Zucconi et al., 1981). The ash and soil
samples were air dried and sieved to 2 mm mesh.
Mixtures soil/ash (0, 10, 20 and 40 Mg ha-1) and
soil/lime (4 Mg ha-1) were incubated in a growth
chamber for 15 days at 22 2 C and 60% humidity.
Then, the plates with seeds were incubated for 7
days before being evaluated, and germination index (GI) was calculated.
Ryegrass Productivity Assay

Mixtures soil/ash and soil/lime were prepared as described before. Pots of 1 kg were used
to establish the ryegrass assay, sowing 30 ryegrass
seeds in each pot. After 10 days post-germination,
thinning was done to standardize the experimental
unit allowing 20 seedlings similar vigor (height). The
pots were kept in a greenhouse for 180 days under
controlled conditions of temperature and humidity.
Three cuts every 60 days on apex of growth of 1 cm
were performed. Plant biomass (aerial and roots)
and foliar chemical analysis (nitrogen, phosphorous
and heavy metals) were measured. Finally, at the
end of the study the chemical analysis of the soils
used in each experimental unit was performed.

Germination Test

Germination index (GI) were over 80% in
all conditions evaluated and, increasing doses of
ash did not caused negative effect on GI. Moreover,
no differences between doses of ash and lime were
observed. However, Maquehue and Las Mercedes
soils had lower levels of GI than radish seeds in
the dose of 40 Mg ha-1. This result could be due to
the greater sensitivity of these seeds compared to
seeds of ryegrass, whereby its use as biomarker of
phytotoxicity has been extensively studied. Sev-
eral authors point out as positive the application of

ashes to the soils. Jordan and Rodriguez (2005)
used ash and soil in 1:1 ratio on germination of rice
(Oryza sativa) and observed germination <95%.
Also found that the ash as compared with control
promoted plant growth and early flowering.
Productivity assay

The production of total dry matter (DM) in
grams/pot obtained from the three cuts made every
60 days increased in relation to the increment of
the dose of ash applied to Las Mercedes, Hijuela
K and Maquehue soils. Moreover, in these soils the
response of the treatment with lime was similar to
those obtained with the dose of 20 Mg ha-1. The
Collico soil presented the lowest level of DM and
its production was similar in all treatments and was
independent of the increment in the dose of applied
ash. These results were associated with the characteristics of the soils used. Maquehue soil presented
higher level of available nitrogen and phosphorous
than other three soils. On the other hand Collico
and Hijuela K soils presented lower level of calcium
than Maquehue and Las Mercedes soils.

The foliar phosphorus levels in different
soils and treatments are presented in Figure 1 (average of three cuts). In general, the concentration
of foliar phosphorous increased with the increment
in the ash dose. The highest concentration of foliar
P was obtained in Maquehue soil, increasing from
0.171 to 0.306% with the addition of 0 to 40 Mg ha-1,
respectively. On the other hand, the lowest values
of foliar P was obtained in Las Mercedes soil, increasing from 0.100 to 0.190% with the addition of
0 to 40 Mg ha-1, respectively.

Foliar nitrogen content was not related to
the dose of ash applied because the available nitrogen was provided of the soil, which is very variable.
Collico and Maquehue showed higher nitrogen con-
227
centration with lime treatment, the nitrogen concentration in ash is 0% and lime is 0.1%.
Conclusions

No negative effect in germination index
with the increasing dose of biomass ash, similarly
with the lime behavior. We demonstrated that it is
possible to apply biomass ash at doses up to 40 Mg
ha-1 to the soils studied, increasing biomass productivity according with the doses used. In these
soils the response of the treatment with lime was
similar to those obtained with the dose of 20 Mg ha1
. Foliar phosphorus concentration increased with
the increment of ash dose applied. Moreover, no
differences were obtained in foliar nitrogen content.
Keywords: Biomass ash, ryegrass productivity, foliar phosphorous, foliar nitrogen
Acknowledgements
Research financed by ARAUCO and Constitucin
SA pulp mill, Valdivia, Chile
References
byhammar, T., Fahlin, M., Nilsson, A. & Henfridsson, U. 1994. Production of wood ash. Techniques
and possibilities. NUTEK R 194: 3. 41 p.
Jordan, M., and Rodriguez, E. 2004. Effect of solid residues form the cellulose industry on plants
growth. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 167, pg. 351-365.
Martnez, E., Fuentes J.P., Acevedo, E. 2008. Carbono orgnico y propiedades del suelo J. Soil Sc.
Plant Nutr. 8 (1), 68-96.
Zucconi, F., Peram, A., Forte, M., De Bertolidi, M.
1981.
Evaluating toxicity of immature compost. Biocycle 22: 54-56.
228
Table 1. Content of nutrients in lime and ash (%) and nutrient intake (kg ha-1) applied to the soils from ash and lime.
-1
Nutrient Content (%)

Compounds
Lime
Ash
CaCO3
53.86
Ca
Nutrient Intake (kg ha )

-1
Ash (Mg ha )
Lime
10
20
40
17.6
1,766
3,532
7,064
2,154
21.57
7.07
707
1,414
2,828
862
K (K2O)
0.01
2.26
226
453
906
0,4
Mg
1.0
1.01
101
202
404
39,9
P (P2O5)
0.7
0.65
65
131
262
28
Figure 1. Foliar phosphorus concentration in the different soils and treatments
229
29
AGROINDUSTRIAL WASTES TO IMPROVE WATER HOLDING

CAPACITY IN SANDY SOIL
M. CRISTINA DIEZ1,3, FELIPE GALLARDO2,3
1
Chemical Engineering Department. La Frontera University, PO Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile ; 2 Chemical Science and Natural Resource
Department. La Frontera University, PO Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile; 3 Research and Development Centre for Waste Management
(CIDGRO). PO Box 54-D, Temuco, Chile; (cristina.diez@ufrontera.cl, felipe.gallardo@ufrontera.cl)
Introduction

Organic and inorganic soil amendments
are commonly added to soil for improving its physical and chemical characteristics which promote
plants productivity. The agriculture is a relevant
sector in Chile with an increase of approximately
70% of the areas destined for these activities in the
last 10 years. Especially, the region of the Araucana concentrates more than 60 % of the cultures
of cereals of the country, with the consistent generation of residues (> 1000000 ton/year). On the
other hand, modern farming and food production requires high quantity of fertilizers and adequate soil
conditions to obtain high productivity in soils with
high degree of erosion. In this respect organic and
inorganic wastes can be added to soil for improving
its physical and chemical characteristics especially
in poor organic matter soils, like Sandy soils. Although many inorganic and organic materials are
extensively used for this purpose, diatomite, perlite and biochar are not commonly used even more
when they come from agroindustrial processes.
This study was conducted to determine effects of
diatomite (D), perlite (P), biochar (B) and peat (Pe)
applications on water holding capacity (WHC) of a
Sandy soil, under laboratory conditions.

The soil used was a sandy soil (58.3%
sand, 32.6% silt and 9.1% clay) with low organic
matter content (3.0%). Also, we used an organic
soil (Trumao) (37.1% sand, 34.2% silt and 28.7%
clay) with high organic matter content (12%) for
comparative purposes (Diez et al 2013). Diatomite
was obtained from a local brewery, perlite was obtained from an agar production plant, biochar was
obtained from a biomass boiler and peat was obtained in local trade.

In a first study soils and materials were added
according with Table 1. In a second study, the quantity
of peat and diatomite added to the soil were 1, 2, 5,
10, and 15% and the other materials and soils in the
same quantity established in Table 1.

Water holding capacity (WHC) was determined placing a 50 g field moist sample (Table 1)
in a 50 mL funnel with 0.5 cm of fiberglass wool.
A total of 50 mL of water was leached through the
funnel a rate of 10 ml/hour and water collected in
a graduated cylinder. The samples were weighed,
oven dried and the difference in water content was
calculated as water holding capacity.

Under natural conditions all soils contain
water. However, the amount of water can be very
low in air-dried soils like Sandy soil. Soil water retention was increased by incorporation of different
wastes from agroindustrial processes into a sandy
soil. In our first study, WHC of Sandy soil was low
(30-32%) compared with Trumao soil (60-65%).
The addition of all materials increased WHC in both
soils. In sandy soil the highest WHC (48%) was in
the sample with P+D+B+Pe and the lowest WHC
(38%) was in the soil with B+Pe. On the other hand,
in Trumao soil the WHC was exceeding 78% in all
samples analyzed, and the highest WHC (85%)
was in the sample with P+D+Pe. Most of this increment resulted from water adsorbed by organic matter incorporated for these materials.

In the second study, the addition of peat
(increasing from 1 to 15%) and perlite reused (1%)
increased the WHC in all Sandy soil samples from
aprox. 45% to 65% (Figure 1), being similar to the
WHC in control Trumao soil without any material
addition (65%). Similar results were obtained when
diatomite reused (1%) was evaluated in the same
conditions (Figure 2). The increments in WHC are
associated with the organic matter content incorporated with the addition of biochar, diatomite and
perlite and, the increasing quantities of peat. No
significant differences (<0.05) were observed when
commercial diatomite and perlite were used along
230
with peat (increasing from 1 to 15%).

When diatomite reused (increasing from 1 to
15%) was used, the WHC of Sandy soil increased as
the diatomite content rose from 1 to 15%, being >70%
in the samples with P+D+Pe and P+D+B (Figure 3).
On the other hand, the lowest WHC was obtained in
the sample of Sandy soil with D+Pe, reaching 68%
with addition of 15% diatomite reused. According with
Aksakal et al. (2012), diatomite application improved
physical properties of soils. In their study, aggregate
stability increased from 28.04% to 45.70% with the
application rate of 30% and increased field capacity
in sand-textured soil in the percent of 43.78 as compared with control.
to 15%. This increment was largely associated to

organic matter content coming from the agroindustrial wastes and peat.
Keywords: Sandy soil, agroindustrial wastes, perlite, diatomite, biochar, peat
Acknowledgements
Research financed by Research and Development
Centre for Waste Management (CIDGRO), University of La Frontera. Temuco Chile
References
Ekrem L. Aksakal,Ilker Angin,Taskin Oztas.
2012. Effects of diatomite on soil physical properties. Catena, Volume 88 (1), 1-5,doi:10.1016/j.cat-
Conclusions
ena.2011.08.004.

The agroindustrial wastes (perlite, diatomite and biochar) and peat used in this study increased significantly the water holding capacity in
a Sandy soil, and no significantly differences were
observed using commercial and reused diatomite
and perlite in WHC in a Sandy soil.

Water holding capacity of a Sandy soil increased as peat and diatomite content rose from 1
M. Cristina Diez, Marcela Levio, Gabriela Briceo,

Olga Rubilar, Gonzalo Tortella, Felipe Gallardo.
2013. Biochar as partial replacement of peat in a
biomixture formulated with 3 types of soils to degrade pesticides. Journal of Biobased Materials
and Bioenergy Volume 7 (6), 741-747.
Table 1. Soil (g) and materials (g) used to determine the water holding capacity (WHC)
Symbol
Materials (g)
Soil
Perlite
Diatomite
Biochar
Peat
PDBPe
50
0,5
0,5
0,5
0,5
PDB
50
0,5
0,5
0,5
PDPe
50
0,5
0,5
0,5
PBPe
50
0,5
0,5
0,5
PD
50
0,5
0,5
BPe
50
0,5
0,5
PB
50
0,5
0,5
DPe
50
0,5
0,5
Control
50
70
60
Pe 1%
50
Pe 2%
40
Pe 5%
30
Pe 10%
20
Pe 15%
Figure1. Water holding capacity of

Sandy soil with peat (1 to 15%) and
perlite reused (1%)
10
0
PDBPe
PDPe
PBPe
70
60
Pe 1%
50
Pe 2%
40
Pe 5%
30
Pe 10%
20
Pe 15%
10
Figure 2. Water holding capacity

of Sandy soil with peat (1-15%) and
diatomite reused (1%)
0
PDBPe
PDPe
DPe
80
70
60
50
D 1%
40
D 2%
D 5%
30
D 10%
20
D 15%
10
0
PDBPe
PDB
PDPe
PD
DPe
Figure 3. Water holding capacity of Sandy soil with diatomite reused (1 to 15%)
231
232

30
AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF GRANULAR ORGANOMINERAL P

FERTILIZERS PRODUCED FROM POULTRY LITTER
VINICIUS DE MELO BENITES1, JEANDER OLIVEIRA CAETANO2, JUNE FARIA SCHERRER
DE MENEZES3, GETLIO SOUSA GUIMARES4
1
Researcher, Embrapa Solos, Rua Jardim Botnico 1024, Jardim Botnico, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 22.460-000, Brasil (vinicius.
benites@embrapa.br); 2 DCR FAPEG/CNPq grantee; PPG Agronomia; Universidade Federal de Gois,; Rodovia BR 364, Km 192,
n 3.800, Parque Industrial, Jata, GO, CEP 75801-615, Brasil (jeandercaetano@gmail.com); 3 Professor, UniRV, Fazenda Fontes
do Saber s/n, Campus Universitrio, UniRV, Rio Verde, GO, CEP 75901-970, Brasil (june@unirv.edu.br); 4 Embrapa Solos grantee,
UniRV graduate.
Introduction

Every year, around 10 million tons of poultry litter is produced in Brazil. This material is usually destined to crop and pasture fertilizing. However,
most times the poultry litter is used without criteria,
resulting in low efficiency of nutrient usage. One of
the alternatives for the rational use of this residue is
its transformation in granular organomineral fertilizer. This process involves the physical processing of
the litter, its enhancement with mineral sources and
subsequent granulation and drying. The final product has characteristics that allow its usage in the
same equipment used for the crop planting which
use conventional mineral fertilizers. Considering
the environmental role of the production of organomineral fertilizers from poultry litter, it is necessary to evaluate its relative efficiency compared to
corresponding mineral fertilizers. This paper has as
aim to evaluate in the field the agronomic efficiency
of phosphate organomineral fertilizers produced
from poultry litter in relation to mineral phosphated fertilizers in a long-term experiment. The effect
of composting on the litter quality for purposes of
producing organomineral fertilizers was also evaluated.
Methods

The organic mineral fertilizers used in the
experiment were produced in the granulation lab of
Embrapa Soils, located at the Rio Verde University,
Rio Verde, GO, Brazil. Samples from chicken litter produced in comercial poultry farms in the area
were collected. The average nutrient concentration
in the litter is 2,4; 3,8; 3,0 g.kg-1 of N, P2O5 and K2O,
respectively, and the average moisture content is
25%. Two organic mineral formulations were made,
one with the litter in natura, as commercialized in
the region, and the other with composted litter. The
composted litter went through a composting process

in which sugarcane bagasse and hatchery residues
were added, the material being maintained in composting for 90 days. Both materials were dried for
48 hours at 65C and, subsequently ground below
0,5 mm. The materials were enhanced with purified
monoammonium phosphate (12% N, 60% P2O5), in
order to produce material with 20% total P2O5. The
mixture was homogeneously granulated in a disc
granulator, using neutral sodium silicate as binding
agent. The granules were dried in a heater at 65C
and classified between 1 mm and 4 mm sieves.

The experiment was performed in the experimental area of the Comigo Technological Center, in Rio Verde, Goias. The soil is a clayey Rhodic
Haploustox , cultivated previously for six years under no-till. A completely randomized block design
was used, in a 3 x 5 factorial scheme (three sources
and five doses), with four repetitions, totalizing 60
plots. Each plot was composed by ten lines with
a 0,50 m spacing and 5 m in length. The sources
studied were monoammonium phosphate (MAP),
organic mineral fertilizer made from poultry litter
+ MAP (OMF) and organic mineral fertilizer made
from composted poultry litter + MAP (COMF). The
doses used corresponded to 0, 20, 40, 60 e 80 Kg
of P2O5 ha-1. The seeding of the soybeans was performed during the summer in the years 2010/2011,
2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2013/2014, between
the months of September and October. All the plots
received 80 kg ha-1 of K2O in the form of potassium
chloride. The plots were reaped between 114 and
120 days after seeding, collecting the 4 central lines
of 3 m in length, totalizing a useful area of 6 m. All
the data was submitted to analysis of variance and
regression using the software SISVAR 5.1. From
the data regarding productivity and doses of phosphorus applied, the relative efficiency of the organic
mineral fertilizers in relation to MAP was calculated.
Posters | Section 8 | Organic based fertilizers
Results e discussions

No agronomic response was observed,
neither to the products nor to the P doses applied in the first crop (Figure 1a). This result
reflects a residual fertility that can be observed
in several agricultural soils under intensive soybean cultivation in the Brazilian Cerrado (tropical savanna). From the second crop onwards, a
response to the fertilizer doses was noted, with
growing gains from the third crop onwards, suggesting the depletion of P reserves in the soil
(Figure 1).

On average, the P fertilization resulted in
yield gains according to the quadratic model. The
maximum yields were obtained with doses de P
varying from 65 to 81 kg P 2O5 ha-1. However, no
significant differences were observed between

the organic mineral and mineral fertilizers in any
of the crops evaluated. Nevertheless, evaluating
the average productivity in the 4 crop seasons
studied, a significant agronomic efficiency gain
of organic mineral sources in relation to MAP
was observed (Figure 2). Although the MAP was
more efficient than the organic mineral sources
in the smaller dose (20 kg P 2O5 ha-1) (Figure 2),
the organomineral fertilizers presented relative
agronomic efficiency up to 70% higher than the
MAP in the doses around 60 kg P2O5 ha-1 (Figure
3). This result suggests a bigger residual effect
of P applied via organic mineral sources. It is still
2010/2011
4.500,0
Soybean Yield, kg ha-1
= 3.618,30
3.000,0
2.500,0

Considering the residual effect of successive fertilizations, it can be concluded that organic
mineral fertilizers produced from poultry litter are
more efficient than MAP as source of P for the soybean cultivation in the Cerrado conditions.

There is no difference between the composted litter and the litter in natura regarding agronomic efficiency of organic mineral fertilizers produced from these sources. Therefore, there is no
need to do the composting when using poultry litter
in the production of organic mineral fertilizers.

Although the agronomic result is consistent and statistically proved, it is not known exactly
what the mechanisms related to this effect are and,
therefore, more detailed studies are recommended
for a better understanding of this phenomenon.
Keywords: soybean, composting, organic residues
Acknowledgements
To the partnership CNPq/Fapeg for concession of
the DCR grant. To the Cooperativa Agroindustrial
dos Produtores Rurais do Sudoeste Goiano (COMIGO) for its technical support. This project is part of
Rede FertBrasil.
3.500,0
3.000,0
= 2.960,90 + 14,43** x - 0,11* x2
R = 0,93
2.500,0
2.000,0
2.000,0
1.500,0
0
20
40
60
Added P Fertilizer, kg P2O5 ha-1
80
2012/2013
4.500,0
20
40
60
80
2013/2014
4.500,0
4.000,0
3.500,0
4.000,0
Conclusions
4.000,0
3.500,0
= 3.231,40 + 31,01*** x - 0,19** x2

R = 0,99
3.000,0
2.500,0
3.500,0
3.000,0
2.500,0
2.000,0
2.000,0
1.500,0
expected that there will be a possible effect from

the addition of organic sources on the soil microorganisms, influencing the vegetal production
and the absorption of nutrients.
2011/2012
4.500,0
4.000,0
1.500,0
233
20
40
60
80
1.500,0
= 1.910,90 + 17,53*** x - 0,12** x2

R = 0,91
0
20
40
60
80
Figure 1. Soybean yield

in relation to the doses
of phosphate fertilizers
(average of the 3
sources). *** P<0,001; **
P<0,01 and * P<0,05 for
F test.
Average Soybean Yield, kg ha-1
234
COMF = -0,42 x2 + 69,11 x + 11.549,00

R = 0,87
3.600,0
3.500,0
3.400,0
3.300,0
MAP = -0,44 x2 + 54,75 x + 11.943,00

R = 0,91
3.200,0
3.100,0
COMF
3.000,0
2.800,0
OMF
OMF = -0,49 x2 + 69,81 x + 11.712,00

R = 0,96
2.900,0
20
40
Figure 2. Average soybean yield in four years

due to the application of organic mineral and
mineral phosphate fertilizers; OMF poultry litter
organic mineral fertilizer; COMF composted
organic mineral fertilizer; MAP monoammonium
phosphate
MAP
60
80
Added P fertilizer, kg P2O5 ha-1
Relative agronomic efficiency, %
180,0
160,0
COMF = - 169,08 + 11,21 x - 0,09 x2

R = 0,99
140,0
120,0
OMF = - 53,89 + 6,89 x - 0,06 x2

R = 0,98
100,0
80,0
60,0
OMF
40,0
COMF
20,0
0,0
20
40
60
Added P fertilizer, kg P2O5 ha-1
80
Figure 3. Relative agronomic efficiency of

organic mineral P fertilizers in relation to MAP,
considering the average yield in the four years
evaluated. OMF poultry litter organic mineral
fertilizer; COMF composted organic mineral
fertilizer
235
31
MACRONUTRIENTS ON CROP RESIDUES AND COMPOUNDS IN THE

ARBORETUM AT BOTANICAL GARDEN OF RIO DE JANEIRO
LUSIMAR LAMARTE GONZAGA GALINDO DA SILVA1
1
Zootecnista, DSc. Agronomy - Soil Science, Department of Environment and Technology -Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botnico
do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Jardim Botnico, 1008, Bairro: Jardim Botnico, Cep 22.460-000, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brasil.
email:lusimar@jbrj.gov.br
Introduction

The green urban areas have high amount
of plant biomass engender by tree management,
and sweep debris from herbaceous plants requiring
large areas for packaging, and is focused to pests
and plant diseases.

The National Solid Waste Policy sets out
principles, objectives, guidelines, goals, and instruments such as the National Solid Waste Plan, with
contemplation for each kind of waste management
alternatives and management should be improved.

When it comes to urban green areas engender plant biomass is a problem that must be
solved by recycling with composting process (Da
Silva & Campos, 2012). The vegetable and animal waste can be an excellent sources of material
transformeted into humified organic fertilizer, but
not considered before going through the composting process (Kiehl, 2004).

The study aimed to assess viability of
chemical composition in plants compound by macronutrient content, pH, and carbono/nitrogen in
differents plants residues of arboretum at Jardim
Botnico do Rio de Janeiro.
Methods

The experiment was conducted on composting area at Jardim Botnico of Rio de Janeiro
on area (800 m2). The Arboretum engender approximately 5,000 m3 yr-1 residues on 57 ha planted
with plants of historical and botanical importance.
Around 60% of waste, leaves and twigs are recycled by composting aimed a production of organic
fertilizer, substrate for production of native plants,
soil conditioner and organic fertilizer on seedling
establishment in revegetation of riparian stretch.

The experimental period was from December 2012 to May 2013, with provision of biomass
into piles of 4 m3. The material of leaves, shrubs and
trim of grass were collected in the arboretum. The
branches with leaves were processed in branches
crusher model Menxon Charger 35.0 with particles

forming 3-5 cm.

Aquatic plants (Vitoria Regia - Victoria amazonica) were collected during the cleaning of lakes
and ground with the aid of blade until the particles
were uniform. Three lots of each material were constructed included: 1-leaves of trees and shrubs; 2
- trim grass; 3 - broken twigs and leaves; and 4 aquatic plants. The biomass of each material was
maintained between 50 and 60% during all process
(150 days). Total macronutrient content, pH and C
/ N ratio in the waste constituents in the begin (7
days) and compound (150 days) were evaluated.
The experimental design was completely randomized with 4 treatments and 3 replications. Each
lot was considered an experimental unit distributed
randomly in the yard.

All samples were collected at the beginning
and end of the process. The collections were made
at a depth of 40 cm from the medial surface of each
lot. Samples of plant and vegeteble compound were
sent to laboratory and dried at 65oC for 96 hours
and prepared in Willey mill through a sieve of 2 mm.
Nitrogen contents were determined by the Kjeldahl
method, using distiller FOSS Kjeltec 8100 and automatic titrator. For the determination of (P, K, Ca and
Mg) was taken to digestion. Were determined for
pH and the C / N ratio For data analysis used to the
statistical package version 5.0 Sisvar the Universidade Federal de Lavras (Ferreira, 2003).

On Table 1, observed that the variables for
each material kind of vegetable at the beginning of
composting process with nitrogen and P2O5 (phosphorus) in the tissues of higher plants and aquatic
grass leaf when compared with those observed in
tree leaves and broken branches.

Calcium and magnesium, there were no
significant differences between residues. However,
the values found for carbon were higher in leaves of
236
aquatic plants and grass. The C / N ratio was higher

in the crushed waste branches, followed by green
grass and trees with lower values for water supplies. Values for pH, tissue of aquatic plants showed
high alkalinity, significantly higher than in other tissues in waste. The total nutrient content of the final
compound, at 150 days of biomass processing for
nitrogen values remained higher in aquatic plants
and blade of grass when compared to those found
in biomass compost from other waste. There were
no significant differences in biomass as the values
for P2O5, K2O, calcium, magnesium, carbon and
pH. However, the C / N ratio was higher in broken
branches and leaves of trees, can be attribute this
relationship to high levels of lignin that constitute
these plant tissues. The variable pH is important
for evaluation of composting process where the raw
original organic acids formed during the process.
The C / N ratio is important because affect the compound quality that is critical to indicate when the
compost is ready, nutrient content and features that
can be used by plants in the soil after incorporation.
There were no significant differences in the values
of P2O5 and C / N ratio. Leal, 2006 found the information that is possible to obtain compounds with
high contents of N, using pure or mixed with Napier
grass, without the addition of additives crude. (Leal,
2006; Silva & Alves, 2013) observed that composting can cause N losses, especially in the process
begin. At the end of composting no organic matter stabilization and reduction of C / N ratio close
to 12/1 (Joraiphy et al., 2005). Corroborating the
results for plant tissues, Silva & Alves 2013 found
C / N ratio ranging from 36/1 at the beginning of
the process to 14/1 at the end, increasing the pH
to alkalinity. These values indicate quality of plant
compound for use as organic fertilizer and soil conditioner.

Studies conducted by Benites et al., 2004
results indicated that the production of organic fertilizer from grass clippings is also a prospect for the
development of urban agriculture, once considered
the high availability of these wastes in large cities.
Silva et al, 2013 showed that the deposition of plant
debris that passes through the composting process
can be used as a favorable factor for improvement
of soil chemical properties.
Conclusions

Plant waste aquatics plants, grass, tree
leaves and twigs crushed have great potential for
recycling of nutrients and organic matter.

The management of plant biomass of urban green areas through composting Windrow allows the recycling of up to 60% of the waste generated in the arboretum at Jardim Botnico do Rio de
Janeiro.

The practice of composting contributes
positively to sustainability of urban green areas and
follows the principles of the Clean Development
Mechanism fairly discussed in the debate on climate change forums.
Keywords: Plant biomass, composting, sustainability.
Acknowledgements
To Department of Environment and Technology at
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botnico do Rio de
Janeiro.
References
BENITES, V.M.; BEZERRA, F.B.; MOUTA, R.O.;
ASSIS, I.R. de; SANTOS, R.C.; CONCEIO, M.
da; ANDRADE, A.G. Produo de adubos orgnicos a partir da compostagem dos resduos da manuteno da rea gramada do Aeroporto Internacional do Rio de Janeiro. 2004. Embrapa solos, Boletim de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento.21p.
FERREIRA, D.F. Sisvar, verso 5.0. 2003 DEX/
UFLA 2003. Disponvel em. http://www.dex.ufla.br/
Danielff/Sisvar.
JOURAIPHY, A.; AMIR, S.; EUGHAROUS, M.;
REVEL, J.C.; HAFID, M. Chemical and spectroscopic analisys of organic matter transformation
during composting of sewage sludge and green
plant wast. In:
International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation. V 56, p 101-108. 2005.

KIEHL, E.J. Manual de compostagem: maturao
e qualidade do composto. Piracicaba SP. 4.
Edio do autor, 2004. 173p.
LEAL, M.A. de A. Produo e eficincia agronmica
de compostos obtidos com a palhada de gramneas
e leguminosas para o cultivo de hortalias orgni-
237
cas. 2006. Tese de doutorado. Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. 133p.
SILVA, L.L.G.G.; CAMPOS, T.R.M. de. Efeito da
Deposio de Resduos Vegetais nos Teores de
Fsforo, Clcio, Magnsio e Potssio em Mata
Ciliar da rea Verde do Jardim Botnico do Rio de
Janeiro. In: Fertbio A responsabilidade socioambiental da pesquisa agrcola, 17 a 21 de setembro,
Macei AL. 2012, CD-ROM.
SILVA, L.L.G.G. da; ALVES, G.C. Avaliao da concentrao de macro e micronutrientes da biomassa
vegetal e efluente no processo de compostagem
Windrow no Jardim Botnico do Rio de Janeiro.
In: XXXIV Congresso Brasileiro de Cincia do Solo.
Florianpolis-SC. 2013. CDROM.
Table 1. Chemical characteristics and macronutrient content in the tissues of waste and plant compound begin and
late (150 days) of the composting process Windrow. Means followed by the same letter in the column do not differ,
Tukey at 5% probability
Tratamentos
P2O5
K2O
Ca
Mg
-1
------------------------ g kg ---------------------------
C
%
pH
C/N
begin
Aquatic plants
Broken branches
Blade of grass
Leaf trees
15 a
7b
13 a
8b
4,8 a
2,1 b
3,4 a
1,4 b
12 b
28 a
21 a
12 b
20 a
18 a
20 a
17 a
0,3 a
0,5 a
0,3 a
0,4 a
244 b
332 a
372 a
260 b
8,0 a
6,6 b
6,1 b
6,3 b
19 c
60 a
30 b
35 b
1,4 a
1,0 a
1,1 a
1,0 a
25
175 a
180 a
175 a
143 a
19
7,1 a
7,4 a
7,3 a
7,3 a
6
18 b
30 a
18 b
27 a
18
The end
Aquatic plants
Broken branches
Blade of grass
Leaf trees
CV %
10 a
6b
10 a
7b
16
1,6 a
1,4 a
1,9 a
2,7 a
34
3,1 a
2,4 a
4,6 a
2,5 a
23
7a
7a
6a
6a
29
238

32
EFFECT FOLIAR SPRAYING OF HUMIC AND FULVIC ACID

ON PRODUCTION MAIZE (Zea mays L.)
CLEYTON DA SILVA DOMINGOS1, LEONARDO RGIS PEREIRA2, THIAGO PINHEIRO DE OLIVEIRA2
1
Graduate Program in Agronomy-PGA, UEM, Av. Colombo, 5.790, Maring, PR, 87020-900 Brazil (domingos.cleyton@gmail.com)
Departmento de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Fortgreen Comercial Agrcola, St. Curitiba, 805, Paiandu, PR, 87140-000, Brazil
(leonardo.pereira@fortgreen.com.br) (thiago.oliveira@fortgreen.com.br)
Introduction

Research on the use of humic and fulvic
acids in agriculture has been increased year after
year. According to Stevenson (1994) these substances originate from decomposition of organic
materials, and mainly found in soil in the form of
peat and leonardite. Some papers published in the
literature have shown that additions of humic and
fulvic substances (HFS) in specific concentrations
may increase mutually the roots and shoots of the
plant as improve the uptake of nutrients.

Chen and Aviad (1990) and Varanini and
Piton (1995) found that these substances when applied to seeds improve germination, the plants have
better rooting and increase the absorption of macro
and micronutrients. When applied to the soil Canellas et al (2006) argue that these acids can increase
the water retention of soil, particles cementation,
form complexes with micronutrients and increase
the CTC.

For vegetables several researchers found
significant agronomic responses, such as Feibert
et al. (2003) in onion and Hartz & Bottoms (2010)
in lettuce and tomato. Some research have been
developed in maize, however most of them conducted in the laboratory or greenhouse conditions,
with no claim to find an optimal dosage of HFS that
improves the productivity of this crop.

Sharif et al. (2002) after spraying 50-300
mg kg-1 of humic acid in soil in a pot experiment
with maize, found a significant increase of 20 and
23% in shoot and 39 and 32% in root dry weight.
Andrade et al (2004) after applying these substances in pots with corn plants, noted an increase
in phosphorus uptake and dry matter production.
Thus, the aim of this study was to find the best dosage of foliar spraying humic and fulvic substances
on maize plants under field conditions.

To carry out the work were conducted three
experimental fields in Oxisoil (Embrapa, 2006) in

the state of Paran. The location and chemical
characteristics of soils in the study are shown in
Table 1. The hybrid of maize of both places was the
Pioneer 30F53 Y. The conduction of fields occurred
from October 2013 to April 2014. Experimental units
were composed of plots of 15 square meters with
six rows of five meters long and 0.50 m spacing
between rows, in a completely randomized experimental design with four replications. The valuable
area of the plot consisted of two central rows of four
feet long, totaling four square meters. The treatments consisted of four levels of Fortgreen Black
Gold, HFS (minimum of 18% of humic and fulvic
acid), they are 0 L ha-1; 1.5 L ha-1; 3.0 L ha-1 and 4.5
L ha-1 applied with a backpack sprayer pressurized
gas CO2 fitted with the application bar with four tips
TeeJet XR 110 02, pressure of 2,76 bar in output
of 125 L ha-1, on phenological stage V4 (Magalhes et al, 2006). After harvesting the material was
threshed, the discounted impurities and moisture
corrected to 13% and evaluated the productivity of grain (P). Initially, for each year was applied
the analysis of residues according to Martin and
Storck (2008). So, when the significant, conducted
an analysis of variance with Sisvar (Ferreira, 2008)
and regression analysis at the 5% significance level
of error.

After the statistical analysis it was show
that the data showed the requirements of residue
analysis. Regarding the pooled analysis, there was
a significant interaction between sites and doses
of Fortgreen Black Gold for the analyzed variable,
before it took place splits. For both curves the deviation of the regression was not significant at each
site and they fit into a quadratic equation, both at a
significance level of 1%. The results are shown in
Figure 1.

For Place I, Place II and Place III the dos-
ages more effective Fortgreen Black Gold were

2.67, 2.07 and 2.87 L ha-1 respectively, showing an
increase of 25%, 11% and 11% in the yield. These
results only confirm what has already been found
in other cultures. Bakhashwain Daur (2013) after
applying SH corn for silage concluded that they increased the growth and nutritional quality of maize.
Verlinden et al (2009) after conducting experiments
in a greenhouse with potatoes, spinach, and corn
campim found no significant responses only for
corn, according to them due to the high fertility of
the soil used in the vessels, but by means of a metaanalyze formal of all the experiments they observed
an increase in the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium and magnesium.
Conclusion

The foliar application of HFS in maize exhibit significant increases in maize.
Keywords: Fortgreen Black Gold, yield, humic and
fulvic substances, maize.
References
CANELLAS, L.P.; OLIVARES, F.L. Physiological responses to humic substances as plant growth promoter. Chemical and Biological Technologies in
Agriculture. p.1-3, 2014.
CANELLAS, L.P.; ZANDONADI, D.B.; OLIVARES,
F.L. & FAANHA, A.R. Efeitos fisiolgicos de substncias hmicas - o estmulo s H+-ATPases. In:
FERNANDES, M.S., org. Nutrio mineral de plantas. Viosa, MG, Sociedade Brasileira de Cincia
do Solo. p.175-200, 2006.
CHEN, Y; AVIAD, T. Effects of humic substances
on plant growth. In: MCCARTHY P.; CLAPP, C.E.;
MALCOLM, R.L. & BLOOM, P.R., (Eds.) Humic
substances in soil and crop sciences: selected
readings. Madison: SSSA, p 161-186. 1990.
DAUR, I.; BAKHASHWAIN, A.A. Effect of humic
acid on growth and quality of maize fodder production. Pak. J. Bot., 45(S1): 21-25, 2013.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRADEPESQUISA AGROPECURIA - EMBRAPA. Sitema brasileiro de
classificao de Solos. 2 Edio. EMBRAPA.
306 p. 2006.
239
EYHERAGUIBEL, B.; SILVESTRE, J.; MORARD,

P. Physiological effects of humic like substances on
maize. In: HUMIC SUBSTANCES AND SOIL AND
WATER ENVIRONMENT, 2004, So Pedro. Proceedings. So Pedro: Embrapa Instrumentao,
p.200-202, 2004.
FEIBERT, E.B.G.; SHOCK, C.C.; SAUNDERS, L.D.
Nonconventional additives leave onion yield unchanged. HortScience 38:381386. 2003.
FERREIRA, D.F. SISVAR: um programa para
anlises e ensino de estatstica. Revista Symposium, Lavras MG, v.6, p.36-42, 2008.
HARTZ, T.K.; T.G. BOTTOMS. Humic substances
generally ineffective in improving vegetable crop
nutrient uptake or productivity. HortScience, 45(6):
906-910. 2010.
MAGALHES, P. C.; DURES, F. O. M. Fisiologia da Produo de Milho. Sete Lagoas: Embrapa
Milho e Sorgo, (Embrapa Milho e Sorgo. Circular
Tcnica, 76). 10 p. 2006.
MARTIN, T. N.; STORCK, L. Anlise das pressuposies do modelo matemtico em experimentos
agrcolas no delineamento blocos ao acaso. In:
MARTIN, T. N.; ZIECH, M. F. (Org.). SEMINRIO:
SISTEMAS DE PRODUO AGROPECURIA, 2,
2008, Curitiba. Anais...Curitiba: UTFPR, p. 177196. 2008.
SHARIF, M.; KHATTAK, R.A.; SARIR, M.S. Effect
of different levels of lignitic coal derived humic acid
on growth of maize plants. Communication in Soil
Science and Plant Analysis 33:3567-3580. 2002.
STEVENSON, F.J. Humus ChemistryGenesis,
Composition, Reactions. 2nd ed., Wiley, New
York. 1994.
VARANINI, Z. AND R. PINTON. Humic substances
and plant nutrition. Prog. Bot. 56:97117. 1995.
VERLINDEN, G.; PYCKE, B.; MERTENS, J.; DEBERSAQUES, F.; VERHEYEN, K.; BAERT, G.;
BRIES, J.; HAESAERT G. Application of Humic
Substances Results in Consistent Increases in
Crop Yield and Nutrient Uptake. Journal of Plant
Nutrition, 32: 14071426, 2009.
240
Table 1. Localization and characteristics of the experimental soil
Location
Geographic
coordinates
pH
Carbon
g dm
-3
mg dm
-3
Mg
Ca
Al
+3
-3
------------------ cmolc dm ------------------
Place I
Faxinal
S 2356'28.59"
WO 5118'20.19"
4.71
20.80
0.18
0.14
0.62
4.26
0.12
Place II
Boa Esperana
S 2418'41.09"
WO 5243'32.64"
5.40
22.59
0.03
0.41
1.94
7.85
0.00
Place III
Mambor
S 2417'53.56"
WO 5241'13.92"
5.48
32.88
0.04
0.44
2.16
6.07
0.00
Organic carbon measured with a modified Walkley and Black method; 2 CaCl2 0.01 mol L-1
Figure. 1.
Maize
yield
in
three
locations considering the applied dose
of Fortgreen Black Gold. Place I: Boa
Esperana, Place II: Faxinal, Place III:
Mambor. ns = not significant, * and **
significant at 5 and 1% respectively.
241
33
PHOSPHORUS IN SOIL AND SOYBEAN LEAVES WITH USE CHEMICAL

FERTILIZER COATED IN ORGANIC SUBSTANCES
RAFAEL FELIPPE RATKE1, LEANDRO DOS SANTOS SOARES1, ALCINEI RIBEIRO CAMPOS1,
KEILANE MENES DA SILVA2 AND MATIAS COCCO SLAVIERO2
Posgraduate in Soils and Plant Nutration, Universidade Federal do Piau, Rod. BR-135, Km 03, Planalto Horizonte, 64.900-000,
Bom Jesus-PI (rfratke@ufpi.edu.br; agroleandro33@hotmail.com; jjalcinei@live.com); 2 Agronomic Engineer, Universidade Federal
do Piau, Rod. BR-135, Km 03, Planalto Horizonte, 64.900-000, Bom Jesus-PI (keilane1992@hotmail.com; matias_slaviero@
hotmail.com)
1
Introduction

According to Lopes & Guilherme (2000)
the most significant forms of fertilizer loss is

leaching, volatilization and adsorption. Re
search has sought alternatives to increase the
efficiency of NPK fertilization and coating fertilizer with organic substances constitutes an
important strategy to increase its efficiency.
The present tropical soils, mainly, in most cases,
such as very poor or poor in phosphorus (P) available to plants. Studies have confirmed that 65.1%
of soils are highly deficient in P (Roche et al., 1980).
Furthermore, tropical soils have high fixation P. The
fixing of P is given by the bond formed with the
clay and or precipitation of the same with the iron
(Fe) and aluminum (Al). The coating of phosphate
fertilizers with organic substances resulting organic
waste breeding can be a strategy to reduce the effects of fixation in soil.

The CAMAP is a biofertilizer developed by
Embrapa Solos in Brazil, this fertilizer is a mineral, in this case the MAP (mono ammonium phosphate) coated with of triturated poultry manure. In
this sense, also have the fertilizer FH Humics developed by Fertilizantes Heringer, this is a NPK fertilizer with micronutrients incorporated and coated
with organic substances such as humic acids, fulvic
acids derived from the Leonardite. According SANLI et al. (2013), the Leonardite can own 54.5% of
organic matter and 50.5% of humic and fulvic acids.
These fertilizers can be a strategy to reduce P fixation in soil and improve its availability to plants.

The state of Piau presents itself as a newly
explored area of Cerrado in Brazil. In this state, the
southern region has a predominance of Cerrado
and Caatinga, and comprises 5.9% of the Brazilian
Cerrado. Oxisols is the class of soils predominate
in the southwest of Piau, that good physical characteristics for agricultural, but they need to fix their
acidity and fertility, especially phosphorus, which

have very low levels (Pragana et al., 2012). Thus,
the objective of this study was to evaluate the level
of phosphorus in soil and soybean leaves using biofertilizer and chemical fertilizers in no-till (NT).
Methods

The experiment was conducted on a farm
in the Serra do Quilombo, southern Piau, in the
Cerrado area. The soil in the area is identified as
OXISOL Dystrophic (Pragrana, et. Al. 2012). The
experiment was a factorial 4x5 +1 using a randomized block design with four replications. The
biofertilizer employed were: CAMAP with 26.6%
P2O5, FH Humics 25% P2O5 and humic substances
compared with chemical fertilizer MAP with 52%
P2O5 and NPK:with 25% P2O5, and five increasing
doses of fertilizers. The doses used were 0, 20, 40,
80 and 100 kg ha-1 of P2O5. The area of the experiment was already being cultivated for two years
and received 4 t ha-1 of dolomitic lime and corrective
phosphorus fertilization with 100 kg ha-1 MAP. The
soybean crop was planted in SPD on December
14, 2013. Soybeans were fertilized with fertilizers
in the planting stage. Prior to the experiment the
soil sampling area was accomplished by removing
20 single samples and compound 1 per block. The
soil sample was chemically analyzed. According
to the analysis made by fertility Soil Laboratory of
the Universidade Federal do Piau (UFPI), in Bom
Jesus-PI, the soil showed: pH (in water): 5.42; P:
19.88 mg dm-3; K+: 55.74 mg dm-3; Ca+: 1.59 cmolc
dm-3; Mg+ 0.5 cmolc dm-3; Al3+: 0.0 cmolc dm-3; H
+ Al: 2.35 cmolc dm-3; Total cation exchange: 4.58
cmolc dm-3; Base saturation: 48.66%; Organic Matter: 15.2 g kg-1;. Sand: 720 g kg-1; Silt: 110 g kg-1;
Clay: 270 g kg-1.
Assessment of P availability of soils in field experiments was made after the soybean harvest at
242
depths of 0.20 m above the ground. Soil samples

were collected and composed of 8 single samples in row spacing and soybean in each plot. The
samples were sent to the laboratory for analysis.
In laboratory soil analysis UFPI, will be chemically
analyzed using the available P soils. The method of
avaliable P were Mehlich 1 and colorimetric reading
on UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The P content in
soybean leaves was evaluated from the leaves collected in the flowering period of the same. In soil
testing lab UFPI, were chemically analyzed the levels of P in soybean leaves. Statistical data were analyzed using the R software (free software without
public domain). The results obtained were fitted by
regression with doses of fertilizers. The F test was
used to assess the significance of the regression
parameters.

The CAMP, MAP and FHHumics fertilizers
influenced the content of P in the soil after application (Fig. 1). Thus, FHHumics fertilizer was released
more soil P. Doses above 40 kg ha-1 of P2O5 using the fertilizer CAMAP, MAP and NPK decreased
the levels of P in the soil. The increased availability
of P in soil are observed with increasing doses of
phosphate (Bedin et al., 2003) mineral fertilizers.
But when it is used as sources of the lower solubility
organic-mineral fertilizers P is slowly released in the
soil, minimizing the fixing process in soil. Thus, it
appears that FHHumics promoted the slow release
of P and its greater availability in the soil. However, it should be noted that CAMAP, MAP and NPK,
quickly released the P that was fixed in the soil colloids and was not available to plants.

Oxisols are highly weathered soils, these
soils predominate the inorganic P forms linked to
the mineral fraction with high energy and physically
and chemically stabilized organic forms. Thus, the
P disponibilizido FH Humics was physically and
chemically stable in organic form in the soil. Have
the inorganic phosphorus provided by MAP and
NPK were fixed mineral fraction of the soil. In this
feeling, the Carnap should also dispobinizar phosphorus in organic form in the soil as FH Humics, but
it did not.

The increased availability of P in the soil
due to use FH Humics not reflected in its accumula-
tion in soybean leaves. Thus, with increasing doses

of fertilizers there was a reduction in the content of
leaf P (Fig. 2). The contents of P in soybean are on
average above 3.0 g.Kg-1. However, Resende et al.
(2005) observed average values around 2.0 g.Kg-1
P on soybean leaves by applying foliar fertilizer P. In
this sense, it is observed that high disponilidade soil
phosphorus, may have negatively influenced P uptake in leaves, because due to excess P the plant
reached its maximum accumulation of P.
Conclusions

The FH Humics offers more P in soil compared to CAMAP, MAP and NPK. The levels of foliar
P in soybean decreased with the application of increasing doses of phosphatic fertilizers.
Keywords: Fertilization, Oxisol, No-till, Humic and
Fulvic Acids.
Acknowledgementes
Appreciate the availability of fertilizers and technical support the company Fertilizantes Heringer and
FertBrasil Network researcher in the person of Vinicius de Melo Benites.
References
BEDIN, I.; FURTINI NETO, A. E.; RESENDE, V.;
FAQUIN, V. TOKURA, A. M.; SANTOS, J.Z.L. Fertilizantes fosfatados e produo da soja em solos
com diferentes capacidades tampo de fosfato. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, v.27, p.639646, 2003.
LOPES, A.S. & GUILHERME, L.R.G. Uso eficiente
de fertilizantes e corretivos agrcolas: aspectos
agronmicos. 3 ed. So Paulo: ANDA, 2000. 28
p.
PRAGANA, R. B.; RIBEIRO, M. R.; NBREGA, J.
C. A.; RIBEIRO FILHO, M. R.; COSTA, J. A. Qualidade fsica de Latossolos Amarelos sob plantio
direto na regio do Cerrado piauiense. Revista
Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, v.36, p.1591-1600,
2012.
ROCHE, P. O fsforo nos solos tropicais: apreciao dos nveis de carncia e das necessidades de fsforo. Paris: INPI, 1980. 267 p.
REZENDE, P. M.; GRIS, C. F.; CARVALHO, J. G.;

GOMES, L.L.; BOTTINO, L. B. Adubao foliar. I.
pocas de aplicao de fsforo na cultura da soja.
Cincia e Agrotecnologia, v. 29, n. 6, p.11051111, 2005.
243
SANLI, A.; KARADOGAN, T.; TONGUC, M. Effects

of Leonardite applications on yield and some quality parameter of Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.)
. Turkish Journal of Field Crops. v. 18, n. 1, p.
20-26, 2013.
Figure 1.
Polynomial
regressions
for
P
concentrations in soil with different doses of mineral
and organic mineral fertilizers; * significant p <0.01;
significant ** p <0.05, NS = not significant.
Figure 2. Linear and polynomial regressions of P

levels of soybean leaves with different doses of
mineral fertilizers and organic-mineral fertilizer;
*significant p <0.01; significant **p <0.05, NS = not
significant.
244

34
MITIGATION OF SALT STRESS OF TOMATO USING

PRE-TREATMENT WITH HUMIC ACIDS
DANIEL BASLIO ZANDONADI1, MIRELLA PUPO SANTOS2;
LEONARDO OLIVEIRA MEDICI3
Laboratrio de Biologia Celular, Rodovia BR-060, Km 09 (Braslia/Anpolis), Fazenda Tamandu Caixa Postal: 218, Braslia,
70359-970, BRAZIL (daniel.zandonadi@embrapa.br); 2 Laboratrio de Transformao Gentica, Parque Estao Biolgica PqEB - Av. W5 Norte Caixa Postal 02372, Braslia, 70770-917, BRAZIL (mirellapupo@yahoo.com.br); 3 Departamento de Cincias
Fisiolgicas, BR 465 km 7, Seropdica, 23890-000, BRAZIL (lmedici@gmail.com)
1
Introduction

Increasing environmental constraints, such
as salinity are threatening the productivity of crops

worldwide. Near to 77 million hectares land is affected by this problem (FAO, 2007). The intensive
use of soluble fertilizers is considered one of the
causes of salinization. Either natural soil organic
matter or humic substances has been reported as
important to ameliorate both drought and salinity of soils due their indirect and direct effects (Bot
and Benites, 2005; Mora et al. 2014). The effects
of salt stress may alter photosynthesis and cause
oxidative stress. Humic Acids (HAs) isolated from
vermicompost appear to restore water capacity of
ABA-deficient tomato sitiens, thus it is not surprising
that HAs could affect plant physiology during abiotic stress. In this work we evaluated vermicompost
HAs as potential alleviator of salt stress in tomato
plants. Pre-treatment with this synthetic organic
material helped plants to cope with salt stress by a
mechanism related to photosynthesis maintenance,
membranes stability and the activity of nutrient uptake and salt stress related enzymes. It is postulated that HAs decreases the harmful effects of salt
stress. To the best of our knowledge this is the first
work showing that plasma membrane H+-ATPase
is related to Na exclusion in NaCl stressed plants
pre-treated with HAs and that humic substances
can directly affect photosynthesis processes during
stress.
Methods

Growth and salinization of plant material
was performed as described by Binzel (1995) with
some modifications. Briefly, after 30 days under
half strength Hoaglands solution (HSHS), tomato
(Solanum Lycopersicum cv Rheinlands Ruhm,
RR) plants were pre-treated with half strength Hoaglands solution only (con) or HSHS plus HAs for 4
days (HAs). Subsequently, plants were transferred

to HSHS plus 200mM NaCl for additional 3 days
(con>NaCl or HAs>NaCl). Plants were analyzed
afterwards. Each treatment consisted of 10 plants.
Experiments were repeated three times.

Humic substances have been used to im-
prove fertilizers efficiency, since it could enhance

mineral nutrients uptake and reduce nutrient fixation in soil (Erro et al., 2008; Jannin et al., 2012).
Humic substances isolated from different sources
are able to increase proton pumps activity, apparently due its auxin-like effect and nitric oxide production (Zandonadi et al., 2010), but little is known
about the role of these organic substances during
plant stress. Tomato plants (cv. Rheinlands Ruhm),
exposed to increasing salt concentration until 300
mM NaCl presented a decline of its initial indole
3-acetic acid (IAA) levels in the roots by nearly 75%
(Dunlap and Binzel, 1996). The presence of IAA in
the HAs structure was detected (Canellas et al.,
2002) and here we show that the pre-treatment of
tomato plants with humic acids (HAs) resulted in
an alleviation of saline deleterious effects (Figs. 1
and 2). The mean photosynthetic rate, transpiration
rate, the stomatal conductance and chlorophyll a
content of tomato plants were reduced by exogenous application of 200mM NaCl (Fig. 1). Membrane integrity and oxidative stress as measured
by means of malondialdehyde (MDA) content were
affected by NaCl and recovery due HAs pre-treatment was also observed (Fig. 1). Mitigation of salt
stress by humic substances appears to be related
to both direct and indirect features of photosynthesis. To date the only work showing effects of HAs on
plant photosynthesis during salt stress concluded
that there is no improvement in salt tolerance due
HAs treatments (Liu and Cooper, 2002). It is hard to
compare the results from this study with the present

work, since here we did a pre-treatement instead
an addition of HAs during salt stress. In addition,
plant metabolisms are very different in each case.

The plant membrane transporters are crucial in increasing both nutrient content and resistance salinity stress. Binzel (1995) reported a stimulation of both plasma membrane and tonoplast ATPase proton pumps transcripts in tomato roots during 150-400 mM NaCl stress. In agreement, here
HAs were able to enhance proton pumps activity
prior to salt exposition, an important step for detoxifying Na+ ions from cytosol (Fig. 1). Auxin levels declines when plants are challenged with NaCl (Dunlap and Binzel, 1995). The Has sample used here
has IAA in its structure, thus IAA could be associated to either a direct effect on plant proton pumps
as endogenous hormonal balance favoring the salt
tolerance observed. It is worthy to note that HAs are
able to induce nitric oxide production (Zandonadi et
al., 2010), a very important signal during salt stress.
In line with this results leaf nitrate reductase activity, also related to enzymatic nitric oxide production
(Yamasaki and Sakihama, 2000) and assimilatory
nitrogen metabolism, was affected by both NaCl
and HAs (Fig 1).
Conclusions

Tomato plants previously treated with HAs
and then challenged with NaCI exhibited increased
sodium tolerance, by a mechanism related to auxinlike effects on proton pumps, holding nitrate reductase activity and photosynthesis in the same level as
unstressed plants. We cannot exclude the possible
interaction of HAs with mineral nutrients during NaCl
stress. It remains to be elucidated whether mitigating mechanisms are due auxin-like molecules of HAs
structure or modification of endogenous plant hormone balance by HAs. Despite the promising results
presented here, the role of HAs as an addictive for fertilizers need more research mainly regarding its positive effects in field conditions.
Keywords: organic matter, photosynthesis, biostimulant, proton pumps.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of
245
the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq).
References
Mora, V., M. Olaetxea, E. Bacaicoa, R. Baigorri, M.
Fuentes, A. M. Zamarreo, and J. M. Garcia-Mina.
Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants: Exploring the
Role of Nitric Oxide and Humic Substances. In Nitric Oxide in Plants: Metabolism and Role in Stress
Physiology, pp. 243-264.
Springer International Publishing, 2014.
Baigorri, R., Urrutia, O., Erro, J., Mandado, M., Prez-Juste, I., & Garcia-Mina, J. M. (2013). Structural
Characterization of AnionCalciumHumate Complexes in Phosphate-based Fertilizers. ChemSusChem, 6(7), 1245-1251.
Binzel, M. L. (1995). NaCl-induced accumulation of
tonoplast and plasma membrane H+-ATPase message in tomato. Physiologia Plantarum, 94(4), 722728.
Bot A, Benites J (2005) The importance of soil organic matter. Key to drought-resistant soil and sustained food production. FAO, Rome.
Dunlap, J. R., & Binzel, M. L. (1996). NaCI reduces
indole-3-acetic acid levels in the roots of tomato
plants independent of stress-induced abscisic acid.
Plant physiology, 112(1), 379-384.
FAO, 2007. Extent and Causes of Salt-affected
Soils in Participating Countries. AGL: Global Network on Integrated Soil Management for Sustainable use of Salt-affected Soils. <http://www.fao.org/
ag/agl/agll/spush/topic2.htm>
Jannin, L., Arkoun, M., Ourry, A., Lan, P., Goux,
D., Garnica, M., ... & Etienne, P. (2012). Microarray
analysis of humic acid effects on Brassica napus
growth: Involvement of N, C and S metabolisms.
Plant and soil, 359(1-2), 297-319.
Liu, C., & Cooper, R. J. (2002). Humic acid application does not improve salt tolerance of hydroponically grown creeping bentgrass. Journal of the
American Society for Horticultural Science, 127(2),
219-223.
Yamasaki, H., & Sakihama, Y. (2000). Simultaneous production of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite by
246
plant nitrate reductase: in vitro evidence for the

NR-dependent formation of active nitrogen species.
Febs Letters, 468(1), 89-92.
Zandonadi, D. B., Santos, M. P., Dobbss, L. B., Olivares, F. L., Canellas, L. P., Binzel, M. L., ...
& Faanha, A. R. (2010). Nitric oxide mediates humic
acids-induced root development and plasma membrane H+-ATPase activation. Planta, 231(5), 10251036.
Figure 1. Root plasma

membrane H+-ATPase
and tonoplast H+-PPase
activities, leaf nitrate
reductase activity, root
malondialdehyde (MDA)
content and root membrane
integrity
Figure 2. Stomatic
condutance, photosynthetic
rate, transpiration rate and
chlorophyll a content of
tomato plants
247
35
COMPOST FERTILIZER BY MUNICIPALITY WASTES OF ISFAHAN

AS BIONEMATICIDE AND BIOFERTILIZER
M. NASR ESFAHANI1, N. HELALAT2 AND M. OLIYA2
1
Department of Plant Protection Research, Isfahan Center for Research of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Isfahan,
Iran (mne2011@gmail.com); 2 Department of Plant Protection, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
Introduction

Sugar beet cyst nematode (SBCN),
Hederodera schachtii Schmidt. 1871, marked as
one of the most damaging disease of sugar beet
in the field under cultivation worldwide. This is
also an important disease of sugar beet in Isfahan
Province, and also plenty of an irreversible damage to the value of this product. Thus, the nematode infested fields for cultivation in the province
and the country is threatened. This nematode has

Selection of infested fields: To perform
this study, an experimental field with a long cultivation period of sugar beets and heavily SBCN infestation was selected in the area, around the Sugar
Factory in Jaey and Qhohab, Isfahan.

To determine the initial population (PI):
The initial population of SBCN in the infested soil
was determined, before the treatment of selected
field, in which was divided into 57 plots, an area of
a wide host range, over 218 plant species from

95 genera, belonging to 23 families, including
crop species, ornamentals and weeds as hosts,
which have been identified and introduced so far.
These nematode control include the use of methods such as, crop rotation, use of catch crops,
early planting and use of pesticides, nematicide.
In general, the best reported way to control these
nematodes is the 3 to 7-year rotation with nonhost plants (Steel, 1986). In addition, studies on
farm manure had a positive effect in controlling
cyst nematodes, Heterodera spp. potato golden
cyst nematode. In this regard, reports on the use
of organic fertilizers on the control of root knot
nematodes and other nematodes is also provided
on nematodes, Globodera rostochiensis and has
been proved (Singh and Sitaramaiah, 1973).

In this regard, reports on the use of compost fertilizers, not on cyst nematodes, but on control of root knot and other nematodes has already
been provided to some extend. But, there is no
factual reports on the use of compost fertilizers for
SBCN control so far. Therefore, with respect to this
matter and reports, and also pollution problems, for
the control and growth studies of the nematode on
the SBCN infected fields around the Isfahan sugar
factory, where the infested soils are depot in Isfahan, Iran was performed using Compost Fertilizer
by municipality of Isfahan wastes (two types, 0.8
and 0.15 mm.) at various rates as a bionematicide
and growth promoting factors.
6 square meters per replicate. Then, 200 g. of soil

were selected out of several samples collected from
every plots which was air dried and in the file system using Fenwick (Fenwick, 1945) the cysts were
extracted. Eggs and the second larvae in the soil
and end up in a 200 g. of soil were calculated accordingly (Donny et al, 1969; De Bok, 1994).
Treatments: All the organic matters, including Compost Fertilizer by municipality of Isfahan wastes, vermicompost, waste cabbage leaves
and farm manure (cow manure), all at the rate of
20, 40 and 60 tons per hectare, poultry manure
at 10, 20 and 40 t/ha. were employed. Than, they
were added into the soil in each of the three replicates, where a complete randomized block design
was implemented.

To determine the final population (PF): It
was performed according to the method described
in PI, in which, the cysts of Heterodera schachtii
Schmidt., in the soil after passing of two months
from the treatments by extraction and counting of
filled cyst (cysts contain of Eggs and larvae). Eggs
and second larvae in each replicate were determined and the mean of each treatment were carried out on cysts extracted from soil samples and
counting the eggs and larvae. The final population
of eggs and larvae per one gram of soil was calculated for each plot. Data of the final population of
eggs and second instar larvae of SBCN per gram of
soil in each tretment was based on statistical analysis. Reproductive factors and the percent decrease
248
or increase in SBCN populations in each treatment

was calculated relative to the initial population of
the same treatment. And, comparison of means
was done by Duncan test.
Statistical analysis: A completely randomized
block design was implicated. Therefore, the normality test using SAS software, data distribution was
assessed. Homogeneity of variance within treatment was determined using the Bartlett test. To become normality test using SAS software was tested
again, and finally, the analysis of variance using
SAS software and comparison method, Duncan
was one percent of probability (SAS Institute.2004).

The results showed that, Compost Fertilizer
by municipality of Isfahan wastes of 0.15 and 0.8 mm

at the rate of 60 t/ha. had a good control with 87.51
and 85.92% of SBCN respectively, the most effect
on the final depopulation comparison to the others
used compost in terms of rate and sizes, indicating
that they are having nematicidal effects (Tables 1
& 2). There was also increased growth response,
IGR, almost two folds more than that of the controls
and or checks. Than, fallowed by vermicompost at
the rate of 60 t/ha. with 82.30% reductions in eggs
and second juveniles of SBCN in terms of populations. Though, the poultry manure at a rate of 40 t/
ha. with 92.4% of SBCN control had the greatest impact on the level of nematode control (p=0.01), but
there is question of cost benefit in terms of production. The poultry manure and compost treatments
at 20 t/ha. and 0.15 at 60 t/ha. were not statistically
significant from each other. Vermicompost as much
as 20 t/ha. with 62.9%, and cabbage leaves treated
at 60 t/ha. with 60.79% and farm yard manure at
20 t/ha. with the lowest percent of the population
showed 37.8% of control. A noticeable results were
found on the effects of various treatments, including
compost, vermicompost and other organic matter
used over here (Tables 1 & 2)(p=0.01). Thus, there
is a significant reduction in population of the SBCN
compared to the initial population in each treatment,
as was compared with each other and also with the
controls (p=0.01). The other treatments including
farm yard manure with various amount and other
respective treatments had lower effects accordingly. Based on the other sources, organic fertiliz-
ers include manure, in the control of tomato plant

root knot nematodes become even more effective
in increasing growth and the production too (Poswal
and Faull, 1989; Rodriguez-Kabana, 1986). Also,
in Australia, the use of poultry manure in quantities of 24, 36 and 48 t/ha. and in combination with
urea fertilizer at the rate of 1800 kg/ha., significant
decrease the root knot nematodes species, M. incognita, and also had higher growth and yield and
greater control (Stiriling, 1989). The US reports had
also shown that, increasing the amount of chicken
manure to soil nematodes, there are further reductions of root knot nematodes, M. arenaria on tomatoes in the greenhouse (Kaplan and Noe, 1993). In
Nigeria, the addition of chicken manure to the soil
reduced the root-knot nematode, M. incognita on
tomato crop and also higher IGR and or growth of
these plants. It was also shown that, this reduction
is caused by toxins produced from poultry manure
into the soil (Chindo and Khan, 1990). Findings in
North Korea on manure and compost and urea fertilizers in combination in the chili farm has shown
that, root-knot nematodes were all partially effective
on nematodes population (HyunGwan et al., 1995).
In a study designed to assess the SBCN disinfecting contaminated soils at the sugar factory using
the method of solorization, manure and combining
of both at the four depth done, shows the effect of
a combination of solorization and manure treated
very well, especially in the zero to 15 cm depth and
decreased 85.99 percent of the SBCN infested soils
were returned (Nasr-Esfahani et al, 2010)
Conclusion

These results indicating that, the Compost
Fertilizer by municipality wastes of Isfahan act as a
biofertilizer and bionematicide, and also there are
increased growth response at the rate of 60 t/ha.
by two folds in comparison to checks, and almost
equivalent to usual used chicken manures.
Keywords: Compost municipality wastes, cyst nematodes, organic matters, Isfahan, Iran
References
LIANG, W., LOU, Y., LI, Q., ZHONG, S., ZHANG,
X. &WANG, J. 2009. Nematode faunal response to
long-term application of nitrogen fertilizer and or-
ganic manure in northeast China. Soil Biology and

Biochemistry 41, 883-890.
NASR-ESFAHANI, M. AHMADI, A. and KARIMI
POUR FARD, E. 2010. Studies on soil disinfection
effect of contaminated sugar factories depot soil to
beet the solarization method and animal fertilizer.
Sugar beet journal (2): 126-117
NASR- ESFAHANI M, AHMADI AR. 1997. Studies

on the effect of soil solarization , manure and their
integration on root . Knot and total nematode populations in cucumber fields . appl. Ent. Phytopath .;
65(1):79-85 (In Persian with English summary).
RENCO, M., SASANELLI, N. & SALAMUN, P.
2009. The effect of two compost soil amendments,
based on municipal green and penicillin production
wastes, on plant-parasitic nematodes. Helminthologia 46, 190-197
Table 1. Compound variance of organic matters on control of sugar beet cyst nematodes.
Source
DF
Replicate
Place
Treatment
Place*Treatment
Error
CV
**Significant at 1% level of probability, and
Sum of Square
4
1
.0
.0
30
ns
52.03
709.19
45.45105
75.103
..4177
1.73
Mean Square
ns
13.01
709.79**
2786.38**
17.02**
1.6
no significant
Table2. Compound variance of organic matters on reproduction factor of sugar beet cyst nematodes
Source
Replicate
Place
Treatment
Place*Treatment
Error
CV
**Significant at 1% level of probability, and
ns
no significant
249
DF
Sum of Square
Mean Square
4
1
61
61
60
0.013
0.23
66.11
2.60
2.20
5.33
0.003
0.23**
0.98**
0.0069**
0.0007
ns
250

36
UPTAKE OF CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM IN GRASSES SUBMITTED

TO ORGANIC FERTILIZATION

ALINE CRISTINA RICHART1, JOO CARDOSO DE SOUZA JUNIOR2, NATALIA GUARINO

SOUZA BARBOSA3, DANIEL DA SILVA TAVARES4, MADSON MACIEL DA COSTA4, MRIO
LOPES DA SILVA JUNIOR5
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830
(richartaline@hotmail.com); 2 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501,
Belm, CEP 66077-830 (joaocsj@gmail.com); 3 Institute of Animal Production and Health, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av.
Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (natalia.barbosa@ufra.edu.br); 4 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural
University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (daniel18tp@hotmail.com; madsonmdn@hotmail.com);
5
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (mario.
silva@ufra.edu.br)
1
Introduction

In the eastern Amazon, pasture forage
grasses (FG) are deployed in soils with low calcium
(Ca) and magnesium (Mg). These minerals being
corrected by liming. Addition of lime, organic wastes
from Poultry Litter (PL) and the Arad Phosphate
(AP) promote positive effect on the uptake of these
nutrients (BATISTA et al., 2009; PITTA et al., 2012).

The PL is an input potential fertilizer for
pastures (RANATUNGA et al., 2013) and proximity to poultry producing centers enable its use as a
fertilizer. The rational use of these residues in the
soil contributes to increased chemical fertility. Pitta
et al. (2012) found that in 60 days of incubation of
Oxisol with PL, 39% of Ca assets had been made
available.

The arad phosphate, addition P, Ca and Mg
also offer plants (BATISTA et al., 2009). The availability of these nutrients is a function of soil acidity
(ALCARDI et al., 2007) and the presence of acids
derived from the decomposition of organic matter,
as they also promote solubilization of phosphate
rock (KIFUKO et al., 2007). Despite that, the incipient studies on the interaction of arad phosphate
with poultry litter.

Our hypothesis is that the studied fertilizers
promote interaction effect on the uptake and use efficiency of nutrients. Therefore, it aimed evaluated
under controlled conditions the uptake of Ca and
Mg in forage grasses fertilized with arad phosphate
and poultry litter in Oxisol.

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal Rural University of Amazon
(Belm-Pa) in January-April 2013. Was used a
completely randomized design with three replications in a factorial 23 with two doses of arad (0 and
100 kg P2O5 ha-1), two doses of poultry litter (0 and
15 t ha-1) and two forage grasses (FG): Brachiaria
brizanta hp. Marandu and Panicum maximum cv.
Mombaa.

The experimental units consisted of plastic
pots containing 4 kg of sandy Oxisol, collected in
the 0-0.2 m layer in the northeast Par. The soil
was air-dried and sieved on a 2 mm mesh. After
that, if analyzed chemically-soil, being: pH (H2O) =
5.1; M.O = 18.5 g kg-1; CEC = 10.3 cmolc dm-3; Ca
and Mg = 0.58 and 0.44 cmolc dm-3, respectively; V
= 22.3%.

The poultry litter was fermented for 30 days
before being applied to the soil. Chemical analysis
of PL showed: pH (CaCl2) = 7.9; Ca and Mg = 3 and
0.5%, respectively. The fertilizers were incubated
for 60 days. At the end, the cultivation was started
adopting three plants per pot. We conducted a cut
to early tillering 10 days after emergence. At 28 and
56 days after, held two cuts of evaluation to the content of Ca and Mg.

The Ca and Mg were extracted with acid
nitro-perchloric solution, quantifying the nutrients by
spectrophotometry. Accumulations were estimated
by multiplying the content with the biomass (data
not shown). The uptake of efficiency (UE) was calculated based on Siddiqi & Glass (1981).

We evaluated the content, accumulation
and efficiency of uptake of Ca and Mg. Statistical
analysis was performed based on the average of
the two cuts, using the Statystical Analysis System software. We carried out the ANOVA procedure, applying the Tukey test at 5% depending on
the significance of the F test.
251
Conclusions

Ca variables were influenced by the interaction AP x PL (Table 1). The developments show that
although the Ca content was lower in the treatment
AP + PL (p<0.01), the accumulation and the EU
of Ca increased (p<0.05). The greatest response
was observed in AP + PL treatment and confirms
the hypothesis of the study, it shows that there is
an increase in Ca uptake by forage in response to
interaction of fertilizers. Lana et al. (2010) studying
the effect of doses of PL on forage Brachiaria decumbens grown under Oxisol, also found a reduction in the content of Ca.

When compared to the PL treatment, the
treatment AP + PL showed the accumulation of Ca
and UE increased by 69.5 and 26.9%, respectively.

The interaction of fertilizer increased the
uptake of calcium and magnesium by forages and
this artifice can be a sustainable alternative of maximum production in organic systems.
When compared to the control, the difference was

122.6 and 372%. Probably the Ca contained in fertilizers (PITTA et al., 2012) forage were available by
mineralization.

For the Mg content, there was significance
in interactions FG x PL (p<0.01) and FG x AP
(p<0.05). The developments show that fertilization
with PL decreased by 41.9% Mg content in plants of
B. brizanta (Figure 1A), unlike the AP because that
fertilization increased by 29.3% variable (Figure
1B). Lana et al. (2010) found that fertilization with
poultry litter in Brachiaria decumbens under Oxisol
reduced levels of Mg.

The AP x PL interaction was significant for
the accumulation of magnesium (p<0.05) and the
analyzes show that the greatest response was observed in AP + PL treatment, representing a difference compared to the control treatment and PL of
137.9 and 61.8%, respectively (Table 2). Kifuko et
al. (2007) also found a significant interaction between natural phosphate and organic residues in
acid soils of western Kenya, showing that the release of organic acids at residue increased the solubility of rock phosphate.

For the Mg UE, it was found that the interaction FG x AP x PL was significant (p<0.05), checking greater response the variable in the treatment P.
maximum fertilized with AP + PL (Table 3). The analyzes also show that P. maximum was more efficient
in uptake Mg in AP treatment, however B. brizanta
was more efficient in the PL treatment (Table 3).
Keywords: Exchangeable bases, Amazon, forage

crops, mineral nutrition of plants
Acknowledgements
The Xingu farm (Castanhal-Pa) for financial research funding.
References
ALCARDE, J. C. Fertilizantes. In: NOVAIS, R. F.
et al. Fertilidade do Solo. Sociedade Brasileira de
Cincia do Solo, p.737-768, 2007.
BATISTA, M. A. et al. Mineral composition and dry
mass production of the corn plants in response
to phosphorus sources and aluminum concentration. Brazilian Archives of Biology Technology, v.52,
p.541-548, 2009.
KIFUKO, M. N. et al. Effect of combining organic
residues with minjingu phosphate rock on sorption
and availability of phosphorus and maize production in acid soils of Westen Kenya. Experimental
Agriculture, Bangor, v.43, p.51-66, 2007.
LANA, R. M. Q. et al. Alteraes na produtividade
e composio nutricional de uma pastagem aps
segundo ano de aplicao dediferentes doses de
cama de frango. Bioscience Journal, v.26, p.249256, 2010.
PITTA, C. S. R. et al. Year-round poultry litter decomposition and N, P, K and Ca release. Revista
Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, v.36, p.1043-1053,
2012.
RANATUNGA,T. D. et al. Phosphorus distribution
in soil aggregate size fractions in a poultry litter applied soil and potential environmental impacts.Geoderma,v.192, p.446-452, 2013.
SIDDIQI, M. Y. et al. Modified approach to the estimation and comparison of nutrient utilization efficiency in plants. Journal of Plant Nutrition, v.4,
p.289-302, 1981.
252
Table 1. Interaction arad phosphate x poultry litter for the content, accumulation and efficiency of calcium
uptake in forages grown under Oxisol1
Control
(No fertilizer)
Arad
Phosphate
_________________________________
4.26 a
7.95 c
2.58 b
2.88 b
-1 _________________________________
Acumulation (mg pot )
10.80 b
_______________________________
0.46 c
-1 _________________________________
Concentration (g kg )
4.56 a
_________________________________
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
Poultry Litter
10.44 b
2
Uptake eficiency (g mg)
0.51 c
17.70 a
________________________________
1.71 b
2.17 a
Different letters show significant variation in the line by the Tukey test at 5%
Table 2. Interaction arad phosphate x poultry litter to the accumulation of magnesium in forages grown on Oxisol1
Control
(No fertilizer)
Arad
Phosphate
_______________________________
4.82 c
1
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
Poultry Litter
-1 _______________________________
Acumulation (mg pot )
7.78 b
7.09 b
11.47 a
Different letters show significant variation in the line by the Tukey test at 5%
Table 3. Interaction forage x arad phosphate x poultry litter for the efficiency of magnesium uptake in Oxisol1
Forage grass
Control
(No fertilizer)
_______________________
Arad
Phosphate
Poultry Litter
2
Magnesium Uptake Eficiency (g mg)
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
_____________________
B. brizanta
0.718 aB
0.561 bB
2.513 aA
2.760 bA
P. maximum
0.775 aC
1.044 aC
1.909 bB
3.493 aA
Different lowercase letters in the column and different uppercase in the line show variation by Tukey test at 5%
1A
1B
Figure 1. Magnesium concentration in the leaves of Brachiaria brizanta and Panicum maximum in response to interaction forage x
poultry litter (1A) and forage x arad phosphate (1B). Different letters in each interaction show significant variation by Tukey test at 5%
253
37
BIOMASS AND UPTAKE OF NITROGEN AND SULPHUR UNDER

ORGANIC FERTILIZATION
JOO CARDOSO DE SOUZA JUNIOR1, NATALIA GUARINO SOUZA BARBOSA2, ALINE CRISTINA
RICHART3, MRIO LOPES DA SILVA JUNIOR4, ITALO MARLONE GOMES SAMPAIO5, FLVIO
WIRLAN ANDRADE DA SILVA5
1
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830
(joaocsj@gmail.com); 2 Institute of Animal Health and Production, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501,
Belm, CEP 66077-830 (natalia.barbosa@ufra.edu.br); 3 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon.
Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (richartaline@hotmail.com); 4 Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural
University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (mario.silva@ufra.edu.br); 5 Institute of Agricultural
Sciences, Federal Rural University of Amazon. Av. Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm, CEP 66077-830 (italo_sand@hotmail.com;
flavio_andradesilva@hotmail.com)
Introduction

In eastern Amazon, the pastures are deployed mostly in Oxisols, especially the sandy texture, which have low levels of organic matter and
nutrients available. The sandy texture favors the
leaching of soluble fertilizers, especially nitrogen
(N) and sulphur (S), limiting biomass production
of forage (BONFIM-SILVA & MONTEIRO, 2006).
These nutrients are involved in the metabolism of
proteins and interfere directly in the growth and forage quality (MALAVOLTA, 2006).

Among organic fertilizers used in the Amazon, we highlight the poultry treated litter waste
(PL). This input, in addition to providing nutrients to
plants, increases the organic matter content of the
soil allowing the formation of aggregates (ORRICO
JUNIOR et al., 2013). The availability of N and S in
this input keeps pace with plant growth, reducing
leaching losses.

The increase in biomass of forage due to
fertilization with poultry litter is reported (ORRICO
JUNIOR et al., 2013). However, the effects on out-

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal Rural University of Amazon
(Belm-PA) in January-April 2013. Design was
completely randomized with three replications in
a factorial 23 with two doses of arad (0 and 100
kg P2O5 ha-1), two doses of poultry manure (0 and
15 t ha-1) and two forage grasses (FG): Brachiaria
brizanta hp. Marandu and Panicum maximum hp.
Mombaa.

The experimental units were plastic pots
with 4 kg of sandy Oxisol collected in the 0-0.2 m
layer in the northeast Par. The soil was air-dried
and sieved on a 2 mm mesh. Soil testing showed
pH (H2O) = 5.1; M.O = 18.5 g kg-1; CEC = 10.3
cmolc dm-3; V% and m% = 22 and 44, respectively.

The PL was fermented for 30 days before
being applied to the soil. After this process, the
chemical analysis was done, as follows: pH (CaCl2)
= 7.9; M.O = 55%; N and S = 2 and 0.3%, respectively. The fertilizers were incubated for 60 days to
the soil. At the end of this period, the cultivation was
put and uptake of nutrients as a result of fertilization combined with other natural fertilizers, such
as reactive phosphate arad (AP) is rarely reported.
Kifuko et al. (2007) indicate that soils fertilized with
organic waste and natural phosphates are responsive interaction nutrient availability. This effect is
related to release of acid by decomposing organic
matter, which favors greater solubilization of phosphate rock, improving digestion and the chemical
changes in the soil.

Given this context, the objective was to
evaluate the production of biomass and uptake of
nitrogen and sulphur on forage grasses fertilized
with arad phosphate and poultry litter in the Oxisol.
started adopting three plants per pot. We conducted a cut to early tillering 10 days after emergence.
At 28 and 56 days after this cut, held two cuts of
evaluation to determine the content of N and S.

The N and S leaf were extracted by sulfuric
acid digestion and nitro-perchloric, respectively. N
was quantified by titration and S by turbidimetric.
Accumulations were estimated by multiplying the
content of the air dry weight (ADW). Uptake Efficiency (UE) was calculated based on Siddiqi &
Glass (1981).

The variables analyzed were: ADW, contents, accumulation and UE of nitrogen and sulphur.
Statistical analysis was performed based on the average of the two cuts, using the Statystical Analy-
254
sis System software. We carried out the ANOVA

procedure, applying the Tukey test at 5% depending on the significance of the F test.

The FG x AP x PL interaction was significant for the ADW (p<0.01) and the analysis shows
greater response to treatment P. maximum fertilized
with AP + PL (Table 1). The ADW observed in this
treatment compared to the control treatment and
PL was higher in 261.6% and 98.5%, respectively.
These results are expected and confirm the hypothesis of the study, they show that there is increased
production in response to interaction of the studied
fertilizer (ORRICO JUNIOR et al., 2013).

Possibly, the release of organic acids derived from PL promoted more soluble AP, favoring
the uptake of nutrients and increased biomass (KIFUKO et al., 2007). Orrico Junior et al. (2013) agree
with the present study, as noted increased production of biomass in response to application of poultry
litter in B. brizanta. Costa et al. (2008) disagree with
this study, they show response in the application of
arad phosphate in Brachiaria brizanta under Oxisol.

The AP x PL interaction was significant for the
content and accumulation of N and S (p<0.01). The
analyzes show that treatments with fertilization and
the combination of these treatments had lower levels
of N and S than the control (Table 2). Fertilization with
PL probably supplied carbon to soil and stimulated the
increase of the microbial community, the competition
effect that caused the N and S with the plant, triggering reduction in the levels (MALIK et al. 2013).

The accumulation of N and S was also influenced by the interaction AP x PL (p<0.01). The
breakdown shows that there was an increase in the
accumulation of nutrients with greater treatment response in AP + PL (Table 2). The increase of this
variable in response to AP + PL fertilization compared to controls, representing 96.3% for N and
118.3% for S. These results show that, although the
immobilization of N e S by microrganisms, the forage can increased the accumulation of elements in
response to combined fertilization, providing N and
S sufficient to meet the plant and the microbial community (MALIK et al., 2013).

The FG x PL x AP interaction was significant for the UE of N (p<0.05) and S (p <0.01). The
analyzes show greater response was observed in

the treatment P. maximum fertilized with AP + PL
(Table 3). The higher EU of nitrogen and sulfur in
the treatment AP + PL, in relation to treatment PL,
was 78 and 91%, respectively. These results show
that the interaction of fertilizer response favored the
uptake of N and S of forage, mainly in P. maximum.
Conclusions

The production by forage grasses increased in response to interaction of fertilizers,
mainly in P. maximum, because this species was
more efficient in uptake nitrogen and sulphur.
Keywords: Poultry litter, arad phosphate, Amazon,
forage crops
Acknowledgements
The Xingu farm (Castanhal-Pa) for financial research funding.
References
BONFIM-SILVA, E. A.; MONTEIRO, F. A. Nitrognio
e enxofre em caractersticas produtivas do capim
braquiria proveniente de rea de pastagem em
degradao. Revista brasileira de zootecnia, v.35,
p.1289-1297, 2006.
MALAVOLTA, E. Manual de nutrio mineral de
plantas. Agronmica Ceres, 2006. 638p.
ORRICO JUNIOR, M. A. P. et al. Caractersticas
produtivas, morfognicas e estruturais do capim Piat submetido adubao orgnica. Cincia rural,
v.43, p.1238-1244, 2013.
KIFUKO, M. N. et al. Effect of combining organic
residues with minjingu phosphate rock on sorption
and availability of phosphorus and maize production in acid soils of Western Kenya. Experimental
Agriculture, Bangor, v.43, p.51-66, 2007.
SIDDIQI, M. Y.; GLASS, A. D. M. Utilization ndex: a
modified approach to the estimations and comparison of nutrient utilization efficiency in plants. Journal of Plant Nutrition, v.4, p.289-302, 1981.
COSTA, S. E. V. G. de A.; NETO, A. E. F.; RESENDE, A. V. de; SILVA, T. O. da; SILVA, T. R. da.
Crescimento e nutrio de braquiria em funo de
fontes de fsforo. Cincia e agrotecnologia, v.32,
p.1419-1427, 2008.
255
MALIK, M. A. et al. Microbial biomass, nutriente

availability and nutriente uptake by wheat in two
soils with organic amendments. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, v.4, p.955-966, 2013.
Table 1. Interaction forage x arad phosphate x poultry litter for biomass of forage grasses grown in Oxisol1
Forage grasses
Control
(No fertilizer)
Arad
Phosphate
_____________________________________________
Poultry Litter
g pot
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
-1 _____________________________________________
B. brizanta
1.94 aC
2.09 bC
4.39 aB
5.50 bA
P. maximum
1.80 aD
2.54 aC
3.28 bB
6.51 aA
Table 2. Interaction arad phosphate x poultry litter for the content and accumulation of nitrogen and sulfur in forage
grasses grown on Oxisol1
Variables
Control
(No fertilizer)
Arad
Phosphate
____________________________________
Nitrogren
Sulphur
16.1 a
0.82 a
30.1 c
1.53 c
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
-1 ____________________________________
Content (g kg )
10.7 b
0.69 b
_______________________________
Nitrogen
Sulphur
Poultry Litter
9.85 b
0.55 b
9.88 b
0.57 b
-1 _______________________________
Accumulation (mg pot )
24.9 d
1.60 c
40.6 b
2.24 b
59.1 a
3.34 a
Different lowercase letters in the row for each variable indicate significant variation by Tukey test at 5%.
Table 3. Interaction forage x arad phosphate x poultry litter for the uptake efficiency of nitrogen and sulphur in forage
grasses grown on Oxisol1
Forage grass
Control
(No fertilizer)
Arad
Phosphate
_______________________________
B. brizanta
P. maximum
0.13 aC
0.11 aD
2.49 aB
2.23 aC
Arad Phosphate
+
Poultry Litter
-1 _______________________________
Nitrogen (g mg )
0.18 bC
0.25 aC
_______________________________
B. brizanta
P. maximum
Poultry Litter
0.43 aB
0.41 aB
2
0.51 bA
0.73 aA
-1 _______________________________
Sulphur (g mg )
2.93 aB
3.80 aC
9.12 aA
6.24 bB
9.17 bA
11.9 aA
256

38
VERMICOMPOST BIOSTIMULANTS: NUTRIENTS AND AUXIN

FOR ROOT GROWTH
LISANNE SANTOS CAIXETA1, RAFAELA DE ASSIS NEVES1, CARLOS EDUARDO
PACHECO LIMA2, DANIEL BASLIO ZANDONADI1
1
Laboratrio de Biologia Celular, Rodovia BR-060, Km 09 (Braslia/Anpolis), Fazenda Tamandu Caixa Postal: 218, Braslia,
70359-970, BRAZIL (lscaixeta@gmail.com; rafa_assis_neves@hotmail.com; daniel.zandonadi@embrapa.br); 2 Laboratrio de
Fertilidade do solo, Rodovia BR-060, Km 09 (Braslia/Anpolis), Fazenda Tamandu Caixa Postal: 218, Braslia, 70359-970,
BRAZIL (daniel.zandonadi@embrapa.br)
Introduction

The use of so-called biostimulants in agriculture has been increasing in recent years. Types
of biostimulants comprise amino acids, humic substances, algae extracts, microbial -based products
and others (Paradikovi et al., 2011; Ertani et al.,
2013). The conversion of organic wastes into valuable earthworm fertilizer either in solid as in liquid
form is a interesting alternative path for organic fertilizer production (Zandonadi & Busato, 2012). In
fact, it was showed that 36,500 tonnes of waste
can be transformed per year in vermicompost by
an economic and environmental-friendly technique
(Quintern et al., 2013). Agro-industrial residues
should to be considered as source of nutrients and
plant growth regulators for use as alternative fertilizers or fertilizers additives.

The present study was undertaken to
establish if biostimulants differently extracted from
vermicompost causes root development and how
mineral nutrients and plant growth substances are
associated to different extraction methods.
Methods

The biostimulants from vermicompost were
isolated as follows: 1. vermicompost leachate (VL),
a natural leachate from worm-bed; 2. vermicompost
water extract (1:10, vermicompost:water, TEA)
and; 3. vermicompost alkaline extract (1:10
vermicompost:0,1 NaOH mol.L-1, HUM). Mineral
nutrients, humic substances, indole 3-acetic acid
and indolic compounds were analysed by means of
inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy,
IHSS-fractionation,
high-performance
liquid
chromatograph and simple spectroscopy methods,
respectively. After germination romaine lettuce
(Lactuca sativa cv Parris Island) seedlings was
exposed to 25% (v:v) VL, TEA and HUM in the
presence or not of half strength Hoaglands
solution, totalling eight treatments during 14 days.
Afterwards, seedlings were collected and lateral

root number, root area and primary root length were
analysed by ImageJTM software. In adittion, protons
extrusion was measured in vivo in roots either by
means of bromocresol purple gels as pH electrodes
as described in Zandonadi et al. (2010). Root growth
parameters data were analyzed using ANOVA or
two-way ANOVA followed by Dunett or Bonferroni
tests, respectively. Principal Components Analysis
(PCA) and factor analysis were used as multivariate
exploratory techniques in order to comprehend the
relation of 17 variables, including mineral nutrients,
auxins, humic substances and lateral root number.
The Pearson correlation coefficient was also
determined following the multivariate analysis.

The factor
analysis
has showed that factor 1 explain 67.82% of data variance and presents
higher correlation with lateral root number, N, P, K,
Ca, S, B, Cu, Fe, Zn, humic substances, fulvic acids and humic acids. Factor 2 explains 19.86% of
data variance and is more related to Mg and Mn.
The conjoined analysis of the two factors satisfactory explains 87.68% of data variance. Both PCA
and Pearson correlation coefficient of variables has
showed that lateral root number is highly related to
fulvic acids, IAA, indolic compounds and K (Fig. 1).
The projection of the case on the factor plane has
showed that TEA and HUM could be grouped under the 17 variables analyzed (Fig. 1). On the other
hand, CON and VL are isolated and non-grouped.
In accordance with the nature of vermicompost
treatments, both TEA and HUM vermicompost extracts were grouped.

The increase in the activity of H+ pumps and
in the root growth has been associated with exposure of plants to purified humic acids isolated from
vermicompost, auxin and nitric oxide (Zandonadi
et al., 2010). In agreement with these results, data
presented herein shows that vermicompost extracts

(TEA and HUM) and leachate (VL) enhance lateral
root number, root area and primary root length (Fig
2). These treatments are complex biostimulants
solutions, since are composed by nutrients and
organic matter, which has IAA (Fig 1.) and other
plant growth regulators. In fact, lateral root number was associated with fulvic acids, IAA, indolic
compounds and potassium. Accordingly, potassium
is a very important nutrient for auxin-induced acid
growth (Hager, 2003). In adittion here the net proton flux measured in vivo was higher in lettuce roots
treated with vermicompost biostimulants (data not
shown) as compared to control plants in the presence of only half strength Hoaglands solution. The
presence of IAA in VL, TEA and HUM may account
for the greater effect on both rizosphere acidification
capacity and root growth. However, we cannot
exclude that other compounds not detected here
also could be also associated with the stimulant
activity observed. Among the three biostimulants
developed, the water-soluble extracted is the most
simple to formulate. Since TEA has both nutrients
and plant growth regulators it is a promising product
since its already in use by small farmers in Brazil.

Overall the data presented demonstrate
that vermicompost-derived biostimulants might be
interesting fertilizers, due its chemical composition
and effects on plant growth. It remains to be identified other plant growth molecules likely associated
to the stimulant activity, and expands the analyzes
performed here to industrial scale vermicomposting
products.
Conclusions

Data presented demonstrate that vermicompost-derived biostimulants are very interesting organic fertilizers, since contains plenty nutrients and additionally auxins, thereby affecting both
root acidification and growth. Whether other plant
growth molecules are associated to biostimulants
effects remains to be clarified.
257
Keywords: Vermicomposting, ATPase, indolic compounds, acid-growth
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of
the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq).
References
Ertani, A., Nardi, S., Altissimo, A., & Associato, L.
S. (2013). Review: Long-Term Research Activity on
the Biostimulant Properties of Natural Origin Compounds. Acta Hort. 1009, ISHS, 181-188.
Hager, A. (2003). Role of the plasma membrane
H+-ATPase in auxin-induced elongation growth: historical and new aspects. Journal of plant research,
116(6), 483-505.
Paradikovic N; Vinkovic T; Vinkovic Vrcek I; Zuntar
I; Bojic M; Medicsaric M. Effect of natural biostimulants on yield and nutritional quality: an example of
sweet yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants.
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 91:
2146-2152. 2011.
Quintern, M., Seaton, B., Mercer, E. D., & Millichamp, P. (2013). Industrial scale vermicomposting
of pulp and paper mill solids with municipal biosolids and DAF sludge from dairy industries. APPITA
JOURNAL, 66(4), 290-295.
Zandonadi DB; Busato JG. Vermicompost humic
substances: technology for converting pollution into
plant growth regulators. IJESER 3: 73-84. 2012.
Zandonadi DB; Santos MP; Dobbss LB; Olivares
FL; Canellas LP; Binzel ML; Okorokova-Faanha
AL; Faanha AR. Nitric oxide mediates humic acidsinduced root development and plasma membrane
H+-ATPase activation. Planta 231: 1025-1036 2010.
258
Figure 1. Left ordination diagram shows the projection of the normalized factor coordinates of 17 variables obtained by Principal
components analysis (PCA). The treatment of overall data by PCA indicated a clear separation of control (CON) and vermicompost
leachate (VL) treatments (right). Both vermicompost extracts (TEA and HUM) were grouped.
Figure 2. Lateral root number, root area and primary root lenght. Seedlings were treated or not (CON) for 10 days with VL, TEA and
HUM in the absence (white) or presence (black) of half strength Hoaglands solution. The asterisk (*) indicates difference between
treatments (VL, TEA and HUM) compared to control in the absence (white) or presence (black) of nutrient solution, according to the
Dunnett test (P <0.05). The trace denotes the difference represents a minimal significant level for effects of nutrient solution (P <0.05).
259
39
AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF GRANULATED ORGANOMINERAL

FERTILIZERS BASED ON POULTRY LITTER AND PHOSPHATES
JOAQUIM JOS FRAZO1, VINCIUS DE M. BENITES2, VIRGNIA DAMIN3,
PAULO CSAR TEIXEIRA2, GUILHERME M. MACEDO3, LETCIA F. LINHARES3
Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura - Laboratrio de Nutrio Mineral de Plantas, Av. Centenrio, n 303, Piracicaba, Cep
13400-970, BRASIL (frazao@cena.usp.br); 2 Embrapa Solos, Rua Jardim Botnico, n 1024, Rio de Janeiro, Cep 22460-000,
BRASIL (vinicius.benites@embrapa.br; paulo.c.teixeira@embrapa.br); 3 Universidade Federal de Gois, Rodovia Goinia/Nova
Veneza, Km 0, Goinia, Cep 74690-900, BRASIL (virginiadamin@gmail.com; gmendanhamacedo@hotmail.com; leticiafl_agro@
hotmail.com)
1
Introduction

The low availibility of phosphorus (P) in the
tropical soil is one of the biggest constraints to the
growth and productivity of crops. In tropical regions,
most soils are very weathered and rich in iron and
aluminium oxi-hydroxides, which, in turn, present
accentuated capacity of P absortion. Furthermore,
the mineral reserved of phosphorus in the world
are finite. Therefore, it is necessary to search for
technologies capable of increasing the efficiency of
phosphated fertilization, in order to increase the of
crop yield and extend the useful life of P mineral
reserves.

Tropical soils, in general, possess low content of organic matter, which plays an important role
in the soil, not only to improve it structural quality,
but also to improve the efficiency of phosphate fertilizers, through the occupation of phosphate adsorption sites in the soil.

One of the sources of organic matter available in Brazil is poultry litter (PL). In 2013, 8,42 million tons of PL were produced (Hahn, 2004; Conab,
2014), which can be used as organic fertilizer. However, if it isnt used appropriately, it can become a
source of environmental contamination. Therefore,
the use of PL as granulated organomineral fertilizer
becomes an interesting alternative, not only from an
environmental perspective, but also agronomical. In
this context, this paper has as aim to evaluate the
agronomic efficiency of granulated organomineral
fertilizers produced from poultry litter and mineral
sources of phosphorus.
Methods

The organomineral fertilizers (OMF) were
produced in the Fertilizer Lab at Embrapa Soils.
Initially, all the sources were dried in a dried in a
forced-air circulation oven at 65C, ground and
sieved (0,25 mm). Based on the chemical analysis
of the organic and mineral sources, the proportion

between these sources in the final product was determined. 2% of sodium silicate was added to the
compound as binding agent. Later, the compound
was processed in a disc granulator and the granules were dried in a forced-air circulation oven at
65C for 48 hours and sieved, so that the granules
had a diameter between 1 and 4mm.

The experiment was performed in a greenhouse, located at the Agronomy College of the Goias Federal University, Goiania, Goias. A completely
randomized design was used, in a 4x4+1 factorial
scheme (four sources, four doses and the control
(without P)) subdivided in time (three cycles of successive cultures), with four repetitions. The sources
used were: 1-TSF (triple superphosphate); 2- OMFB (OMF based on poultry litter (PL) and phosphate
rock (PR) Bayovar); 3-OMF-A (PL and PR of Arraias) and 4-OMF-TSP (PL and TSP). The doses
of phosphorus (P2O5 total) used were 0, 250, 500,
1000 e 2000 mg per pot. The OMF-A, OMF-B and
OMF-TSP sources had 11,72, 11,79 and 13,21% of
P2O5 (total), respectively, and the TSP source had
47,47% of P2O5 (total).

The experiment was performed in plastic pots, filled with eight liters of air-dried fine soil,
provenient from the subsuperficial horizon of a typical Rhodic Hapludox (Soil Survey Staff, 1999). The
acidity was corrected to increase pH (in water) to
6,8, using a compound of pure calcium and magnesium carbonate. After acidity correction, the soil in
the pots was grooved to a depth of seven centimeters, where the treatments were applied, filling the
grooves with earth. Then, six millet seeds (Pennisetum glaucum), cultivar ADR 500, were sown at a
depth of two centimeters, keeping three plants per
pot. With the aim of identifying more precisely the
isolated effect of the phosphate fertilizers studied,
a nutritive solution was used, which provided all the
260
nutrients to the plants, except phosphorus. At 45

DAS, the harvest of the first cycle was performed.
At this point, the plants were cut next to the soil,
washed and dried in a forced-air circulation oven
at 65C for 72 hours, and weighed in order to determine the shoot dry weight (SDW). Subsequently,
the plants were ground to determine the P content
(Embrapa, 2009). Three consecutive cycles of millets were cultivated in each pot, in order to evaluate the residual effect of the treatments. In all the
cycles, the procedures were the same as described
for the first cycle. The relative agronomic efficiency (RAE) was calculated according to Chien et al.
(1996).

The results obtained were submitted to
analysis of variance and, when the test F was sig-
first crop, where the OMF-TSP source was approximately 104% higher than the TSP source. These
results indicate that the association of a poultry litter
with a soluble P source (TSP) increases considerably the production of SDW, as well as the accumulation of P in the plant.

Table 2 presents the relative agronomic efficiency (RAE) results for the production of dry matter of plants. There was interaction of the sources
with the doses of P. The highest RAE was obtained
using the OMF-TSP source, in relation to the other
organomineral sources. In comparison with the TSP
source, it is possible to notice that the presence
of organic matter in the fertilizer granule increased
the efficiency of the TSP mineral source, with the
exception of the smallest dosage. These results are
nificant, the qualitative treatment means were compared using the Tukeys test (=0,05). The contrast
of means was also performed with the control treatment by means of the Dunnetts test (=0,05)
in accordance with what was observed by Santos

et al. (2010), who noticed an increase in productivity of sugarcane stems when a mineral source of P
(TSP) was applied with sugar cane filter cake in the
crop groove. Despite having less solubility than the
soluble source (TSP), the OMF-B source, except
in the smallest dosage, presented similar results to
the TSP source.

The production of shoot dry weight (SDW)
and the accumulation of P in the plants were influenced by the factors source and P doses, a
significative interaction of these factors being observed (Table 1). The successive millet crops also
influenced these variables, and a decrease with the
increase of cycles was observed. However, for the
source with lower solubility (OMF-A), the production
of SDW was not influenced by the crops, possibly
due to the gradual liberation.

In the first and second crop cycles, the
highest productions of SDW were observed in the
portions fertilized with the OMF-TSP source. The
organomineral fertilizers enhanced by phosphate
rocks (OMF-A e OMF-B) provided the production of
SDW similar to the soluble TSP source, except the
OMF-A source in the first cycle. Therefore, OMF enhanced by phosphate rocks, even having less solubility, present a satisfactory performance compared
to the reference source (TSP).

The SDW production using the OMF-TSP
source was approximately 41, 58 and 2% higher
than the TSP source in the first, second and third
crop cycles, respectively (Table 1). For the accumulation of P in the plant, the difference between
these sources was even bigger, especially in the
Conclusions

The association of poultry litter and triple
superphosphate (TSP) in the form of granulated organomineral fertilizer presents agronomic efficiency
higher than a TSP source, as well as a bigger accumulation of phosphorus in the plant and higher
production of shoot dry weight;

Organomineral fertilizer enhanced by phosphate rock Bayovar presented agronomic efficiency
similar to the soluble TSP source.
Keywords: Organic matter, adsorption, phosphate
rock, Pennisetum glaucum.
References
CHIEN, S. H.; MENON, R. G.; BILLINGHAM, K. S.
Phosphorus availability from phosphate rock as enhanced by water-soluble phosphorus. Soil Science
Society of America Journal, v.60, p.1173-1177,
1996.
CONAB. Indicadores da agropecuria. Braslia:
CONAB. 2014. Disponvel em: <http://www.conab.
gov.br/>. Acesso em: 15 mar. 2014.
EMBRAPA. Manual de anlises qumicas de solos, plantas e fertilizantes. 2 ed. Braslia: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2009, 627 p.
HAHN, L. Processamento da cama de avirio e
suas implicaes nos agroecossistemas. 2004.
130 f. Dissertao (Mestrado em Agroecossistemas), Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianpolis, 2004.
261
SANTOS, D. H.; TIRITAN, C. S.; FOLONI, J. S. S.;

FABRIS, L. B. Produtividade de cana-de-acar
sob adubao com torta de filtro enriquecida com
fosfato solvel. Pesquisa Agropecuria Tropical,
Goinia, v. 40, n. 4, p. 454-461, 2010.
SOIL SURVEY STAFF. Soil Taxonomy: a basic
system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys. 2 ed. Washington: USDA,
1999, 870 p.
Table 1. Production of shoot dry weight (SDW) and accumulation of phosphorus in shoot of millet (Pennisetum
glaucum) in three consecutive crops in function of doses of granulated organomineral fertilizers
Fontes
Crop cycles
st
nd
__________________________________
OMF-A
OMF-B
OMF-TSP
TSP
Control
Source x cycle=11,91**
SDW (g per pot)
__________________________________
9,60 cA*
12,20 bA*
18,36 aA*
13,06 bA*
0,12
8,90 bA*
9,94 bB*
14,49 aB*
9,17 bB*
2,84
9,30 aA*
9,75 aB*
9,21 aC*
9,02 aB*
6,81
CVcycle=20,32%
Source x dose =2,25**
CVsource=22,67%
____________________
OMF-A
OMF-B
OMF-TSP
TSP
Control
Source x cycle=49,54**
rd
Accumulation of P in shoot (mg per pot)
_____________________
9,66 cA*
12,96 bA*
29,31 aA*
14,40 bA*
0,21
5,78 bB*
7,27 bB*
13,66 aB*
12,31 aB*
2,57
8,04 bA*
8,34 bB*
10,79 aC*
9,99 abC*
3,84
CVcycle=19,62%
Source x dose=12,92**
CVsource=24,55%
Means followed by same small letter in the column or capital letter in the row do not differ according to Tukeys test
(p0,01); **F test significance (p0,01); *Different from control according to Dunnetts test (p0,01).
Table 2. Relative agronomic efficiency (RAE) of granulated organomineral fertilizers enhanced by differents mineral
sources of phosphorus
P sources
Phosphorus levels (mg per pot of P2O5)

250
500
_________________________________________________
OMF-A
OMF-B
OMF-TSP
TSP
39,70 b
40,91 b
106,22 a
100,00 a
44,78 c
77,40 b
160,46 a
100,00 b
1000
RAE (%)
2000
__________________________________________________
63,97 c
85,55 bc
167,64 a
100,00 b
60,02 c
72,63 bc
162,93 a
100,00 b
Means followed by same small letter in the column or capital letter in the row do not differ according to Tukeys test (p0,05).
262

40
ORGANIC BIOFERTILIZER ENRICHED IN N BY DIAZOTROPHIC

BACTERIA AND MUD CAKE IN SUGARCANE
NEWTON P. STAMFORD1, FERNANDO L. OLIVEIRA1, CAROLINA E.R.S. SANTOS1,
ANA DOLORES S. FREITAS1
1
Departament of Agronomy, Soil Science, Recife, 52061-060, BRAZIL (newtonps@depa.ufrpe.br)
Introduction

To increase yield, the application of soluble
fertilizers has been the most used agricultural practice. However, the production of soluble mineral fertilizer has a high cost and energy consumption, and
the processes are performed by great companies.

An alternative has been the production of
rock biofertilizer with Acidithiobacillus plus organic
matter enriched in N by inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria (Lima et al. 2010). The biofertilizer production is practical, use low energy consumption,
increase available nutrients and minimize the environmental impacts.

The effectiveness of PK rock biofertilizers
has been reported in many papers (Lima et al. 2007;
Moura et al. 2007. Stamford et al. 2008, 2011) with
different crops and soils. Studies demonstrated the
potential to increase total N content in organic matter by inoculation with living diazotrophic bacteria
(Lima et al., 2010).

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of mineral fertilizer and biofertilizer produced
from rocks with Acidithiobacillus plus earthworm
compound enriched in N by free living diazotrophic
bacteria applied in different rates with and without
filter mud cake, on yield and some characteristics of
sugarcane.
Methods

A field experiment was set up in a sugarcane Industry, located at the Goiana, Pernambuco,
Brazil, with the coordinates 07 33 S and 35 00
W and altitude 13 m. The soil was a Spodosol Humiluvic Ortic (Embrapa, 2006) from the tableland
rainforest region, grown with sugarcane (Saccharum spp.- variety RB92579). A control with earthworm compound without and with filter mud (60 t ha1
) were applied. The soil analysis (Embrapa, 2009)
showed: pH water (1:2,5) = 6.0; Al = 0.1(cmolc dm3
); total N = 0,3 (g kg-1); available P = 12 (mg dm-3);
exchangeable cations (cmolc dm-3) - K = 0.05; Ca =
2.54; Mg = 0.94; Density = 2.65 g kg1; granulomet-
ric analysis (g kg1); coarse sand = 740; fine sand=

210; silt = 10; clay= 40.

The P and K rock biofertilizers were produced at the University Federal Rural of Pernambuco, following Stamford et al. (2008). Analysis of
rock biofertilizer showed: (P-biofertilizer) - pH = 3.8,
available P = 60 (g kg-1); (K-biofertilizer) - pH = 3.3,
available K = 10 (g kg-1). The mixed biofertilizer from
PK rock biofertilizers plus earthworm compound inoculated with the free living bacteria (NFB 1001)
was processed according to Lima et al. (2010). The
biofertilizer analysis (Embrapa, 2009) showed: pH
= 6.9; total N (21 g kg-1) available P (20 g kg-1) and
available K (19 g kg-1).

The experiment was conducted in a factorial (2x3x2) +1, in randomized block design with four
replicates. Were used two sources of NPK (biofertilizer and soluble fertilizer) applied in three rates
(50, 100 and 150 % recommended rate-RR), and
filter mud cake were applied (60 t ha-1). A control
with earthworm compound (10 t ha-1) was added. In
plants were determined: height; stem diameter and
yield; dry biomass (tops, stem and leaves); soluble
solids, sucrose, purity and total sugars. Each sub
plot contained four rows with 10m large and 1 m
between rows and data considered the two central
rows (10m2). Sugarcane characteristics were evaluated by analyzes of soluble solid concentration
(Brix), apparent sucrose (Pol), purity (Pur) and total
recoverable sugars (TRS). The statistical analysis
was achieved by SAS (SAS Institute, 2011) version
11.0 using the Tukey test to compare the means (p
0.05).

The results of plant height and yield of sugarcane submitted to filter cake mud application and
to different fertilization treatments are showed in Table 1. Positive and significant effects of sugarcane
filter mud application was observed, especially in
plants that received the biofertilizer in greater rates.
The effects of sugarcane residues were described
263
by Dario et al. (2003) confirming the increase in

sugarcane yield in field. Pereira et al. (2005) and
Kaur et al. (2005) also described significant effect
of mud cake in the shoot height and diameter. However, when applied filter mud cake the biofertilizer
treatment showed higher plant height and differed
for mineral fertilizer in all used rates. These results
demonstrate the potential of the biofertilizer application in sugarcane.

The results of sugarcane yield evidentiate
the effect of biofertilizer, and best results were obtained when applied sugarcane mud cake. These
results are in accord with Santos et al. (2010) that
found correlation between sugarcane yield and
mud cake application. Also, Santos et al. (2010)
described that mud cake promoted increase in sug-
of Brix and Pol in sugarcane when applied mud

cake. The results of Brix when applied biofertilizer
in rates 100 and 150% RR are evident, especially in the treatment with mud cake application and
without mud cake application it was not observed
significant difference of the fertilization treatments.
Pol showed greater values when applied the biofertilizer in rate 150%. The Brix and Pol analysis
evidentiate the biofertilizer effectiveness in gradual
release of P and promote good nutritional response
in sugarcane crop.

The results for purity and ATR in sugarcane
with and without sugarcane mud cake (SCMC) and
fertilization treatments are shown in Table 4. There
were greater effect of mud cake application in the
results for Purity and ATR, and these results are in
arcane yield and supported that the organic matter

release P and Ca and others nutrients to plant nutrition. These results are in accord with by Lima et
al. (2007), Stamford et al. (2008, 2011) concluding
that rock biofertilizer with earthworm compound is
alternative for mineral fertilizer.

The results in the stem diameter and shoot
dry biomass of sugarcane comparing the NPKB
and NPKF treatments, with and without filter mud
cake application were presented in Table 2.

The application of filter mud cake showed
no significant difference (p0.05) in sugarcane
stem diameter compared with the treatment without
addition of this organic residue in all the fertilization treatments (Table 2). In a general the filter cake
mud showed greater results for the plant parameters, probably due to the effects in soil characteristics. In reference to the biofertilizer effects, it may
be observed that BNPK (150% RR) displayed best
results in the shoot dry biomass when compared
with the treatments without filter mud cake. Stamford et al. (2008), reported significant effects of the
PK biofertilizer inoculated with Acidithiobacillus and
best effectiveness compared with the mineral NPK
fertilizer in shoot dry biomass.

The data of total soluble solids (Brix) and
apparent sucrose (Pol) in sugarcane analysis for
the fertilization treatments with and without sugarcane mud cake (SCMC) are shown in table 3. Brix
and Pol displayed best results in the treatments
with sugarcane mud cake, and are in accord with
Santos et al. (2011) that also found greater values
accord with Santos et al. (2011) who also obtained

greater values of Purity and ATR when applied sugarcane mud cake.
Conclusions

The filter mud cake significantly influenced
the plant and the technical characteristics of sugarcane; The biofertilizer (NPKB) applied in rate 150%
showed the best results and are greater when
applied with the filter mud cake; The biofertilizer
(NPKB) may be alternative for fertilizer in sugarcane.
Keywords: Saccharum spp., nutrients availability,
organic fertilization.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to CNPq, to CAPES, and
FACEPE for the financial support and scholarships.
References
Kaur, K.; Kapoor, K.K; Gupta, A.P. 2005. Impact of
organic manures with and without mineral fertilizers on soil chemical and biological properties under
tropical conditions. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.168, 117122.
Lima, F. S., Stamford, N. P., Sousa, C.S. et al.
2010. Earthworm compound and rock biofertilizer
enriched in Nitrogen by inoculation with free living
diazotrophic bacteria. World J. Microbiol Biotechnol. 27, 1-7.
264
Moura, P. M., Stamford, N. P., Duenhas, L. H. et al.

2007. Eficincia de biofertilizantes de rochas com
Acidithiobacillus em melo, no Vale do So Francisco. Rev Brasileira Ci. Agrarias. 2, 1-7.
Santos, D.H., Tiritan, C.S., Foloni, J.S.S., Fabris,

L.B. 2010. Produtividade de cana-de-acar sob
adubao com torta de filtro enriquecida com fosfato solvel. Pesq. Agropec. Trop. 40, 454-461.
Pereira, J.R., Ferreira, G.B., Gondim, T.M.S. et al.

2005. Adubao orgnica com torta de filtro de cana-de-acar no algodoeiro semiperene BRS 200
no Cariri Cearense. In: Congresso Brasileiro de
Algodo, 2005, Campina Grande: Embrapa.1CDROM.
Stamford, N. P., Andrade, I. P., Silva Junior, S., et

al. 2011. Nutrient uptake by grape in a Brazilian
soil affected by rock biofertilizer. J. Soil Sci Plant
Nutr.11, 79-88.
Santos, D.H., Silva, M.A., Tiritan, C.S., et al. 2011.

Qualidade tecnolgica da cana-de-acar sob
adubao com torta de filtro enriquecida com fosfato solvel. Rev Bras Eng Agr Ambiental. 15, 443
449.
Stamford, N. P., Lima, R.A., Santos, C.E.R.S. 2008.

Effectiveness of phosphate and potash rocks with
Acidithiobacillus on sugar cane yield and their effects in soil chemical attributes. World J Microbiol
Biotechnol.24, 2061-2066.
Table 1. Plant height and yield of sugarcane affected by biofertilizer (NPKB), mineral fertilizer (NPKF) and mud cake.
Fertilization
Control
NPKB 50
NPKB 100
NPKB 150
NPKF 50
NPKF 100
NPKF 150
Plant height (cm)

With mud cake
104.5 0.58Ca
149.0 0.82Ab
154.0 1.63Ab
162.7 3.77Ab
128.2 5.68BCb
148.0 2.52Aa
151.5 0.58Aa
-1
Yield (t ha )
Without mud cake
With mud cake
Without mud cake
113.2 0.5Ca
207.6 19.5Aa
211.5 1.9Aa
225.2 0.96Aa
164.0 20.74Ba
152.5 0.58Ba
153.5 17.94Ba
49.27 2.81Gb
59.19 2.76Eb
62.90 2.70Cb
70.91 1.56Ab
57.84 1.21Fb
61.86 0.62Cb
64.45 1.00Bb
53.57 2.86Fa
79.78 5.30Ca
80.76 0.77Ba
86.59 0.85Aa
65.89 1.61Ea
67.62 2.66Ea
67.75 5.80Da
Table 2. Sugarcane stem diameter and shoot dry biomass fertilized with different sources and rates treatments, with
and without application of sugarcane mud cake (SCMC)
Fertilizer
treatment
Control
NPKB 50
NPKB 100
NPKB 150
NPKF 50
NPKF 100
NPKF 150
Sugarcane stem diameter (mm)

With SCMC
Without SCMC
17,45C
18,39BC
22,17A
22,30A
19,63B
21,95A
22,38A
17,39C
18,27BC
22,00A
22,20A
19,00B
21,70A
22,25A
-1
Shoot Dry biomass (g kg )

With SCMC
289,69 1,17Gb
462,81 0,80Db
470,23 1,89Cb
497,82 0,99Ab
313,66 0,55Fb
454,32 9,76Eb
484,87 1,03Bb
Without SCMC
309,21 1,12Ea
597,88 0,80Da
600,74 0,65Ba
661,57 1,20Aa
450,29 3,70Da
530,22 0,65Ca
535,33 0,38Ca
265
Table 3. Soluble solids (Brix) and apparent sucrose (Pol) with the different treatments with and without mud cake (MC)
Fertilization
(%RR)
Control
NPKB 50%
NPKB 100%
NPKB 150%
NPKF 50%
NPKF 100%
NPKF 150%
Brix (%)
Pol (%)
Without MC
With MC
Without MC
With MC
13.59 0,59Cb
14.22 0,42Bb
15.47 0,38Ab
15.87 0,39Ab
14.39 0,02Ba
14.43 0,04Bb
15.41 0,01Ab
15.06 0,01Da
16.61 0,06Aa
16.84 0,13Aa
16.95 0,19Aa
15.25 0,26Ca
15.31 0,08BCa
16.48 0,04Ba
9.32 0,11Eb
11.17 0,15Cb
12.35 0,51Bb
13.47 0,35Ab
10.11 0,18Db
11.96 0,03Ba
12.94 0,06ABb
11.58 0,55Ca
13.01 0,59Ba
13,82 0,42Aa
14.15 0,43Aa
12.14 0,32Ca
12.40 0,28Ca
13.70 0,10Aa
Table 4. Purity and Total Sugar (TS) for sugarcane with the different treatments with and without mud cake (MC).
Treatments
Control
NPKB 50%
NPKB 100%
NPKB 150%
NPKF 50%
NPKF 100%
NPKF 150%
-1
Purity (%)
Without MC
68.5 0.18Fb
78.5 0.58Da
79.8 0.13Cb
84.9 0.10Aa
70.2 0.04Eb
82.9 0.06CDb
83.9 0.54Bb
ATR (kg t )
With MC
76.8 0.69Ea
79.3 0.37Da
82.0 0.58Ca
83.5 0.30Aa
79.6 0.57Da
80.9 0.24Ca
83.1 0.71Ba
Without MC
90.7 0.28Fb
98.7 0.58Db
109.1 0.69Bb
116.2 0.78Ab
92.1 0.59Eb
98.9 0.18Db
104.3 0.28Cb
With MC
102.9 0.34Ga
109.9 0.60Da
116.9 0.65Ba
120.0 0.58Aa
105.7 0.58Fa
108.4 0.14Ea
112.6 0.20Ca
266

41
AGRONOMIC ASPECTS RELATED TO THE USE OF

BIOSTIMULANTS ON SOME VEGETABLE CROPS
TARANTINO E., DISCIGLIO G., TARANTINO A.1
1
Agro-Environmental Sciences, Chemistry and Crop Protection Department Faculty of Agriculture - University of Foggia Via
Napoli, 25, Foggia, 71122 Italy (emanuele.tarantino@unifg.it)
Abstract

In recent years many efforts were put into
developing new fertilizers and fertilization systems,
also for the organic farming, to increase nutrient
uptake, growth and development of plants and to
improve quality, productivity and the environmental
positive impacts. For such purpose products such
as biostimulants have appeared on the market.
Several reports have point out the positive effects of
organic biostimolants on growth health and stress
tolerance of plants, improving the yield and reducing the impact on environment.

In Capitanata area (southern Italy) have
been carried out a trials on some herbaceous species (fennel and eggplant) under conventional and
organic cropping systems, grown in pots, to verify
the effects of biostimulants (Siapton10L, Lysodin
and Viormon plus) on quanti-qualitative characteristics of yield, in comparison with the ordinary cultivated crop. Quali-quantitative parameters such as
total and marketable yield, mean weight, dry matter, pH, soluble solids, and color for pepper, and
marketable head weight, dry matter, nitrogen content, nitrate content of fennel and eggplant were determined. All experimental data were subjected to
analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the mean values
were compared using Tukeys test at 1% and 5%
significance level. Results showed great differences
of yield characteristics obtained conventional and
organic crops, showing in the organic one a lower
yield, whereas quite variable results were generally
observed when biostimulants were applied.
Keywords: biostimulants, eggplant, fennel
267
42
EFFECT OF THE USE OF FERTILIZER ON YIELD ORGANOMINERAL

OF MAIZE HYBRIDS IN SANTANA OF VARGEM / MG
MIGUEL HENRIQUE ROSA FRANCO1, ROBSON THIAGO XAVIER DE SOUZA 2, DIEGO RAMON
ALVES PEREIRA3, MURILO RAIMUNDO VAZ4, DANIEL ARAJO TINCO5, VINCIUS WILLIAM
BORGES RODRIGUES6
Master in Plant Production, Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri highway MGT 367 - Km 583, No. 5000, the High
Jacuba, 39100-000 - Diamantina / MG. (Miguelmhrf@yahoo.com.br); 2 Doctor in Plant Nutrition, Federal University of Uberlndia,
Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil. (Robsontxs@yahoo.com.br); 3 Graduate
in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902,
Brazil (diegoramon_agro@hotmail.com); 4 Graduate in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus
Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil (murilovaz02@hotmail.com); 5 Graduate in Agronomy, Federal University
of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil (danieltinoco_agro@yahoo.
com.br); 6 Graduate in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia /
MG, 38400-902, Brazil (vinicius.ragro @ hotmail.com)
1
Introduction

Brazil is one of the largest agricultural
producers, with a planted area of around 65 million hectares and production of 995.4 million tons
(IBGE, 2010). According to the report Projections
of Agribusiness in Brazil (2010/11 to 2020/21), published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and
Supply (MAPA, 2012), the area planted with crops
could increase seven million acres with expansion
concentrated in soybean, corn and cane sugar.

As a result of this increase in production,
there is an increasing demand for fertilizers, whose
use ensures higher productivity and allows smaller
areas are employed to obtain the same production.
Brazil currently imports about 70% of its demand for
fertilizers, ranking as the fourth largest consumer
market for fertilizers in the world (Reis et al., 2010).

A major component in the formation of the
cost of crop production constitutes fertilization, as
a result of high fertilizer prices associated with low
effectiveness. In this sense, the biofertilizer constitutes an innovative and alternative products, due to
the enrichment of organic mineral fertilizers, able to
provide the nutrients in sync with the time of highest
demand of crops like corn fertilizer.

In this sense this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of using Geofert fertilizer on
productivity of maize hybrids and compare with the
mineral fertilizer.
Methods

The experiments were performed on the
date of November 10, 2010, on the farm Emery, on
a clay soil in Santana Vargem / MG. The treatments
consisted of the use of 2 separate corn hybrids test-
ed under the application of different doses of the

formulation organo Geofert 07-18-00 (200, 400 and
800 kg ha-1), to provide approximately 25, 50 and
100% of the amount of N and P mineral fertilizer,
mineral fertilizer dose of 13-33-00 (400 kg ha-1) and
a control (no fertilizer application at sowing).

We used two maize, hybrid A and hybrid
B with a population of 60000 plants. The plots
delimited form in 490 m2com 7 lines of farming, spaced 0.7 meters with 10 meters long.
The experimental design was a randomized
block design with 5 treatments and 4 replications for each experiment, a total of 20 plots.
A comparison of treatment means with the treatment he received mineral fertilizer at sowing was
performed by Dunnetts test at 5%. In quantitative
data analysis and regression analyzes were performed for comparison of hybrids in independent
experiments were taken together, these data and
conducted the Tukey test for comparison of means
at 5% significance.

With the application of this fertilizer doses
showed an increase in the productivity of the hybrid, and the highest yield was observed with the
application of 633 kg ha-1 of this fertilizer 7-18-00.
It was found that each kg organomineral fertilizer
applied to the soil brought an increase of 3.5 kg of
maize using the hybrid B (Table 1).
Conclusions

The use of this fertilizer used in this experiment was superior compared to conventional fertilizer made with mineral fertilizer in corn,
268
bringing productivity increases. The application

of 192 and 457 kg/ha-1do biofertilizer l7-18-00
is sufficient to achieve the same productivity application 400 kg/ha-1do obtained mineral fertilizer
13-33-00 in hybrid A and B respectively coma.
Keywords: Plant Nutrition, High Dose, Grain Production, Organomineral.
Acknowledgements
Biotechnology company for Geociclo S/A for providing the biofertilizer this work and its employees by
monitoring the same.
References
IBGE - Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics: LASP - Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production IBGE. 2010.
MAPA-Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment. Brazil: Agribusiness projections 2011/2012
a 2021/2022. Brasilia: 2012.
REIS, G. L. et al. Economic evaluation of fertilizer
nitrogen in pastures intended for lactating cows.
Science and Agrotechnology, Lavras, v.34, n.3,
p.730-738, 2010.
Table 1. Productivity of maize hybrids due to the application of mineral and organic fertilizer applied at sowing
Fertilizer
Source
Dose
Hibrid
N P2O5 K2O
applied
-1
------------kg ha ------------
Control
Organomineral
(07-18-00)
Mineral (13-33-00)
Average
00-00-00
200
14-36-00
400
28-72-00
800
56-144-00
400
52-132-00
----------------------- t ha-1 ------------------------
11,7*
10,5*
13,0ns
13,7ns
11,4ns
12,9ns
13,8ns
12,9
13,3ns
12,4
13,0 a
12,1 b
Figure 1. Productivity
of
maize hybrids depending on
application rates of organic
mineral fertilizers
269
43
EFFICIENCY OF FERTILIZER ON YIELD ORGANOMINERAL SUGAR CANE,

WITH RESPECT TO MINERAL FERTILIZER
DANIEL ARAJO TINCO1, ROBSON THIAGO XAVIER DE SOUZA 2, MIGUEL HENRIQUE ROSA
FRANCO3, MURILO RAIMUNDO VAZ4, DIEGO RAMON ALVES PEREIRA 5, VINCIUS WILLIAM
BORGES RODRIGUES6
1
Graduate in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG,
38400-902, Brazil (diegoramon_agro@hotmail.com); 2 Doctor in Plant Nutrition, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s
/ n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil. (Robsontxs@yahoo.com.br); 3 Master in Plant Production,
Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri highway MGT 367 - Km 583, No. 5000, the High Jacuba, 39100-000 Diamantina / MG. (Miguelmhrf@yahoo.com.br); 4 Graduated in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n,
Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil (murilovaz02@hotmail.com); 5 Graduated in Agronomy, Federal
University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block 2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil (danieltinoco_
agro@yahoo.com.br); 6 Graduate in Agronomy, Federal University of Uberlndia, Av Amazonas, s / n, Campus Umuarama, Block
2E, Uberlndia / MG, 38400-902, Brazil (vinicius.ragro @ hotmail.com)
Introduction
Methods

With the rising costs of mineral fertilizers,
organic wastes from agricultural, urban or industrial origin, have been given greater importance as
materials capable of improving soil conditions and
increase the level of soil fertility (Tedesco et al.,
2008).

In this sense, the biofertilizer constitutes an
innovative and alternative, due to the enrichment
of organic fertilizers with mineral fertilizer product.
As a result of the higher concentration of nutrients
in relation to commonly used in plants (filter cake
and boiler ash) organic fertilizer, has the advantage
that it can be used in smaller amounts per area and
the lowest shipping cost. Furthermore, Kiehl (1999)
notes that the biofertilizer, unlike mineral can be
used at once in the soil, the nutrients they are under
the mineral and organic form.

Technological developments sugar cane
industry in recent years has resulted in significant
production and productivity of Brazilian sugarcane
increases. However, the supply of soil nutrients and
water availability still stand out among the main factors affecting the productivity of cane sugar (OLIVEIRA, 2011). Meet the nutritional requirements
of the culture consists of basic information able to
direct the new methods and ways of more effective
fertilization, showing the actual amount of nutrients
that must be provided (collectively et al., 2006).

In this sense the biofertilizer Geofert come
revealing promising in adding organic matter to the
soil and crop fertilization, especially those long cycle such as cane sugar.

Given the above, this study was designed
to evaluate the efficiency of this fertilizer in sugarcane ratoon.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using this fertilizer manufactured with Geofert technology on productivity
of ratoon cane, room and third cut in two different
properties compared well with the productivity of
the mineral fertilizer normally used in the plant.
The experiments were conducted at 27 Farm to
ratoon cane cut quarter and 76 for third ratoon
cane cutting plant belonging to Jalles Machado,
located in Goiansia / GO. The experimental designs used were block randomized with 5 treatments and 5 replicates, for a total of 25 plots for
each experiment. The treatments used on the
farm consisted of the 27 control (no fertilizer), a
dose of mineral fertilizer 6.20.16 (650 kg ha-1),
and three doses of this fertilizer 08-03-10 (780
kg ha-1, 1040 kg ha-1, 1300 kg ha-1); To farm 76
treatments were also composed of a control (no
fertilizer), a dose of mineral fertilizer 6.16.20 (600
kg ha-1), and three doses of this fertilizer 08-0310 (514 kg ha-1, 686 kg ha-1, 857 kg ha-1); Both
correspond to 60, 80 and 100% of the amount
of mineral NPK fertilizer respectively. The sugarcane variety used was 91 IAC 1099 for both experiments. The size of the plots were 5 rows with
spacing of 1.5 m and 10 m long, covering an area
of 75 m2 experimental plot for each treatment.

Harvesting sugar cane in the tests was held
on 03rd and 04th June 2013. Weighing was carried
out using a load cell technology brand Model WT3000.

The results were evaluated by SISVAR program (Ferreira, 2008) and means were compared
by Tukey test (5%) and regression analysis.
270
Acknowledgements

Despite the lower dose of NPK per hectare
of treatments receiving this fertilizer, yield was superior to treatment with mineral fertilizer. This result
is of great importance to the plant, since it allows a
reduction of production costs and increased crop
productivity associated with fertilization with biofertilizer Geofert.
Biotechnology company for Geociclo S / A for providing the biofertilizer this work and its employees
and even the monitoring of the plant Jalles Machado for providing area and all the necessary infrastructure for the installation of the experiment.
Conclusions

To cane ratoon fourth cut, it is concluded
that 503.5 kg ha-1 of 08-03-10 Organomineral, produce 109.1 tons of cane sugar, which was the same
productivity with the application of 650 kg ha-1 of
mineral 6/16/24, since the rod to the third section,
it was observed that 170 kg ha-1 organomineral
14.04.14, would produce 109.4 tons of cane sugar, which correspond the same productivity taken
when applying 600 kg ha-1 of mineral 20-05-20.
There is then an increase in productivity of cane
sugar 19.02% (farm 27) and 17.06% (farm 76)
doses compared with the mineral fertilizer dose of
100% of biofertilizer Geofert.
Keywords: Cane sugar, Geofert, Doses, Productivity
References
Collective, J. T.; Casagrande, J. C.; Stupiello, JJ;
Ribeiro, L. D.; OLIVEIRA, GR Removal of macronutrients for plant cane and ratoon cane in Argissolos
Varieties RB83486 and SP81-3250. STAB, 24:3236, 2006.
KIEHL, E. J. organo-mineral fertilizers.
4. Ed. Piracicaba: Degaspari, 2008 160 p..
OLIVEIRA, E.C.A. Nutritional balance of cane
sugar in relation to nitrogen fertilization. 2011.
215 f. Thesis (Ph.D. in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition) - School of Agrigultura Luiz de Queiroz, University of So Paulo, Piracicaba, 2011.
TEDESCO, M. J.; SELBACH, P. A.; Gianello, C. &
CAMARGO, F.A.O. Organic residues in the soil
and impacts on the environment. In: SANTOS,
G. A.; SILVA, L. S.; CANELLAS, L.P.
Table 1. Productivity of sugar cane farm 27 t ha-1, 4th ratoon sugarcane cutting, IAC 91 1099, depending on the
application rates of mineral and organic fertilizer.
Fertilizer
Dosage
kg ha
Control
Mineral, 16-06-20
OM, 08-03-10
OM, 08-03-10
OM, 08-03-10
Productivity
-1
t ha
0
650
780
1040
1300
-1
Productivity gains in
relation to mineral
%
88,6
109,1 b
121,8 ab
132,6 a
135,1 a
-18,8
-----11,6
21,5
23,8
Means followed by different letters in the line differ by Tukey test at 0.05 significance. CV 8,3%, DMS 19,
Table 2. Productivity of sugar cane farm 76 t ha-1, cane ratoon 3rd cut, depending on the application doses of
biofertilizer and conventional fertilization of the plant.
Fertilizer
Dosage
kg ha
Control
Mineral, 16-06-20
OM, 08-03-10
OM, 08-03-10
OM, 08-03-10
0
600
514
686
857
-1
Productivity
t ha
-1
96,0
109,4 b
123,9 a
124,9 a
121,6 ab
Productivity gains in
relation to mineral
%
12,2
---13,3
14,2
11,2
Means followed by different letters in the line differ by Tukey test at 0.05 significance. CV 6%, 13.1 DMS
271
44
DIFFERENTIAL NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY IN HUMIC

SUBSTANCE-AMMENDED SOIL
ELKE J.B.N.CARDOSO1, CRISTIANE A. SANTOS1, DANIEL BINI1,2, CAROLINA B.C.CAETANO1
1
Departamento de Cincia do Solo, Laboratrio de Microbiologia do Solo, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz,
Av. Pdua Dias 11, Piracicaba, 13418-900, BRASIL (ejbncard@usp.br, dbini.master@gmail.com, cris.agro2003@gmail.com,
carol_843@hotmail.com); 2 Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade do Centro Oeste, R. Simeo Camargo Varela de
S, 03, Guarapuava, 85040-080, BRASIL (dani_bini@yahoo.com.br)
Introduction

The study of organic acids and their action
in soils has received attention in recent years due
to their capacity to interact with the solid soil phase
and to occupy adsorption sites for nutrients. In highly weathered tropical soils this capacity is fundamental to increase soil charges as well as to reduce
phosphate adsorption. The benefits associated with
humic substances are linked to their chemical nature and their reactivity due to the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups (PICCOLO, 1996).

Humic substances contribute significantly
to improve soil chemical properties, since they favor
the increase in chemical charges, therefore fostering soil reactions that include the generation of chelates and organo-mineral complexes. In addition,
they promote cycling of nutrients and control their
availability in soil. Thus, the aim of this study was
to determine possible changes in chemical soil parameters after the incorporation of an organic conditioner based on humic substances (HS).
Methods
Experimental design

A sample of a tropical Oxisoil was used.
This soil was collected in a non-agricultural area
at a depth of 0-20cm (Table 1). The liquid organic
conditioner based on humic substances (HS) was
obteined using peat fractionation (Table 2). The experimental design was completely randomized and
treatments consisted of increasing doses of HS,
equivalent to 0, 300, 600, 900, 1500 e 3000 L ha-1
(D0, D300, D600, D900, D1500 e D3000, respectively), with 5 replications. After 77 days of incubation during which soil moisture was maintained
at 75% of the water holding capacity the chemical
analyses were performed.
Analyses

We evaluated the amounts of available P
(resin method - RAIJ et al. 2001), calcium, magne-
sium, potassium, H+Al and CEC. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparison of means by the Tukey test (p<0,05).

Phosphorus increased significantly in accordance with the SH dose increase. All treatments
differed from the control and at the highest dose
there was an eight-fold increase in comparison to
the control (Table 3). In highly weathered tropical
soils, phosphorus is strongly adsorbed on clay colloids and on iron and aluminum oxides and hydroxides (PAVINATO; ROSOLEM, 2008). Because of
the anionic nature of HS, there may be a competition
for adsorption sites occupied by P (GUPPY et al,
2005). Thus, there is an increase in the concentration of phosphorus in the soil solution, which is subsequently available to plants and microorganisms.
The humic substance used also contains phosphorus (Table 2). However, the amount of phosphorus
present in HS would not cause such a significant increase as found in the present work. Consequently,
we can affirm that HS in this soil becomes a source
of available phosphorus, and that the competition
by HS and phosphorus in the soil was the factor
that most contributed to the increased concentration of this nutrient.

Available potassium was also significantly increased with the addition of HS (Table 3). As
with phosphorus, potassium is also present in the
composition of SH (Table 2) but in an amount that,
likewise, does not justify all the measured increase
in the soil solution. Potassium is important as an
enzyme activator in several biochemical processes
and also in regulating the cell osmotic potential. For
calcium and magnesium, there was an increase
in SH concentrations in intermediate dosages,
whereas the content of H + Al increased only at the
highest SH dose (Table 3). Increased availability of
these nutrients in the soil may be reflected by bet-
272
ter plant growth due to their higher availability for

plants and microorganisms.

The data also evidenced an increase of
soil CEC due to application of high doses of HS
(above 900 kg ha-1). The CEC of the soil is essential
for retention of cations in exchangeable and available forms (ZECH et al, 1997). Weathered tropical
soils generally have a low cation exchange capacity
(CEC) and therefore are highly dependent on high
inputs of soil organic matter and adequate soil management. As the largest part of SOM is constituted
by HS they play a fundamental role in the formation and maintenance of CEC which helps in the
formation of chelates in soil reactions and helps in
controlling the availability of nutrients.
Conclusions

Changes in the evaluated parameters allow
to conclude that even recalcitrant materials as HS
can contribute positively to the availability of nutrients, especially phosphorus, in soils. This may be
reflected in higher crop yields with lower use of mineral fertilizers.
Keywords: P adsorption, cation exchange capacity,
humics acids.
Acknowledgements
We thank FAPESP (process number n 2011/021409, 2011/12407-2, and 2012/22087-8) for funding
this project.We also thank Agrolatina Co. for pro-
viding the humic substances and soil used in this

study. EJBNC acknowledges a A1-CNPq productivity grant.
References
GUPPY, C.N.; MENZIES, N.W.; MOODY, P.W.;
BLAMEY, F.P.C. Competitive sorption reactions
between phosphorus and organic matter in soil: a
review. Australian Journal of Soil Research, Melbourne , v.43, p.189-202, 2005.
PAVINATO, P.S.; ROSOLEM, C.A. Disponibilidade
de nutrientes no solo - decomposio e liberao
de compostos orgnicos de resduos vegetais. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v. 32, p.
911-920, 2008.
PICCOLO, A. Humus and Soil conservation. In:
PICCOLO, A. (Ed). Humic Substances in Terrestrial
Ecosystems. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1996. p. 225264.
RAIJ, B.V.; ANDRADE, J.C.; CANTARELLA, H.;
QUAGGIO, J.A. Anlise qumica para avaliao da
fertilidade em solos tropicais. Campinas: Instituto
Agronmico, 2001. 285p.
ZECH, W.; SENESI, N.; GUGGENBERGER, G.
Factors controlling humification and mineralization
of soil organic matter in the tropics. Geoderma, Amsterdam, v. 79, p. 117-161, 1997.
Table 1. Chemical and physical properties of the soil used in the incubation experiment
pHH2O
pHCaCl2
K
-3
mgdm
LVA
5.6
4.7
Ca
Mg
Al
H+Al
CEC
-3
--------------- mmolc dm ----------------
0.7
27
41.3
Sand
Silt
Clay
-1
----------- g kg -----------
740
30
230
273
Table 2. Chemical properties of the humic substances used in the incubation experiment
Chemical Propertie
HS
pH
Density (g
7.8
mL-1)
0.99
Dry residue - 100C (g
L-1)
64.04
Total carbon (g L-1)
294.5
Total nitrogen (g L-1)
4.09
Total phosphorus P2O5 (g
L-1)
6.01
Potassium K2O (g L-1)
9.65
Table 3. Chemical soil attributes evaluated in an incubation experiment with the addition of HS
Treatment
D0
D300
D600
D900
D1500
D3000
p value
K
-3
mg dm
3.0 f
4.8 e
6.4 d
9.2 c
16.0 b
25.4 a
***
Ca
Mg
H+Al
CTC
-3
------------------------------------------ mmolc dm ------------------------------------------
0.74 f
1.36 e
2.02 d
2.56 c
3.76 b
5.46 a
***
13.4 b
13.8 b
14.2 b
19.0 a
17.2 ab
17.2 ab
**
10.8 b
12.0 ab
11.4 ab
13.2 a
11.4 ab
12.8 ab
*
26.2 b
25.0 b
24.4 b
26.2 b
24.4 b
29.2 a
***
50.02 c
50.96 c
52.10 c
58.80 ab
54.84 bc
64.48 a
***
274

45
COWPEA GROWTH AND NUTRIENTS AVAILABILITY AFTER ADDITION OF

DIFFERENTS PHOSPHATE SOURCES AND BIOCHAR CARBONIZATION
TEMPERATURE TO A TROPICAL SOIL
DANIELLE M. DE OLIVEIRA1,2; NEWTON P. S. FALCO2; JOS L. JUNIOR3;
LVIA MARA GOULART4; IRA GUERRINE4
Universidade do Estado de So Paulo (UNESP-BOTUCATU), Doutoranda Ciencias Florestais, danielle.monteiro@inpa.gov.br
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia, Manaus. AM, Brasil nfalcao@inpa.gov.br; 3 Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura
(CENA)-Piracicaba, So Paulo, Brasil; 4 Universidade do Estado de So Paulo (UNESP-BOTUCATU), Departamento de Cincias
Florestais, iguerrini@fca.com.br
1
Introduction
Methods

The soil management are made to modify
it properties and possibilities the plants show the
maximum productive potential. The low fertility levels the soils of Amazonia Region, is the major limit
factor to food production. The use of charcoal as a
soil amendment is being touted as a potentially ef-

An experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in a completely randomized design in a 3x3 factorial, with
three carbonization temperatures of biochar and
three phosphorus sources (natural phosphate of
ARAD (NP), simple superphosphate (SSP) and tri-
fective technique for nutrient management in tropical soils (Steiner et al. 2007) as well as a way to reduce toxic organic compound bioavailability in soils
and aquatic sediments (Millward et al. 2005). The
relevant chemical properties of biochar are a function of the temperature carbonization and the particle size of the carbonized organic matter. Higher
temperatures have been shown to produce charcoal with higher surface areas, higher microporosity
and greater ability to sorb organic compounds such
as benzene, nitrobenzene and toluene (Chun et al.
2004, Borneman et al. 2007). However, the recent
realization that a better understanding of the influence that substrate and temperature have on biochar chemical properties underscores the need to
investigate the variability due to organic substrate
and temperature (Gundale and DeLuca 2007). The
utility of charcoal as a nutrient management tool is
partially based on its sorption and exchange properties for plant nutrients. The cation exchange properties and ammonium fixation potential of charcoal
sources have long been identified (Batnaga 1965,
1966). However, the P sorption and P release characteristics of biochar are still undocumented, even
though there has been an increasing interest in
Dark Earth Soils. The objective of this study was
to evaluate the effect of biochar from bamboo, produced under different carbonization temperatures
(400, 500 and 600 C), on the availability of phosphorus from different common sources in a Yellow
Oxisol of Central Amazonia.
ple superphosphate (TSP). The sources of phosphate were applied to be equivalent to 100 kg of
P2O5 per ha-1. The biochar was applied to be equivalent to 40 t ha-1. Complementary fertilization was
carried out at the beginning of each crop in the following doses: 45 kg N ha-1 (urea), 72 kg K2O ha-1
(potassium chloride). The biochar was made from
Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris vittata) at three different carbonization temperature (400 C, 500 C
and 600 C). The fresh material was collected from
a plantation of the National Institute of Amazonian
Researchs (INPA) Tropical Fruit Culture Experiment Station located 45 km North of Manaus. Bamboo stem biomass was from 10-yr old tree. Wood
samples was brought to temperature over a 2 h.
period. After reaching temperature the furnace was
turned off and allowed to cool. Biochar samples
were passed through a 2 mm sieve and analyzed
in the Soil and Plant Laboratory of the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) for pH (H2O),
available phosphorus (P), extractable potassium
(K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe),
zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and cooper (Cu). All
analysis was done using established methods (EMBRAPA, 1999). The beans were harvested at the
beginning of flowering. The following parameters
was measured: the variability in the soil fertility, the
nutritional status of the plants and total shoot dry
matter.

The carbonization temperature at which
the biochar was produced had a significant effect
on some chemical properties. Increasing charcoal
production temperature led to decrease on P availability and exchangeable K. On the other hand, the
exchangeable Mg and available Mn showed an increase as the carbonization temperature increased.
The high pH(H2O) values found for all carbonization
temperature led to low content of available micronutrients likes Fe and Mn. The same not occurring for
Zn and Cu that presented values considered suitable in the soils. Comparing the results found in the
table 1 with the values considered appropriated in
the soils solution it seen that Mg, P and Zn and Cu
available are showing values average and high respectively to all furnace temperature, whereas Ca,
K, Fe and Mn are very low (Table 1).

The application of biochar and phosphorus
sources did not affect the levels of exchangeble aluminum, potential acidity and base saturation, however, where applied biochar at 500 C, pH values
were lower in all treatments and although the values related to acidity have not been modified, the
pH values were significantly affected by treatments.
The treatments that received biochar under temperature of 400 C with the rock phosphate and triple
superphosphate behaved similarly, where biochar
at 500 C with rock phosphate applied the pH was
greater than in more soluble sources. Comparing
the treatments that received rock phosphate, it is
seen that with biochar at 500 C, the pH was higher,
which may be related to more recalcitrant form of
carbon, condensed structure (Table 2). The result
can be considered the most relevant in this study
was the way how the different sources behaved
in the presence of biochar, this has increased the
availability of P from the different sources of phosphorus, agreeing with Kampf (2000), who described
the ability of biochar to regulate the availability of
nutrients, even though these levels of P remained
on the track low, considering the sufficiency range
in soil fertility (Raij, 2011). Observe that biochar
influenced the availability of P from phosphate
sources, resulting in different P sources when operating without the presence of biochar would be
a greater plant growth in treatments with the most
275
soluble sources behavior. Lehmann et al. (2003a)

found an increase in ADM rice and beans at 17%
and 43% with biochar application rates of 68 t C
ha-1 and 135 t C ha-1, respectively, and attributed
this growth to the ability of biochar has as chemical
soil conditioner by increasing the availability of P,
K and Cu from other sources. Other studies have
attributed the increased growth of plants to positive
changes in the biogeochemistry of the soil resulting
from additions of biochar (Lehmann et al 2003b;.
Van Zwieten et al 2010).
Conclusions

Biochar increased the agronomic efficiency
of phosphate rock in the short term; Biochar produced at a temperature of 400 C increased the
availability of P in soil regardless of P source; The
presence of biochar made the high residual effect
of rock phosphate were decreased and the triple
superphosphate was increased.
Acknowledgements
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia-INPA; Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do estados
do Amazonas-FAPEAM; Grupo Terra Preta NovaGTPN; Centro de Energia Nuclear na AgriculturaCENA/USP e ao Dr. Charles Roland Clement.
References
Glaser, B., Lehmann, J., Zech, W., 2002. Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly
weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal a review. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 35: 219-230.
Kmpf, A.N. 2000. Seleo de materiais para uso
como substrato. In: Kmpf, A.N.; Fermino, M.H.
(Ed.).Substratos para plantas:a base da produo
vegetal em recipientes. Porto Alegre: Gnesis, 139145p.
Keiluweit, M.; Nico, P.S.; Johnson, M.G.; Kleber,
M. 2010. Dynamic molecular structure of plant biomass-derived black carbon (biochar). Environmental Science & Technology, 44: 1247-1253.
Kern, D.C.; Costa, M.L.; Fraso, F.J.L. 2001. Evolution of the scientific knowledge regarding Black
Earth Soil in the Amazon. Terra Preta. Symposium,
Benicssim, Dpain, July 13-14.
276
Table 1. Chemical attributes of bamboo biochar produced at different carbonization temperature
Ca
Mg
Fe
Zn
Mn
Cu
Biochar
pH(H2O)
400 C
10.4
0.34
0.56
17.36
171.19
10.9
3.3
9.2
1.2
500 C
10.2
0.37
0.62
12.48
132.42
10.0
2.3
11.1
0.7
600 C
10.1
0.26
1.06
8.31
115.36
9.2
5.7
13.9
1.3
___________
cmolc kg
-1__________
___________________
-3_____________________
mg dm
pH(H2O)- soil/water rate, 1:2,5. exchangeble Ca, Mg, K e available P and available using the Mehlich 1 extraction.
b
Table 2. Dry weight of shoots, leaf P concentration and chemical soil after cultivation of cowpea beans versus
temperature carbonization of bamboo biochar and sources of P (natural phosphate - NP; Single superphosphate - SSP;
triple superphosphate - TSP) in pots with Yellow Latosol in a greenhouse in Manaus, AM, between the year 2011 and
the year 2012.
Al
H+Al
Dry weight of shoots
Leaf concentration P
P content in the soil
---------- % ----------
----------- g -----------
--------- g kg-1 ---------
----------- mg dm-3 -----------
pHH2O
Temperatures
---------------- mmolc dm-3 ----------------
carbonization
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
NP
SSP
TSP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cowpea crop --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
400 oC
5.01 abA 4.85 bB 5.04 aA
2.4
2.0
2.0
30.4
34.2
32.6
25.0
22.4
21.6
6.93 aA
7.27 aA
5.70 bB
2.73
3.14
3.03
11.25 aA 10.75 aA 10.50 bA
500 oC
5.07 aA 4.96 aB 4.94 abB
1.0
1.0
1.0
29.6
32.8
35.0
28.4
28.4
26.2
6.62 aA
6.08 aB
6.62 aA
2.79
3.40
3.51
11.00 aB 11.50 aB 13.50 aA
600 oC
4.94 bA 4.75 bB 4.89 bA
1.6
1.6
2.0
33.0
37.2
40.6
23.2
22.0
18.0
6.15 aA
6.25 aB 6.18 aAB
3.24
2.82
3.52
11.50 aA 10.75 aA 11.50 bA
Means followed by the same letter do not differ statistically among themselves. The tukey test 5% was applied. Classification with
capital letters for rows and columns to lowercase.
277
46
ALTERNATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASING SOIL FERTILITY

IN ORGANIC FARMING
CAMPANELLI G1., CANALI S.2, TITTARELLI F.2, FUSARI F.1, LETEO F.1
1
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Unit di Ricerca per lOrticoltura (CRA-ORA), via Salaria 1,
Monsampolo del Tronto (AP), 63077, ITALY (gabriele.campanelli@entecra.it - fabio.fusari@entecra.it fabrizio.leteo@entecra.it); 2
Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per le Relazioni tra Pianta e Suolo, via della Navicella
2-4, Roma, 00184, ITALY (stefano.canali@entecra.it fabio.tittarelli@entecra.it)
Introduction

Most of the cultivated soils i
n Mediterranean area are characterized by low organic matter
content (Rusco et al., 2011). Apart from the Mediterranean climate which is the primary cause of soil organic matter decline, traditional cropping practices
and intensive agriculture are responsible on speeding the soil organic matter depletion; in addition, the
massive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
deeply reduces diversity of agro-environments. The
inclusion of cover crops in rotations enriches the
biodiversity of farming systems and contains weeds
(Montemurro et al., 2013)
reduces the risk of nitrogen leaching and soil erosion (Bohem et al., 2004)
and especially contributes to increase soil fertility in
the medium and long term thanks to a progressive
enrichment in organic matter (Campanelli & Canali,
2012). These issues are particularly relevant for
organic agriculture. Indeed, cover crops can be
grown simultaneously with (i.e. living mulch - LM) or
between (i.e. interposed or complementary crops)
successive plantings of a cash crops. In both cases, a proper agronomic management is important
to enhance agro-ecological effects of cover crops
and preserve the income of farmers. For example,
the cover crop managed as living mulch must be
very competitive against weeds but not towards the
cash crop; on the other side, the interposed cover
crops can be terminated either by incorporation to
soil (green manure) or through flattening by a roller
crimper. Among the most interesting conservative
practices, the termination by flattening and simultaneous preparation of the soil for transplanting
through minimum tillage allows a range of benefits
in organic horticulture, such as: 1) reduced use of
fossil fuels; 2) weed control; 3) respect for the rhizosphere and preservation of soil fertility (Canali et al.,
2013). Based on these considerations, three field
experiments were carried out aiming at optimizing
the technique of living mulch with burr medic on
cauliflower and evaluating agronomically conservative termination of cover crops as barley and vetch
in precession respectively to melon and tomato.
Methods

The research was carried as part of Monsampolo Vegetable (MOVE) long term experiment,
located at CRA-ORA in Monsampolo del Tronto
(AP), along the Adriatic coast of Marche Region in
Central Italy.
The soils on which the trials were carried out are certified for organic agriculture since
2001.

Experiment 1: optimizing the technique of
living mulch (LM). In a strip plot experimental design with two factors (LM sowing time and crop
cultivar) and three replicates, cauliflower (Brassica
oleracea L. var. botrytis) was grown within August
2011 and January 2012 with burr medic (Medicago
polymorpha L. var. anglona) used as living mulch.
Three treatments were compared: living mulch early sowing, at cauliflower transplanting (es LM); living mulch late sowing, three weeks after cauliflower
transplanting (ls LM); control (no LM). The cauliflower density was 2,38 plants per m2.

Experiment 2: conservative termination
of barley as cover crop in precession to melon. In
a strip plot experimental design with two factors
(method of cover crop termination and dose of compost) and three replicates, barley (Hordeum vulgare
L.) and melon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus)
were grown wthin October 2011 and August 2012.
Melon transplanting (0,50 plants per m2) was carried out at the beginning of May 2012 immediately
after barley termination. With regard to the methods of cover crop termination three treatments were
compared: roller crimper (RC); green manure (GM);
fallow (FA) as control. Regarding the second factor
the doses of compost were the following: 0, 15 and
30 t ha-1 of dry matter (d.m.).

Experiment 3: conservative termination of
278
vetch as cover crop in precession to tomato. A trial

design made up of three large plots was realized on
an organic experimental field homogeneous for its
biological and fertility characteristics. Three treatments were compared: a) roller crimper (RC); b)
green manure (GM); c) fallow artificially mulched
with Mater Bi (AM) as control. Vetch (Vicia villosa
Roth) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) were
grown within September 2013 and August 2014; tomato transplanting (2,22 plants per m2) was carried
out at the beginning of May 2014 immediately after
barley termination.

Experiment 1. Cauliflower total yield, marketable yield, head diameter and weight are reported in table 1. The es LM treatment showed a
significant reduction of all parameters if compared
to the control (no LM). This was due to the competition between the crop and the burr medic since
the beginning of cauliflower cropping cycle. Also the
presence of weeds (results not shown), which were
not mechanically controlled and not suppressed by
the LM, contributed to the crop yield and quality
reduction. On the other hand, the ls LM performed
similarly to no LM with regard to marketable yield
and head diameter. These last results were probably due to the reduced period of direct competition
between cauliflower and LM.

Experiment 2. The combination of different systems of cover crop termination and doses
of compost had significant effects on the yield of
organic melon. Green manured barley determined
the highest yield while melon cultivated after roller crimped barley was not competitive in terms
of yield (Table 2). This is probably due to the difficulty of melon roots to explore the soil minimally
tilled and to the lowest temperatures, which have
been recorded in this experiment at 10 cm of depth
(data not shown). Such temperatures may have
negatively affected both the development of plants
(since melon, as macrotherm species, needs high
soil temperatures) and the nitrogen mineralization.
Fallow treatment (control) showed an intermediate
output in relation to the other two treatments. The
sustainability of the system is increased by the application of the dose 15 of compost (Table 2).
Experiment 3. According to preliminary

data, the RC experimental plots provided a production statistically not different from the other
two treatments, showing that tomato is suitable to
be grown after conservative termination of vetch.
This interesting result of RC on tomato production
was further supported by the lowest not marketable yield obtained in the same treatment (Table
3). These results suggest that vetch mulch, along
with weed control, may have promoted a gradual
release of nitrogen during the whole life cycle of
tomato, by improving the nutritional state of the tomato crop (Montemurro et al, 2013).

Plants grown on RC plot have always
shown the highest crop health, as indicated by
a significantly lower no-marketable production in
experiment 2 and 3; this may be due to a better control (data not shown) of aphid attacks on
melon (experiment 2) and of collar rot caused by
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici on tomato
(experiment 3).
Conclusions

The obtained results indicated that the introduction of early sown LM (i.e. at crop transplanting) in cauliflower cropping systems reduces yield
and product quality. Conversely, if the LM was late
sowed (i.e. 3 weeks after cauliflower transplanting)
no significant differences in yield and quality were
observed.

With regard to the conservative termination
of cover crops in precession to vegetables, the trials demonstrate that outputs are largely dependent on the specific cash crop that has to be grown.
Tomato showed a good adaptation to this technique
regarding both the marketable yield and the health
of plants. On the other hand, melon proved to be
not easy-fitting to conservative termination in terms
of marketable yield. Anyway additional trials should
be carried out in order to verify the varietal response within this species. Techniques as LM and
RC, if properly applied to horticultural organic cropping systems, can effectively contribute to increase
the fertility of soils in Mediterranean environments
(Migliorini et al., 2013) while protecting the income
of farmers.
Keywords:
cover crop, roller crimper, organic horticulture
Acknowledgements
Data were obtained in the frame of the INTERVEG
Core Organic II ERA-NET project, SUSVEG ItalyIsrael bilateral cooperation Project and ORTOSUP,
a project on organic agriculture funded by Italian
Ministry of Agricultural Policies.
References
Bohem, M., Junkins, B., Desjiardins, R.,
Kulshreshtha, S.nand Lindwall, W, 2004. Sink
potential of Canadian agricultural soils. Climatic
Change 65, 297-314.
Campanelli G. & Canali S., 2012. Crop Production
and Environmental Effects in Conventional and Organic Vegetable Farming Systems: The Case of a
Long Term Experiment in Mediterranean Conditions
(Central Italy). Journal of Sustainable Agriculture.
36:6, 599-619. ISSN: 1044-0046 print/1540-7578
online.
Canali S., Campanelli G., Ciaccia C., Leto F., Testani E., Montemurro F., 2013. Conservation tillage
strategy based on the roller crimper technology for
weed control in Mediterranean vegetable organic
cropping systems. Europ. J. Agronomy 50 (2013)
11 18.
Migliorini, P., Moschini, V., Tittarelli, F., Ciaccia, C.,
Benedettelli, S., Vazzana, C., Canali, S., 2013.
Agronomic performance, carbon storage and nitrogen
utilisation of long-term organic and conventional
stockless arable systems in Mediterranean area.
European Journal of Agronomy.
Montemurro F., Fiore A., Campanelli G., Tittarelli F., Ledda L., Canali S., 2013.
Organic Fertilization, Green Manure and Vetch Mulch to Improve
Organic Zucchini Yield and Quality. HortScience.
48(8):1027-1033. Rusco, E.R, Jones and Bidoglio,
G., 2001.
Rusco, E.R., Jones and Bidoglio, G., 2001. Organic
matter in the soils of Europe: Present status and
future trends. European Soil Bureau, JRC Ispra,
Italy, 14pp.
Table 1. Experiment 1: total and marketable yield of cauliflower
Treatment
Total yield
Mg ha
-1
Marketable yield
Mg ha
Head diameter
Head weight
-1
kg
0.135 a
0.620 a
no LM
21.2 a
es LM
6.1 c
4.0 b
0.054 b
0.212 c
17.2 b
17.2 a
0.136 a
0.549 b
ls LM
19.4 a
279
Note: no LM = sole crop system (control); es LM = LM additive system, sowing at cauliflower transplanting; ls LM = LM
additive system, sowing delayed after cauliflower transplanting; aThe mean values in each column followed by a different
letter are significantly different according to DMRT at the P0.05 probability level.
280
Table 2. Experiment 2: total and marketable yield of melon
Marketable yield
kg plant
-1
Fruits plant
-1
Not marketable yield

-1
kg plant
Fruits plant
-1
Cover crop management (A)

Green Manure (GM)
Fallow (FA)
Roller Crimper (RC)
3.3 a
2.4 b
1.5 c
2.4 a
1.8 b
1.4 c
0.69 a
0.39 b
0.15 c
0.69 a
0.51 ab
0.22 b
2.5 a
2.6 a
2.1 a
P<0.01
1.8 a
0.4 ab
0.3 b
n.s.
0.36 ab
0.57 a
0.29 b
P<0.05
0.40 ab
0.69 a
0.33 b
P<0.05
Compost dose (B)

30
15
0
A x B interaction
Table 3. Experiment 3: total and marketable yield of tomato (first three branches in order of ripening)
Marketable yield
kg plant
-1
Fruits plant
Not marketable yield

-1
kg plant
-1
Fruits plant
Cover crop management
Green Manure (GM)
1.455
5.67 b
0.201 a
0.84
Fallow artificial mulching (AM)
1.232
5.92 ab
0.240 a
1.13
Roller Crimper (RC)
1.622
6.83 a
0.137 b
0.63
n.s.
P<0.05
P<0.05
n.s.
The mean values in each column followed by a different letter are significantly different according to LSD at P=0.05
-1
Posters | Section 9 | Policies and legislation related to fertilizer
281
47
ANALYSIS OF BULK BLENDS INSPECTED BY MAPA

BETWEEN 2008 AND 2010
MARIANA C. DE SENA1, TAIRONE P. LEO2, GEORGE F. VON BORRIES3, OSIRIS TURNES3
1
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Suply, Esplanada dos Ministrios, Bloco D, Anexo A, Sala 317-A, Braslia, Post code
70.043-900, BRASIL (mariana.sena@agricultura.gov.br); 2 Department of Agronomy, Campus Universitrio Darcy Ribeiro, Braslia,
Post code, BRASIL (tleao@unb.br); 3 Department of Statistics, Campus Universitrio Darcy Ribeiro, Braslia, Post code, BRASIL
(gborries@unb.br osiris@unb.br)
Introduction

Brazil is the fourth biggest consumer of fertilizers in the world. Among these, the bulk blend
is the most consumed in the country. After an update of the Brazilian legislation about fertilizers in
2004, producers claim that there was an excessive
increase of the strictness of the legislation concerning the inspection of the levels of nutrients in those
products.

Within this context, the objective of this
work was to provide an exploratory and descriptive
analysis and apply logistic regression to the inspection data of fertilizers from the years 2008 to 2010
as indicators of the contribution of the sources of
variation concerning the factors producer, formula
and laboratory to the total variation of the results
and verify if the tolerance levels established by
MAPA are being practiced.
Methods

The inspection data of fertilizers (solid bulk
blends for soil) from the years 2008 to 2010 was
separated by producer, formula, laboratory, particle
size specification and period. These data were submitted to a descriptive analysis, followed by a logistic regression. Only data of nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium were analysed.

The samples were collected according to
Normative Statement MAPA number 10 of 2004
and chemically and physically analysed according
to Normative Statement SDA number 28 of 2007.

Statistical analysis were performed using
the statistical software SAS.

Using frequency analysis, it was observed that the
formulas with the greatest number of observations
were: 20-00-20 (389 occurrences), 04-14-08 (388
occurrences), 20-05-20 (366 occurrences), 02-2020 (228 occurrences), 10-10-10 (183 occurrences),
05-20-20 (160 occurrences), 02-20-18 (157 occurrences), 08-28-16 (149 occurrences), 20-04-18
(133 occurrences), 08-20-20 (109 occurrences) e
20-00-10 (102 occurrences). According to Trani &
Trani (2011), the most commercialized formulas in
Brazil are: 04-14-08, 08-28-16, 05-30-10, 05-30-15,
04-20-20, 05-25-25, 20-05-20, 20-00-20, 20-05-15,
14-07-28, 12-06-12, 10-10-10 and 15-15-15. This
shows that the inspection is representative.

Also using frequency analysis, it was observed that the level of compliance for N is 96.8
%, for P2O5 is 91.2 % and for K2O is 88.3 %, which
means that, in average, 92.1 % of the bulk blends
analysed in 2008 to 2010 were in compliance to the
normatives. Andrade (2004) observed an average
of 20.9 % of nonconformity in Paran, which can be
explined by the fact that the blends analysed were
collected on trades.

When the data was separated by formula,
it was observed that there is a tendency of greater
values for nitrogen and phosphorus, specially when
the fertilizer has a low nitrogen content as shown
in figure 1. Andrade (2004) also observed that for
nitrogen guarantees between 0% and 5%, non-conformity of products was below average.

Logistic regression shows that, for nitrogen
and phosphorus analyzed by the laboratory with
the greatest number of observations, the variables
producer and formula have influenced the results (nonconforming or conforming), whereas, for
potassium analyzed by the same laboratory, only
the variable formula influenced the results.

Although the fomulas are basically produced
using the same process for all producers, there are
differences in quality control, calibration of scales and
equipment maintanance, and that could explain why
the variable producer influenced the results. Besides, for nitrogen and phosphorus, the usage of different materials could also explain this. In the case
of the potassium, all producers use the same mate-
282
rial, which could explain why that variable did not influence the results. Table 1 show the odds ratio for
phosphorus, when data was separated by producers.
For producer number 30.1, the chance of obtaining a
result outside the guaranteed range is smaller when
compared to other producers.
References
Conclusions
BRASIL. Ministrio da Agricultura, Pecuria e

Abastecimento. Instruo Normativa n. 10, 6 mai.
2004b. Aprova as disposies sobre a classificao
e os registros de estabelecimentos e produtos, as
exigncias e critrios para embalagem, rotulagem,
propaganda e para prestao de servio, bem
como os procedimentos a serem adotados na inspeo e fiscalizao da produo, importao,
exportao e comrcio de fertilizantes, corretivos,
inoculantes e biofertilizantes, destinados agri-

It is not possible to afirm that the tolerance
is not appropriate based on the results this work.
In general, the samples collected by the inspection
between years 2008 and 2010 are within the legal
tolerance limits for N, P and K. The guarantees of
nitrogen tend to be underestimated compared with
the levels achieved in the analysis. Considering
the laboratory with the greatest number of observations, the acceptance of the blend is related to
producer and formula, for nitrogen and phosphorus. For potassium, it is only related to formula.
Nonconforming results for bulk blends seems to be
related to sources of variation not related to the tolerance admitted by legislation. The results obtained
are only valid for the data analyzed. For further information, it is necessary a continuous analysis of
inspection data over the next few years.
Keywords: Bulk blends, federal inspection and logistic regression
Acknowledgements
To the federal inspectors working with bulk blends
in Brazil.
ANDRADE, R.R. Utilizao de mtodos estatsticos

na fiscalizao do comrcio de fertilizantes no Estado do Paran. Florianpolis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 2004. 135 p. (Dissertao
de mestrado).
cultura. Dirio Oficial da Repblica Federativa

do Brasil, Poder Executivo, Braslia, DF, 12 mai.
2004. seo 1, p.12.
Abastecimento. Instruo Normativa n. 28, 27 jul.
2007b. Aprova os Mtodos Analticos Oficiais para
Fertilizantes Minerais, Orgnicos, Organominerais
e Corretivos. Dirio Oficial da Repblica Federativa do Brasil, Poder Executivo, Braslia, DF, 31 jul.
2007. seo 1, p.11.
TRANI, P.E. & TRANI, A.L. Fertilizantes: clculo de
frmulas comerciais. Campinas, Instituto Agronmico, 2011. 29 p. (Boletim Tcnico IAC, 208) (a)
Table 1. Odds ratio comparing producers, for phosphorus
11.2
18.0
18.1
30.1
3.20
3.7
8.5
8.7
9.3
9.4
9.8
11.2
18.0
18.1
30.1
3.20
3.7
1
ns
0.603
ns
1.053
*
3.716
ns
0.692
ns
1.804
ns
0.440
ns
0.843
ns
1.692
ns
1.267
ns
0.305
1
ns
1.745
*
6.158
ns
1.147
*
2.989
ns
0.730
ns
1.398
*
2.804
ns
2.101
ns
0.505
1
*
3.529
ns
0.657
ns
1.713
ns
0.418
ns
0.801
ns
1.607
ns
1.204
ns
0.290
1
*
0.186
ns
0.485
*
0.119
ns
0.227
ns
0.455
ns
0.341
*
0.082
1
ns
2.605
ns
0.636
ns
1.218
ns
2.444
ns
1.831
ns
0.440
1
*
0.244
ns
0.468
ns
0.938
ns
0.703
*
0.169
ns = non-significant. * and gray color = significant. Column data over row data.
8.5
8.7
9.3
9.4
1
ns
1.915
1
*
ns
3.841 2.006
1
ns
ns
ns
2.877 1.503 0.749
1
ns
ns
*
*
0.692 0.361 0.180 0.241
9.8
(a)
Porcentagem
(%)
100
80
abaixo
60
dentro
40
acima
20
20
_0
0_
20
04
_1
4_
08
20
_0
5_
20
02
_2
0_
20
10
_1
0_
10
05
_2
0_
20
02
_2
0_
18
08
_2
8_
16
20
_0
4_
18
08
_2
0_
20
20
_0
0_
10
Formulao
(b)
Porcentagem
(%)
100
80
abaixo
60
dentro
40
acima
20
20
18
08
_2
0_
16
20
_0
4_
18
08
_2
8_
20
02
_2
0_
10
05
_2
0_
20
10
_1
0_
20
02
_2
0_
20
_0
5_
04
_1
4_
08
Formulao
(c)
Porcentangem
(%)
100
80
abaixo
60
dentro
40
acima
20
20
_0
0_
20
04
_1
4_
08
20
_0
5_
20
02
_2
0_
20
10
_1
0_
10
05
_2
0_
20
02
_2
0_
18
08
_2
8_
16
20
_0
4_
18
08
_2
0_
20
20
_0
0_
10
Formulao
Figure 1. Frequency of conformity for inspection data, separated by formula, for nitrogen (a), phosphorus (b) and potassium (c).
283
284

48
ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF CADMIUM, CHROMIUM

AND LEAD IN MINERAL FERTILIZERS COMMERCIALIZED IN BRAZIL
GLUCIA C.G. SANTOS1, ALINE R. COSCIONE1, CLEIDE A. ABREU1, MRCIO K. CHIBA1
1
Instituto Agronmico, Av. Baro de Itapura 1481, Campinas, 13020-902, Brasil (cleide@iac.sp.gov.br)
Introduction

Fertilizers are essential to provide ade-
quate nutrients for crop growth and insure successful harvests.

However, phosphate rocks and their fertilizer blends and micronutrient supplements may also
present heavy metals which can contribute to their
enrichment in the receiving soils. The use of raw
material from unknown and/or questionable sources can result in products with a cadmium, chromium
and zinc above legislation limits contents. Such
contaminants it can be inadvertently introduced into
soils besides the nutrients requires for plants development (Mortvedt, 1996; Westfall et al., 2005).
Therefore, it is important to monitor the concentration of heavy metals in fertilizers, in order to prevent
or reduce their entry into the food chain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations
of Cd, Cr, and Pb in samples of fertilizers available
in the market from 2010 to 2013 and its agreement whithin the Brazilian and U.S. regulations.
Methods

One hundred and thirty nine samples of
mineral fertilizers commercialized in Brazil, containing phosphorus and/or micronutrients, were analysed by the productive sector at the laboratory of
the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) from
2010 to 2013. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, and
Pb in the samples were extracted by nitric acidmicrowave oven digestion method EPA-3051a and
determinated by inductively coupled plasma-optical
emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) with the 6010C
method (US-EPA 2007). The data were gathered
in an eletronic spredsheet to easy handling. To facilitate comparison between them, the results were
grouped as follows: Group 1- fertilizers with less
than 6% available phosphorus (P2O5); Group 2fertilizers with more than 6% avaliable phosphorus
(P2O5) and no micronutrients; Group 3- fertilizers
with phosphorus (P2O5) and one or more micronutrient (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Co or Mo) and, Group
4- micronutrient claim fertilizers (B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn,

Co or Mo) whithout phosphorus. For each fertilizer group the maximum and minimum levels and
the percentile value (0.75) of the Cd, Pb and Cr
were calculated using XLSTAT statistical program
while the maximum concentrations of Cd, Pb and
Cr were compared to the regulations of Brazil
(MAPA) and the U.S. (State of California and the
Association of American Plant Food Control Officials regulations).

The concentrations of Cd and Pb were the
highest in the micronutrient fertilizers (Group 4) and
the concentrations of Cr were highest in phosphate
fertilizers with micronutrients (Group 3) (Table 1).
The highest concentration of Cd, 44.3 mg kg-1, occurred in fertilizers containing guarantees of Cu
and B (4.9%) (Figure 1a), the maximum level of Pb,
13,334 mg kg-1, occurred in samples containing Zn
(60%) (Figure 1a); and the maximum Cr content,
453 mg kg-1 occurred in phosphorus fertilizers (46%
P2O5) with micronutrients (0.1% B, 0.1% Cu, 0.2%
Mn , 0.2% Zn) (Figure 1b). The Cd levels in the
phosphate fertilizers were low, 0.3-34.5 mg kg-1 (Table 1). The concentrations of heavy metals found
at the brazilian commercial fertilizers were within the limits established by the Brazils and USAs
regulations. Only one sample of micronutrient fertilizer (Zn-60%) showed Pb content higher than the
threshold (13,334 mg kg-1) acording the brazillian
law (10,000 mg kg-1) and the California Department
of Food and Agriculture (8,400 mg kg-1). However
the same sample was not rejected by the Association of American Plant Food Controls Officials which
standards for aceptable Pb concentration are three
times higher than the CDFAs. Probably the zinc
source used in this product was a secondary material derived from metallurgical galvanizing process.
These by-products are characterized as oxides
and/or silicified oxides like the galvanizing ashes,
which contain 60-75% of Zn.
Conclusion

Although the mean contents of Cd, Pb and
Cr in fertilizers commercialized in Brazil were within
the limits established , long term the use of these
materials may cause a significant increase of their
contents in the soils. This suggests that addionally
to monitoring the quality of the fertilizers, periodic
assesments of soil quality in terms of heavy metals
accumulation may be required.
Keywords: Heavy metal, contaminant, inorganic
fertilizer, micronutrient
References
AAPFCOAssociation ofAmerican Plant Food
Control Officials (2007). Model for Fertilizer Regulation in North America. AAPFCOs Statement of
285
Heavy Metal Task Force. California Department of

Food and Agriculture, Agricultural Commodities and
Regulatory Services.
MAPA-Ministrio da Agricultura, Pecuria e Abastecimento. Instruo Normativa DAS/MAPA
27/2006, 09 de junho de 2006. Available at: http://
sistemasweb.agricultura.gov.br/sislegis/action/detalhaAto.do?method=recuperarTextoAtoTematicaPo
rtal&codigoTematica=1229258. [Accessed July 14,
2014].
Mortvedt, J.J., 1996. Heavy metal contaminants in
inorganic and organic fertilizers. Fert. Res. 43: 5561.
Uniform Interpretation and Policy (SUIP) #25 Page

65, Official Publication No 60. 2007. Available at:
http://www.aapfco.org/rules.html. [Accessed July
14, 2014].
US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA),

Method 3051A: microwave assisted acid digestion of sediments, sludges, soil and oils. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/3051a.pdf. [Accessed July
14, 2014).
California Department of Food and Agriculture

(CDFA), 1998. Development of Riskbased Concentrations for Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead in Inorganic Commercial Fertilizers, the Report of the
Westfall, D.G., Mortvedt, J.J., Peterson, G.A., Gangloff, W.J., 2005. Efficient and environmentally safe
use of micronutrients in agriculture. Commun. Soil
Sci. Plant Anal. 36: 169-182.
Table 1. Concentration of Cd, Pb, and Cr in fertilizers sold in the brazillian market from 2010 to 2013 and analysed by
the laboratory of the Agronomic Institute IAC
GROUP 1
Mean
Minimum
Maximum
Percentile 0.75
N
Mean
Minimum
Maximum
Percentile 0.75
N
Mean
Minimum
Maximum
Percentile 0.75
N
GROUP 2
GROUP 3
GROUP 4
------------------------------------- Cadmium -------------------------------------0.08

3.78
12.8
4.5
0.002
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.3
17.7
34.5
44.3
0.08
2.30
23.6
3.80
4
42
45
48
---------------------------------------- Lead ----------------------------------------0.48
9.13
36.4
331
0.002
0.01
0.01
0.01
1.9
71.7
281
13,334
0.48
14.4
45.1
9.80
4
42
45
48
------------------------------------- Chromium ------------------------------------2.35
29.3
129
8.20
0.01
0.01
0.,01
0.01
8.8
95.7
453
84.9
2.65
30.9
215
8.15
4
42
45
48
286
(A)
(B)
(C)
Figure 1. Cadmium, lead and chromium concentrations in fertilizers that are commercialized as source of micronutrients (A),
phosphate + micronutrients (B) and single source of phosphate and phosphates blends with nitrogen and potassium (C). Numbers
at the top of bars are the maximum value for each element. Numbers inside rectangles above the squared bracts are the quantity of
samples of each type of fertilizer analysed. Observe the Y-axis in logarithmic scale in (A).
Posters | Section 10 | Premium fertilizer
287
49
USE OF GROWTH PROMOTERS IN SEED TREATMENT

IN SOYBEAN PRODUCTION (Glycine max L.)
CLEYTON DA SILVA DOMINGOS1, LEONARDO RGIS PEREIRA2, THIAGO PINHEIRO DE OLIVEIRA2
1
Graduate Program in Agronomy-PGA, UEM, Av. Colombo, 5.790, Maring, PR, 87020-900 Brazil (domingos.cleyton@gmail.com)
Departament of Research and Development, Rua Curitiba, 805, Paiandu, PR, 87140-000, Brazil (leonardo.pereira@fortgreen.
com.br);(thiago.oliveira@fortgreen.com.br)
Introduction

Year after year, we seek to increase productivity within the area cultivated with soybeans,
since that is the Brazilian crop that grew over the
last three decades. Second Conab (2014) the average Brazilian yield for 2013/2014 harvest was
2858 kg ha-1, it is known that the ability of this crop
productivity is much higher. The search for technological advance is of great importance to achieve
the desired levels of productivity, there is the seed
treatment products which facilitate the prerequisite
of nutrients at the time that plants need.

Every year new agricultural technologies
developed by research, targeting for measures to
improve the development of shoot and root system,
thus increasing the efficiency of the plant to absorb
water and nutrients, and increased productivity.
Noteworthy is the use of growth promoters, which
according to (Floss et al., 2007) the use of these
products in seed treatments is a tool increasingly
used by farmers seeking to achieve the productive
potential of crops. Despite the low concentration
within the tissues and organs of plants, micronutrients is equally important macronutrient for the nourishment of them (Kirkby and Rmheld, 2007), since
they are fundamental to the growth of plants, acting as cell wall constituents boro (B) and cell membranes (B, Zn), as constituents of enzymes (Fe, Mn,
Cu, Ni) as activators of enzymes (Mn, Zn) and photosynthesis (Fe, Cl, Cu, Mn). Sfredo et al. (1997)
mentioned that Molybdenum (Mo) and cobalt (Co)
have great importance in biological nitrogen fixation
(BNF).

Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate
the use of growth promoters and micronutrients applied to seeds in soybean products.

The field work was conducted from November 2013 to March 2014 in a distrophic Cambisol
(Embrapa, 2006), the Juncal farm located in the

municipality of Ponta Grossa, PR, with geographical coordinates 25 0314 .58 S and 50 2258
.14 WO and an average altitude of 831 meters,
and the climate according to Kppen is Cfb, with
historical annual average of 21.4 C and rainfall of
1495 mm. Soil samples were collected in the layer
0-20 cm for chemical characterization of the soil: pH
(CaCl2) = 6.06; pH (H2O) = 6.56; Ca = 2.18 cmolc
dm-3; Mg = 1.43 cmolc dm-3; H + AL = 2.24 cmolc
dm-3; Mehlich-1 P = 6.6 mg dm-3; K = 0.13 cmolc
dm-3; S = 6.70 mg dm-3; T = 5.98 cmolc dm-3; sum of
bases = 3.74 cmolc dm-3; base saturation = 62.56%;
Zn = 1.72 mg dm-3; Cu = 0.46 mg dm-3; Fe = 74.54
mg dm-3; Mn = 10.76 mg dm-3; B = 0.69 mg dm-3;
Organic matter 12.65 g dm-3.

We used soybean cultivar Ni 5909 RR putting
up an average of fourteen seeds per meter. We used
a randomized block design with six treatments (T1 =
control; T2 = Fortgreen SeedDry 2g kg seed-1; T3 =
Fortgreen SeedDry Ni 1g kg seed-1; T4 = Fortgreen
SeedDry Ni 2g kg seed-1; T5 = Fortgreen SeedDry Ni
3g kg seed-1; T6 = ACA Plus 2 ml kg seed-1) and five
replicates, totaling 30 plots, all treatments were applied to seeds. Measurements were taken at different
vegetative and reproductive stages of the crop cycle,
the stand V3, number of lateral branches and number
of pods per plant in R6 and 1000 grain weight and
productivity at harvest.

Initially, for each year was applied the
analysis of residues according to Martin and Storck
(2008). So, when the significant, conducted an
analysis of variance with Sisvar (Ferreira, 2008)
means were compared by the test t (LSD) at the 5%
significance level of error.

Was observed with the results, all variables
showed significant when subjected to the t test (Table 1). For the final stand variable, we note that the
288
three treatment (FSD Ni) had the highest average

plants per meter, obtaining the value of 31.26 plants
per meter (Table 2). Brown et al. (1987) working
with barley for three generations in nutrient medium
without Ni, observed that the germination percentage of the seeds of these plants decreased linearly
with Ni concentrations below the critical level, thus
demonstrating the essentiality of Ni to plants. According Eskew et al. (1983) in soybean plants with
low Ni content, very high concentrations of urea
were found on the tips of the leaves which can be
avoided by adding Ni.

Assessing the Table 2, the number of pods
per plant as presented higher mean value 42.32
obtained by treatment two (FSD) and the control
had the lowest mean for this variable (37,88), so we
note the efficiency of treatments used to increase
production of pods per plant.

The number of lateral branches per plant
also showed statistically significant results, since
the two treatment (FSD) had the highest average
(14.36) showing the potential of the material used
to increase the branching of the culture.

For the thousand grain weight, it is observed in Table 1 that the three treatment (FSD Ni)
had the highest value obtained, reaching a weight
of 183.31 grams, while the control had an average
value of 154.85 grams in a thousand grains. Therefore, the product used proved efficient when you
want to increase the weight of the grains.

Observing the results for productivity, it is
evident the great difference obtained by treating six
of the other treatments and especially the control.
Obtained in six treatment an average of 4561.11 kg
ha-1, a value equal to 76.0 bags per hectare, where
the witness had an average of 4006.00 kg ha-1, or
66.7 bags per hectare, therefore treatment seven
(ACAPLUS) accounted for an increase of 14% in
productivity, or 9.3 bags per hectare, compared with
the control. Inoue et al. (2009), working with corn,
observed a significant increase in productivity when
applied to seeds of ammoniacal zinc acetate.
Conclusion

The use of ACAPLUS product resulted in
an increase in productivity of 14% when applied to
TS using the NI 5909 RR variety, enabling its use in
soybean.

The use of FSD Ni product at a dose of 1g/
kg TS seed in soybean, increased the weight of the
grains.
Keywords: Growth promoters, soybeans, Fortgreen
SeedDry Ni, ammoniacal zinc acetate.
References
BROWN, P. H.; WELCH, R. M.; CARY, E. E. Nickel: a micronutrient essential for higher plants.
Plant Physiology, Rockville, v. 85, p. 801-803, 1987.
COMPANHIA NACIONAL DE ABASTECIMENTO.
Acompanhamento de safra brasileira gros.
Safra 13/14. N. 7: stimo levantamento, abril/2014.
Disponivel < http://www.conab.gov.br/OlalaCMS/
uploads/arquivos/14_04_14_11_56_28_boletim_
graos_abril_2014.pdf> , acesso em junho de
2014.
ESKEW, D. L.; WELCH, R. M.; CARY, E. E. An essential micronutrient for legumes and possibly
all higher plants. Science, Washington, v. 222, p.
621-623, 1983.
FERREIRA, D.F. SISVAR: um programa para
anlises e ensino de estatstica. Revista Symposium, Lavras MG, v.6, p.36-42, 2008.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRADEPESQUISA AGROPECURIA - EMBRAPA. Sitema brasileiro de
classificao de Solos. 2 Edio. EMBRAPA.
306 p. 2006.
FLOSS, E. L.; FLOSS, L. G. Fertilizantes organo
minerais de ltima gerao: funes fisiolgicas e uso na agricultura. Revista Plantio Direto,
edio 100, Aldeia Norte Editora, Passo Fundo,
RS. 2007.
INOUE, T. T.; KREIN, T.; KRAEMER, B.; XAVIER,
A. H.; XAVIER, L. H. Produtividade e retorno
econmico do milho em funo do tratamento
de sementes com acetato de zinco amoniacal. X
Seminrio nacional milho safrinha. Rio Verde, GO.
2009.
KIRKBY, E. A.; RMHELD, V. Micronutrientes
na fisiologia de plantas: funes, absoro
e mobilidade. Encarte tcnico. Informaes
agronmicas n 118, International Plant Nutrition
Insititute. 2007.
289
MARTIN, T. N.; STORCK, L. Anlise das pressuposies do modelo matemtico em experimentos

agrcolas no delineamento blocos ao acaso. In:
MARTIN, T. N.; ZIECH, M. F. (Org.). SEMINRIO:
SISTEMAS DE PRODUO AGROPECURIA, 2,
2008, Curitiba. Anais...Curitiba: UTFPR, p. 177196. 2008.
SFREDO, G.J.; BORKERT, C. M.; LANTMANN,

A.F. Molibdnio e cobalto na cultura da soja.
Londrina: EmbrapaCNPSo, 18p, 1997.
Table 1. Summary of analysis of variance, with F calculated for the variables: Stand (S), number of pods plant-1 (NPP),
number of lateral branches-1 (NBL), thousand grain weight (WTG) and productivity (P) soybean obtained in evaluating
the use of TS FSD products applied to the seeds. Ponta Grossa, PR. Season 2013/14.
F.V.
Treatments
Residue
G.L.
6
14
NPP
3.398*
9.880*
NBL
4.075*
WTG
kg ha
8.670*
7.04 **
-1
* Significant at 5% probability ; ** Significant at 1% probability ; NS Not significant at 5% probability
Table 2. S, NPP, NBL, WTG and P soybean obtained in evaluating the use of TS products applied to the seeds. Ponta
Grossa, PR. Season 2013/14.
Treatments
1-Control
2- FSD*
3-FSD Ni**
4-FSD Ni
5-FSD Ni
6-ACAPLUS
CV (%)
(1)
29.00 C
31.06 A
31.26 A
29.26 C
30.66 AB
29.73 BC
6.66
(1)
NPP
37.88 C
42.32 A
42.12 AB
42.00 AB
38.32 C
40.84 B
7.10
NBL
(1)
WTG
kg ha
12.84 D
14.36 A
13.64 BC
13.64 BC
13.08 CD
13.04 CD
154.85 C
176.46 AB
183.31 A
179.71 A
170.79 B
176.29 AB
4006.00 BC
3911.00 BC
4294.67 B
4294.00 B
3720.00 C
4561.11 A
10.21
4.04
6.88
Variables transformed into log (x) - count data ; *Fortgreen Seed Dry; ** Fortgreen Seed Dry Ni
Means followed by the same letter in the column do not differ significantly by t test (LSD) (p 0.10).
-1
290

50
PRODUCTIVITY OF SUGARCANE WITH THERMOPOTASH

IVANIELE NAHAS DUARTE1, EDUARDO SCARPARI SPOLIDORIO2, LAERTE ROCHA NEVES PINTO1,
GASPAR HENRIQUE KORNDRFER1, HAMILTON SERON PEREIRA1
1
Fertilidade de Solo e Nutrio de Plantas da Universidade Federal de Uberlndia-UFU, Av. Amazonas, s/ n, Bloco 4C, Sala 123,
Uberlndia-MG, CEP: 38402-018, Brasil (ielenahas@yahoo.com.br, laerterochanp@yahoo.com.br, ghk@uber.com.br , hseron@uol.
com.br ); 2 Verde Fertilizantes Ltda, Antonio de Albuquerque, 156, sala 1601 a 1611 Savassi- Belo Horizonte-MG, CEP; 30112010, Brasil ( eduardo.spolidorio@verdefertilizantes.com.br )
Introduction

Potassium chloride (KCl) is the main source
of potassium of Brazilian agriculture, accounting for
over 92% of consumed potassium (Raij, 2011). In
Brazil, the domestic production of KCl serves only
9% of demand, imports from the rest (IBRAM,
2010). Governmental and private initiatives have
sought to search for and exploit mineral rocks with
potential for production of potash fertilizers. Among
the existing rocks and deposits in Brazil, is known
the Verdete, a potassium silicate rock consisting,
among other minerals, quartz, feldspar and mica,
with percentage of K2O ranging between 7 and 11%
(PIZA et al., 2011). The Verdete, subjected only to
grinding has a low solubility of potassium in the soil
and low absorption by plants (Siqueira et al. 1985).
One way to increase availability is subject to that
rock chemical and thermal process resulting in a
fertilizer called thermopotash. The aim of this study
is to evaluate the use of different rates of thermopotash as a source of potassium in the productivity of cane sugar compared to potassium chloride
(KCl) in two successive harvests.
Methods

The experiment with cane sugar, cultivar
SP 832 847, was installed in June 2011 in Plant Energy Cia Vale do So Simo and evaluated during
two successive harvests. The experimental design
was a randomized block factorial 2 x 5 with two
sources of potassium (thermopotash and KCl) and
5 potassium rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha-1
of K2O), with five replicates. Each experimental plot
consisted of 5 rows spaced at 1.5 m, 20 m long,
with a total area of 150 m2. The soil was classified
as Red Acrudox, with pHH2O of 4.4; 2.0 mg dm-3 of
P, 1.4 mg dm-3 of Si; 0.04 cmolcdm-3 of K; 0.6 cmoldm-3 of Ca; 0.3 cmolc dm-3 of Mg ; 2,44 cmolcdm-3
c
H++Al; 28% of base saturation; 6% of sand, 1% silt
and 13% clay. Before planting, the soil received the
equivalent of 1 t ha-1 limestone; and second harvest
1.0 t ha-1 of gypsum. The thermopotash was applied

to the fine grain size with 7.0% of total K2O; 28.4%
of silicon (SiO2); 31.0% of CaO and 6.9% of MgO,
and Potassium Chloride in granulated particle containing 60% of K2O.

In sugarcane planting furrows were applied
250 kg ha-1 monoammonium phosphate and then
the sources and potassium rates, and the stalks of
sugarcane were applied. In order to evaluate the
residual effect of the sources of potassium for cane
cultivation 2nd (2nd harvest) was only applied nitrogen and phosphorus. Both the first and second crop
was harvest when completed 12 months of plant
growth. The results were submitted to analysis of
variance, using the statistical program SISVAR.

Both the first and the second crop of sugarcane, there was no significant interaction between
source and rate of potassium. Despite the productivity of 4.9 t ha-1 more cane for treatment with thermopotash the first harvest (Table 1), there was no
significant difference between potassium source
(thermopotash and KCl). The second crop when
there was no reapplication of potassium sources
in ratoon sugarcane, the average productivity of
treatment with thermopotash was 6.6 t ha-1 more
cane, differing significantly from KCl (table 1). This
increase in productivity can be explained by the residual effect left by this source in the soil, caused
by a slow solubility in water, thereby reducing the
loss from thermopotash in the soil by leaching. The
average sum of sugarcane productivity of the two
crops showed an increase of 11.5 t ha-1 more on
treatment with thermopotash statistically different
KCl.

For first sugarcane harvest was a quadratic
response to potassium rates. Maximum yield was
132.61 t ha-1 with the application of 121.04 kg ha-1 of
potassium as thermopotash or potassium chloride
(Figure 1a). For the second harvest of sugarcane
291
without reapplying sources of potassium, there is a

linear increase, ie the measure that increased the
rates of K2O, an increase in productivity of sugarcane (figure 1b).
Conclusions

The sugarcane yield fertilized with thermopotash was similar to potassium chloride in the first
harvest, and the second largest. The cumulative average sugarcane yield of first and plus the second
harvest with rates of potassium as thermopotash
was higher and statistically different compared to
KCl. The thermopotash can be used as potassium
source for sugarcane.
Keywords: Fertilizer, Potassium, Thermopotash;
Potassium chloride
Acknowledgements
Verde Fertilizantes Ltda and CAPES.
References
INSTITUTO BRASILEIRO DE MINERAOIBRAM. Informaes e Anlises da Economia
Mineral Brasileira, 5. ed., 2010. Disponvel: <http://
www.ibram.org.br/sites/1300/1382/00001150.pdf>.
Acesso em: 15 maio. 2014.
RAIJ, B. van. Fertilidade do solo e manejo dos
nutrientes.Piracicba-SP, International Plant Nutrition Institute, 2011, 420p.
SIQUEIRA, J.O.; GUEDES, G.A.A.; RIBEIRO,
M.A.V. Disponibilidade do potssio do Sienito Nefelnico de Poos de Caldas, avaliada em cultivos
sucessivos com milho. Pesquisa Agropecuria
Brasileira, v. 20, p. 299-307, 1985.
PIZA, P. A.T.; BERTOLINO, L. C.; SILVA, A.A.S.;
SAMPAIO J. A. & LUZ, A. B. Verdete da regio do
Cedro de Abaet (MG) como fonte alternativa para
potssio. Geocincias, So Paulo, 30:345-356, 2011.
Table 1. Productivity of sugarcane stalks (cultivar SP832847) averages influenced by sources and rates of Potassium
Sources
Year
Thermopotash
CV
KCl
-1
Average Produtivity (t ha )
2011/2012
2012/2013
Acumulated
128.6 A
120.8 A
249.4 A
MSD
123.7 A
114.2 B
237.9 B
10.57
7.79
7.84
7.65
5.25
10.95
Means followed by different letters in the line differ by Tukey test at 0.05% level of significance.
130
A- Cane Plant (1st harvest))
130
120
y = -0.0012x2 + 0.2905x + 115.03

R = 78
110
Termo-K + KCl
100
100
200
Rate of K2O (kg ha-1)
300
Production (t ha-1)
Production (t ha-1)
140
B- cane ratoon (2nd harvest)
125
120
y = 0.070x + 110.5
R = 87
115
110
Termo-K + KCl
105
100
0
50
100
150
200
Rate of K2O (kg ha-1)
Figure 1. Effect of different rates and sources of potassium applied at planting sugar cane, on sugarcane yield.
250
292

51
AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION IN MAIZE FIELD FROM

ENHANCED-EFFICIENCY UREA-BASED FERTILIZERS
EDUARDO LOPES CANCELLIER 1, DOUGLAS RAMOS GUELFI SILVA2, ANDR LEITE SILVA3,
LEANDO LOPES CANCELLIER4, BRUNO ALMEIDA GONALVES5, EDUARDO BUCSAN EMRICH
1,2,3,5
Soil Science Department, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitrio, s/n, Lavras MG, CEP: 37200-000, Brazil
(educancellier@gmail.com, douglasguelfi@dcs.ufla.br, andreleitefranca@hotmail.com); 4 Departmento de Agricultura, Universidade
Federal de Lavras, Campus universitrio, Lavras-MG, 37200-000, Brasil (leandrocancellier@gmail.com)
Introduction

Nitrogen (N) availability is frequently a limiting factor to maize crop yield in brazilian agriculture. This nutrient is supplied mostly in form of urea,
which presents the advantage of reduced costs in
functions of its high N concentration. In maize N
sidedressing, urea is generally applied to soil surface and undergoes hidrolysis catalised by urease.
In this reaction near-granule-pH rises causing high
N loss by ammonia (NH3) volatilization.

In no till management due to higher surface
pH and urease activity, volatilization is commonly
increased. In extreme situation ammonia loss may
reach more than 50% of total N applied, reducing
considerably N use efficiency. In order to reduce
such losses and increase N use efficiency, urea
coatings and urease inhibitor has been developed.
Hence, a trial was conducted in field conditions
aiming to quantify the efficiency of stabilized and
controlled-release urea as side dressing in maize
crop in a build-up fertility soil under no till.
Methods

The trial was installed in a soil with buildup fertility, under no-till management. The maize
crop was conducted from december 2012 with nitrogen sidedressing in jannuary 2013 without irrigation. The soil was classified as Latossolo Vermelho distrfico according to Brazilian system of
soil classification (Embrapa, 2013). Before sowing,
soil presented the following chemical and physical
attributes in the 0-20 cm layer: pHH2O= 5.7, Ca2+ +
Mg2+= 4.5 cmolc dm-3, H+Al = 3.62 cmolc dm-3, SOM
= 30 g kg-1, Clay = 640 g kg-1.

The trial was implanted in completely randomidez blocks desing in a 4 x 2 + 1 factorial scheme,
with three replicates. Treatments consisted of four
urea-based fertilizers described below supplied as
sidedressing when plants presented five fully expanded leaves at rates of 100 and 150 kg ha-1 of N,
plus a control treatment, wihout N sidedressing.

Urea: Conventional prilled urea fertilizer.
Urea + Cu + B: Urea fertilizer, prilled with 44.6%
of and has 1.5 g kg-1 of Cu in for of copper sulfate
and 4 g kg-1 of B in form of boric acid. Either, copper sulfate and boric acid has particle size below
0.015 mm. Urea + NBPT: Urea fertilizer treated with
urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide
(NBPT), added industrially to urea granule surface.
Coated urea: Urea coated with an elemental sulfur
layer plus an organic polymer. It has 30% of its total
N in form of conventional urea, whithout coating, for
immediate N release. The total nitrogen content is
40% and has 7.9% of elemental sulfur (S0). According to the supplier, nitrogen is release in up to three
months.

To quantify ammonia volatilization, the
method of semi-open static collector was used. The
chambers were 20 cm in diameter and 50 cm in
height. Two foam discs were soaked with 85 mL of
orthophosphoric acid and glycerol in volumes of 40
and 59 mL L-1 respectively and fixed at 20 and 40
cm from soil surface. Only the lower foam disc was
used to determine the volatilized ammonia, which
was changed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 17, 23 and
33 days after nitrogen sidedressing. The solution
in foams, was extracted with five wash-extractions.
Nitrogen was quantified in the extract by Kjeldahl
method with distillation and titration.

The data was submitted to analysis of variance, F test and Tukey test for comparisons of N
source effects. A contrast test was used to compare control treatment against factorial in the analysis of variance.

The weather conditiona along the experiment are shown in Figure 1 and will be later discussed.

The means of daily ammonia volatilization
293
varied with application of different nitrogen fertilizers in maize (Figure 2A). No significant effect of N
rates over volatilization (% of applied) was found.
Urea had its volatilization peak (12% of applied N)
in the 2nd day after application. The other fertilizers
induced a delay in their volatilization peaks, which
occurred between the 3rd and 4th day with values
smaller that of urea.

Urea + Cu + B (6.8 % of applied N) and
the coated by sulfur and polymers (5.6% of applied
N) had their volatilization peak in the 3rd day after
fertilization, while urea + NBPT (7% of applied N)
was the fertilizers with the highest delay, presenting
ammonia volatilization peak in the 4th day (Figure
2A).

Various field researches in different edapho-
volatilization losses with Cu and B due to pH reduction in urea granules surroundings do not justify the
reduction of N-NH3 losses from this study. Oppositely to the description in the patent PI 0700921-6
A (Heringer, 2008), Benini et al. (2004) claim that
in function of the similar chemical structure of boric
acid and urea the urease activity inhibition is competitive.

In the fourth and fifth days after fertilizers
application as sidedressing, rainfalls of 53 and 19
mm promoted urea diffusion in soil. It reduced the
N-NH3 volatilization from all N fertilizers from the
fourth day and on (Figure 1). Moreover, there was
also a reduction in maximum temperature (Fig.1),
that in turns reduces urease activity and hydrolysis
rate of urea (Clay et al., 1990; Suter et al., 2011)
climatic conditions and in controlled environment,

have shown the delay in volatilization peaks from
urea stabilized with NBPT or with Cu and B applied
in several crops (Dawar et al., 2011; Nascimento
et al., 2013; Stafanato et al., 2013). Urea stabilization with NBPT or Cu and B keeps N-fertilizer in
the amidic form (N-NH2) for a longer time in soil
due to a decrease in urease activity. Consequently,
the proportion of N in ammoniacal and nitric forms
are reduced. These N species are more susceptible
to losses by NH3 volatilization, denitrification and
leaching in soil-plant-atmosphere system (SanzCobena et al., 2008; Stafanato et al., 2013).

Therefore, in the context of management
practices of nitrogen fertilization with urea, in the
mitigation of N-NH3 losses in maize crop, the reduction and delay in ammonia volatilization peak is important. It keeps longer the N-fertilizer in the amidic
form, increasing the possibilities to be incorporated
by rain in non-irrigated lands or making possible
urea diffusion for a larger soil volume, thus, reducing N-NH3 losses.

Recently, new researches has been evaluating the effects of Cu and B as urease inhibitors
and their effects over daily losses of N-NH3 in sites
fertilized with Cu (copper sulfate) and B (boric acid).

Boric acid is a weak acid and has a pKa
of 9,2, and when added in small concentration to
fertilizers promote a weak buffer effect in the H+
concentration surrounding granule, smaller than
needed for neutralization of the NH3 produced in
the soil. Therefore, the hypothesis of reduction of
and, consequently, the potential of N losses by volatilization. In higher temperatures N-NH3 solubility
in soil solution is smaller, according to Henrys law,
which favors emissions of NH3 previously in solution (Clay et al., 1990).

Losses by ammonia volatilization occurs
yet in the first days after N application as sidedressing. From the total NH3 volatilized, 96.7% of loss
from urea occurred in the seven first days. For urea
+ NBPT, urea coated with sulfur and organic polymers and urea + Cu + B these values were: 88.6,
89.6 and 93.7%, respectively.

The decreasing sequence of accumulated
N-NH3 loss for enhanced efficiency urea in maize
crop sidedressing was: urea (31.2% of N applied)
> urea + Cu + B (25.6%) = urea + NBPT (25.4%) >
coated urea (19.6%) (Figure 2B). In this study, the
reduction in N-NH3 losses by enhanced efficiency
urea was: 18.6, 17.9 and 37.2% for urea + NBPT,
urea + Cu + B and urea coated with S + organic
polymers.

Other authors also report decreases in
N-NH3 losses by enhanced efficiency urea for tropical conditions Nascimento et al. (2013) found 50%
reduction in NH3 loss by sulfur coated urea. Stafanato et al. (2013) reported reduciton of NH3 loss
reduction between 22 and 53% for different proportions of Cu and B in urea and 84% for urea + NBPT.
Soares et al. (2012) quantified accumulated N-NH3
loss in controlled conditions and reported a reduction of 78% and 54% in NH3 loss in two experiments
due to NBPT addition to urea.
294

Enhanced efficiency urea reduced accumalated NH3 volatilization loss in a build-up fertility soil.

For the edaphoclimatic conditions of this
research, urea + polymers, urea + NBPT and urea
+ Cu and B reduced and delayed N-NH3 volatilization peak compared to urea.

Sulfur + polymer coated urea promoted the
lowest NH3 volatilization among the evaluated fertilizers.
Keywords: Stabilized fertilizers, Controlled-release
fertilizers, Polymers, Urease inhibitors, Nitrogen
fertilizers
Acknowledgements
The authors aknowledge CAPES, FAPEMIG and
CNPq for financially funding this research.
References
Clay, D.E., Malzer, G.L., Anderson, J.L., 1990. Ammonia volatilization from urea as influenced by soil
temperature, soil water content, and nitrification
and hydrolysis inhibitors. Soil Sci Soc Am J 54, 263.
Daily rainfall (mm) and air

moisture (%)
Dawar, K., Zaman, M., Rowarth, J.S., Blennerhassett, J., Turnbull, M.H., 2011. Urea hydrolysis and
lateral and vertical movement in the soil: effects of
urease inhibitor and irrigation. Biol Fertil Soils 47,

139146.
Nascimento, C.A.C. do, Vitti, G.C., Faria, L.D.A.,
Luz, P.H. de C., Mendes, F.L., 2013. Ammonia volatilization from coated urea forms. Rev Bras Cincia
do Solo 37, 10571063.
Sanz-Cobena, A., Misselbrook, T.H., Arce, A.,
Mingot, J.I., Diez, J.A., Vallejo, A., 2008. An inhibitor of urease activity effectively reduces ammonia emissions from soil treated with urea under
Mediterranean conditions. Agric Ecosyst Environ
126, 243249.
Soares, J.R., Cantarella, H., Menegale, M.L.D.C.,
2012. Ammonia volatilization losses from surfaceapplied urea with urease and nitrification inhibitors.
Soil Biol Biochem 52, 8289.
Stafanato, J.B., Goulart, R. de S., Zonta, E., Lima,
E., Mazur, N., Pereira, C.G., Souza, H.N. de, 2013.
Volatilizao de amnia oriunda de ureia pastilhada
com micronutrientes em ambiente controlado. Rev
Bras Cincia do Solo 37, 726732.
Suter, H.C., Pengthamkeerati, P., Walker, C., Chen,
D., 2011. Influence of temperature and soil type on
inhibition of urea hydrolysis by N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide in wheat and pasture soils in southeastern Australia. Soil Res 49, 315.
150
125
100
75
50
Treatments
25
0
-5
-3
-1
5
7
9
Days after sowing
11
13
15
17
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
Tempererature (C) and

evaporation in Class A pan
(mm)
Conclusions
Figure 1. Weather conditions before and after treatments application. Source: UFLAS weather station.
Rainfall
Air humidity
Minimum temperature
Maximum temperature
Evaporation in Class A pan
295
B
14
Daily volatilization of N-NH 3

(% of applied)
10
Accumulated N-NH 3 volatilized

(% of applied)
Urea + NBPT
Urea + Cu + B
Coated urea
Urea
12
8
6
4
2
35
31,2% a
30
25
25,5% b
20
19,6% c
15
Urea + NBPT
Urea + Cu + B
Coated urea
Urea
10
5
0
0
1
Days after fertilization
10
13
17
23
3
4 5
7
Days after application
10
13
17
23
Figure 2. Daily (A) and accumulated (B) nitrogen loss by ammonia (N-NH3) volatilization from stabilized and controlled-release urea
applied as sidedressing to maize crop. Vertical lines indicate Tukey LSD in A and same letters in averages do not differ by Tukey in B.
x axis is in log scale.
296

52
AMMONIA ENHANCED EFFICIENCY FERTILIZER VOLATILIZATION

IN CORN CROP UNDER TILLAGE SYSTEM
TAYLOR LIMA DE SOUZA1, DOUGLAS RAMOS GUELFI SILVA1, ANDR SILVA LEITE1, EDUARDO
BUCSAN EMRICH1, EDUARDO LOPES CANCELLIER1, ANDR BALDANSI ANDRADE1
1
Soil Science Department, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitrio, s/n, Lavras MG, CEP: 37200-000, Brazil (taylor.
lima@gmail.com; douglasguelfi@dcs.ufla.br; andreleitefranca@hotmail.com; eduardo@bucsan.com.br; ducancellier@gmail.com;
andre.batp@hotmail.com).
Introduction

Corn is one of the most cultivated cereals
in the world, having great economic importance because of its diversity of use in animal, human and industries. There are many factors that may increase
corn crops yield, including soil fertility and nitrogen
(N) availability (FONTOURA & BAYER, 2009). The
most important concern about the management of
nitrogenous fertilizers is related to maximum efficiency N supply to plants.

Thus, losses are avoided, particularly by
volatilization, providing N in appropriate amount,
when it is required by cultures. In tropical conditions, according Lara Cabezas et al. (2000) and
Costa et al. (2003), N losses by volatilization can
range from 36 to 54%, with urea fertilizer utilization.
To reduce losses and increase N fertilizer efficiency,
stabilized, slow or controlled release fertilizers are
an interesting alternative, because it makes possible to tune nutrients supply according crops demand. N fertilizers coated with polymers and micronutrient substances show as main characteristic
gradually release of nutrients (Trenkel, 2010). In
this work, it was aimed to quantify N losses by volatilization urea coated with polymer (Policote) and
micronutrients, applied in topdressing in corn crop
under tillage system.
Methods

The experiment was carried out in experimental farm of Federal University of Lavras. The
experimental plot was localized at the geographic
coordinates of 211212.60S and 465841.73W,
with average altitude of 935 m. Climate is classified
as Cwb with mild summers and dry winter, according to the Kppen classification. Winter comprises
May to September and summer covering the period
from October to April. Sowing of the hybrid DKB
390 VTPro2. This hybrid has high yield potential,
depending on soil fertility and fertilizers recommen-
dations (FANCELLI, 2010). The crop was carried

out in the period of November 15, 2013 to May 07,
2014. After a period of 25 days, when plants had
3-4 leaves, N fertilization was performed in rows
with 150 kg ha-1.

block arranged in bands. The experimental plot was
formed by 4 rows of 4 m in length, with 11 treatments: conventional urea ( 46% N); urea DMPP
(45% N); urea (44.3% N; 0.4% B; 0.15% Cu); urea
+ molybdenum (43% N; 0.3% B; 0.1% Cu; 0.05%
Mo); urea + Polymer (41.6% N); urea + Polymer
(41.6% N; 0.68% B; 0.25% Cu); urea + Polymer
(41.6% N; 0.94% B, 0.34% Cu); urea + Polymer
(41.6% N; 1.5% Cu); urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
1.5% Zn); urea + Polymer (41.6% N; 3.0% Cu);
urea + Polymer (41.6% N; 3.0% Zn).

Meteorological data were monitored
throughout the experimental period. According to
Figure 1, precipitations occurred on the previous
and after days of N fertilization. A precipitation of
9.6 mm occurred on the day of N fertilization after
the application.

To quantify the nitrogen losses by volatilization it was utilized the method of semi-open collector, developed by Nonmik (1973) and adapted by
Lara Cabezas (1999). The collectors were installed
in each plot, under the canopy of plants, previous
to nitrogen fertilization. After each evaluation, the
collectors were swapped in the soil, in order to reduce the spatial variability of ammonia emission as
a function of environmental factors.

In the collectors, were placed sponges im-
bibed in 85 mL of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and glycerin in volumes of 40 and 58.8 mL L-1 (0,87 mol L-1
de H3PO4) respectively, and fixed on the heights of
25 and 45 cm from soil. The analysis of variance
was performed with the assistance of R program, at
5% significance level. Averages were compared by
Skott Knott test, with the same level of significance.
297
References

There was significance (p< 0.05) to the cumulative loss of N through volatilization to different
types of urea coated with polymer and micronutrients. In figure 2, losses increased for a period of
7 days after N fertilization. Volatilization suffered
tendency for stabilization from day 7. According to
Rojas et al. (2012), higher daily N-NH3 losses, in
soils with tillage system, with different types of cover crops, occur in the first five days after the urea
application.

The decreasing sequence of cumulative
loss of NH3-N for urea coated with polymer and micronutrients was: urea DMPP (45% N) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N; 3.0%
Zn) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N; 1.5% Cu) = urea
CANTARELLA, H. Nitrognio. p. 375-470. In: NOVAIS, R.F.; ALVAREZ V., V.H.; BARROS, N.F.;
FONTES, R.L.F.; CANTARUTTI, R.B; NEVES,
J.C.L. (Ed.). Fertilidade do Solo. Viosa, Sociedade Brasileira de Cincia do Solo. 2007. 1017p.
+ molybdenum (43% N; 0.3% B; 0.1% Cu; 0.05%

Mo) > conventional urea (46% N) = Urea (44.3%
N; 0.4% B; 0.15% Cu) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
0.68% B; 0.25% Cu) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
0.94% B; 0.34% Cu) = urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
1.5% Zn) = urea + Polymer (41,6% N; 3,0% Cu).
Conclusions

Urea DMPP (45% N), urea (44.3% N;
0.4%B; 0.15% Cu), urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
0.68% B; 0.25% Cu), urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
0.94% B, 0.34% Cu), urea + Polymer (41.6% N;
1.5% Zn), urea + Polymer (41.6% N; 3.0% Cu)
showed less volatilization.
Keywords: Nitrogen, ammonia, fertilizer efficiency.
Acknowledgements
To Federal University of Lavras (UFLA). To CAPES,
FAPEMIG and CNPQ for financing the project and
for scholarships concessions.
FANCELLI, A. L. Milho. p . 43-89. In. PROCHNOW,

L. I.; CASARIN, V.; STIPP, S. R. Boas prticas
para uso eficiente de fertilizantes. Piracicaba, International Plant Nutrition Institute. 2010. 467p.
FONTOURA, S. M. V.; BAYER, C. Adubao nitrogenada para alto rendimento de milho em plantio
direto na regio centro-sul do Paran. R. Brasileira
de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, MG, v. 33, n. 6,17211732, jul. 2009.
NMMIK, H. The effect of pellet size on the ammonia loss from urea applied to forest soil. Plant and
Soil, The Hague, v. 39, n. 2, p. 309318, Oct. 1973.
R DEVELOPMENT CORE TEAM.R:a language
and environment for statistical computing. Vienna:
R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2013.
ROJAS, C. A. L. et al. Volatilizao de amnia da
ureia alterada por sistemas de preparo de solo e
plantas de cobertura invernais no Centro-Sul do
Paran. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo,
Viosa, MG, v. 36, n. 1, p. 261270, fev. 2012.
TRENKEL, M. Slow- and controlled-release and
stabilized fertilizers: an option for enhancing nutrient efficiency in agriculture. 2 ed. Paris: International Fertilizer Industry Association, 2010. 163 p.
Figure 1. Climatic conditions during the evaluation of nitrogen losses by volatilization.
50
NH3 volatilization (% of applied)
298
40
30
Urea DMPP (45%N)

Urea+Polymer (41,6% N)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 3,0% Zn)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 1,5% Cu)
Urea + molybdenum (43% N; 0,3% B; 0,1% Cu; 0,05% Mo)
Urea conventional( 46%N)
Urea (44,3%N; 0,4%B; 0,15%Cu)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 0,68% B, 0,25% Cu)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 0,94% B, 0,34% Cu)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 1,5% Zn)
Urea+Polymer (41,6% N; 3,0% Cu)
a
20
10
10
15
20
25
30
Days after fertilization

Figure 2 Accumulated N losses by volatilization (N-NH3) during 27 days after urea covered with polymers and micronutrients
application in corn crop. Treatments followed by the same letter do not differ by Skott Knott test at 5% significance.
299
53
POLYMER-SULPHUR COATED UREA: AN ALTERNATIVE TO IMPROVE

NITROGEN FERTILIZATION MANAGEMENT AND CORN GRAIN
YIELD IN BRAZIL
HUGO A. GONZLEZ VILLALBA1, LUCAS PERES MIACHON1, EVANDRO LUIZ SCHONINGER2,
ITHAMAR PRADA NETO3, PAULO CESAR OCHEUZE TRIVELIN2
Luiz de queiroz college of agriculture, university of so paulo, av. Pdua dias 11, piracicaba, cep 13418-090, Brazil
(hugoabelardo1988@usp.br lucas2miachon@hotmail.com); 2 Center for nuclear energy in agriculture, University of So Paulo, av.
Centenrio 303, Piracicaba, cep 13400-970, Brazil (schoningerel@gmail.com pcotrive@cena.usp.br); 3 Produquimica industria e
comercio s.A., Av. Paulista 1754, So Paulo, cep 01.310-920 (ithamar.prada@produquimica.com.br)
1
Introduction

Controlled release fertilizers such polymersulphur coated urea (PSCU) releases nitrogen (N)
by diffusion of urea through the swelling polymersulphur membrane (Chien et al., 2009). The N release pattern of PSCU has a sigmoidal pattern,
close to the corn plants N absorption pattern, thus
providing synchronization between the plant needs
and the N availability in the soil, allowing application of the total N rate at seeding, avoiding split application, operation necessary when conventional
urea (U) is used. The relative higher prices of the
enhanced fertilizers represents a limitation for massive adoption by farms. Blends of two N sources
can be interesting and advantageous. The objective
of this study was to evaluate the effect of blends of
PSCU with U in the soil inorganic nitrogen availability throughout the crop cycle and in corn grain yield.
Methods

An experiment was carried out in the 20122013 growing season, in two locations with different
soil textural classes. The first experiment was established in the rural area of Tanquinho, Piracicaba
county, So Paulo State [223427 S; 473630
W; 594 m above sea level (asl)] in a clayey Oxisol (COx) with the following chemical and physical
characteristics in the 0-0.2 m layer: pHCaCl2= 4.8; K=
1.9 mmolc dm-3; Ca= 16 mmolc dm-3; Mg= 9 mmolc
dm-3; H+Al= 47 mmolc dm-3; P= 29 mg dm-3; S.O.C.=
17.4 g dm-3; clay content= 529 g kg-1. The second
experiment was established in the experimental
site of the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture/
University of So Paulo (224247 S; 473711 W;
578 m asl) in a sandy Oxisol (SOx) with the following chemical and physical characteristics in the
0-0.2 m layer: pHCaCl2= 4.8; K= 1.9 mmolc dm-3; Ca=
14 mmolc dm-3; Mg= 4 mmolc dm-3; H+Al= 28 mmolc
dm-3; P= 25 mg dm-3; S.O.C.= 7.0 g dm-3; clay con-
tent= 150 g kg-1. Both sites are located in a humid

subtropical climate zone, according to the Kppen
climate classification.

The experimental design was randomized
blocks with four replications, and the treatments
consisted of 180 kg ha-1 of N, using two N sources,
PSCU and U, respectively in proportions of 100:0,
90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 0:100 %, applied incorporated into the soil at seeding. An untreated control (without N) and a conventional management of N in corn (UCM) were also performed.
In the UCM, split-applied application of U was done
(20% at seeding and 80% side-dressed in V4-V6
corn growth stage). The fertilizers applied at seeding were placed in bands, 0.05 m depth and 0.10 m
aside the corn row. The PSCU used was PRODUCOTE (389 g kg-1 N), that consist of a conventional
urea, coated with a sulphur layer (110 g kg-1 S) and
a layer of biodegradable polymer, insoluble in water. Maize hybrid with high yield potential was used
(Pionner 30F35 HR).

The variables analyzed were soil inorganic
nitrogen content (SINC) (NH4+ + NO3-) throughout
the cycle and corn grain yield. To determine the inorganic nitrogen content in the soil at the 0-0.1 m
layer, samples were collected at seeding, V4, V12
and R3 corn growth stage in the COx, and at sedding, V6, V14 and R4 in the SOx. Composite soil
samples were collected and immediately conditioned and stored on freezer. Then, inorganic nitrogen content in the samples was determined in a FIA
system analyzer. NO3- content was determined by
spectrophotometric method as described in Gin et
al. (1980) and the NH4+ content was determined by
conductivity, as described in Reis et al. (1997). At
corn maturity stage (R6), grain yield (Mg ha-1) was
determined by manual collection of the ears in a 6.5
m2 area. The ears were threshed for grain separation, and then, yield was estimated by weighing the
300
grains harvested, correcting to 130 g kg-1 of grain

humidity.

Data were analyzed using ANOVA and
when differences were detected, contrast test was
performed (p0.1). For the quantitative treatments
(PSCU and U proportions in the blend), when effects were detected, first and second-degree polynomial contrast analysis were performed and presented as regression curves.

SINC in the soil (Table 1 and Figure 1) in
treatments with PSCU was intermediate between
the ones that uses U, in both experimental sites. In
the V4 and V6 sampling, SINC in PSCU was lower
than 100% U but higher than UCM. In the next collect (V12 and V14) SINC in PSCU were higher than
100% U, maybe because most of the N from U was
lost and/or taken up by plants, and lower than the
UCM treatment, where split application of U was
performed. In the last sampling (R3 and R4) PSCU
treatments showed higher levels of SINC. These results are very important, being that corn plants continue absorbing N in post-flowering (approximately
37% of the total N taken up). The SINC levels were
higher or lower according to the proportion of PSCU
in the blend and the corn growth stage (Figure 1).

Grain yield (Table 2) at COx was atypical,
because there was no response to N application in
any treatment. An explanation may be the relative
higher S.O.C. level that probably caused mineralization of N in a rate that was sufficient for the corn
plants requirements, so the additional N provided
with the fertilization was unnecessary. At SOx the
soil was poorer in S.O.C. (so in N) content, and the
results show that utilization of PSCU was more effective than U, providing higher yields.
Conclusions

The polymer-sulphur coated urea released
inorganic nitrogen throughout the cycle of corn

plants, resulting in higher grain yields compared to
the use of conventional urea, under favorable soilclimate conditions.

The use of blends of polymer-sulphur coated urea and conventional urea in corn fertilization,
varying the proportion of the controlled release
source between 100 and 50%, was efficient, and
can be considered an strategy of management that
avoids N split application, providing nitrogen availability in the soil as the corn plant requires it.
Keywords: Controlled release fertilizer; inorganic
nitrogen; Zea mays L; high performance nutrition;
productivity
Acknowledgements
We thank National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for the Master Degree scholarship of the first author. We also thank
AGRISUS Foundation Sustainable Agriculture
and Produquimica Ind. e Com. for financial support.
References
CHIEN. S.H.; PROCHNOW, L.I.; CANTARELLA, H.
Recent developments of fertilizer production and
use to improve nutrient efficiency and minimize enviromental impacts. Advances in Agronomy, v.
102, p. 267-322, 2009.
GIN, M.F.; BERGAMIN FILHO, H.; ZAGATTO,
E.A.G.; REIS, B.F. Simultaneous determination of
nitrate and nitrite by flows injection analysis. Analytica Chimica Acta, v. 114, p. 191-197, 1980.
REIS, B.F.; VIEIRA, J.A.; KRUG, F.J.; GIN, M.F.
Development of a flow injections system two analytical paths for ammonium determination in soil extracts by conductometry. Journal of the Brazilian
Chemical Society, v. 8, p. 524-528, 1997.
301
Table 1. Soil inorganic nitrogen content in soil samples collected at V4, V12 and R3 corn growth stages in the clayey
Oxisol (COx) area, and at V6, V14 and R4 in the sandy Oxisol (SOx) area
+
-1
Soil inorganic nitrogen content (NH4 + NO3 ) (mg kg )

Non-orthogonal contrast groups means
Contrast
0-0.1 m
-------------------------COx----------------------V4
PSCU vs Control
V12
56.2 vs 80.7
14.85 vs 5.8
3.2 vs 1.4
56.2 vs 15.6
14.85 vs 18.9
80.7 vs 15.7
15.6 vs 15.7
ns
9.4 vs 15.6
80.7 vs 15.6
22.8
42.9
25.5
12.6
18.3
13.4
60.3 vs 87.4
PSCU vs UCM
60.3 vs 13.7
100% U vs Control
87.4 vs 5.5
UCM vs Control
13.7 vs 5.5
87.4 vs 13.7
Linear % PSCU
C.V. (%)
35.6 vs 46.0
6.7 vs 5.6
ns
100% U vs UCM
Quadratic % PSCU
35.6 vs 6.7
46.0 vs 5.6
ns
ns
*
6.7 vs 46.0
28.4 vs 9.9
28.4 vs 9.4
28.4 vs 15.6
9.4 vs 9.9
ns
15.6 vs 9.9
ns
ns
56.2 vs 15.7
R4
3.2 vs 1.2
PSCU vs 100% U
V14
*
35.6 vs 5.6
V6
14.85 vs 5.9
60.3 vs 5.5
---------------------------SOx-------------------------
R3
5.8 vs 5.9
18.9 vs 5.9
3.2 vs 1.8
ns
1.4 vs 1.2
ns
1.8 vs 1.2
1.4 vs 1.8
ns
5.8 vs 18.9
* and ns indicate significantly and not significantly difference, respectively at (p0.1). Values represent means of each contrast group.
Table 2. Corn grain yield at the clayey Oxisol (COx) and at the sandy Oxisol (SOx).
-1
Grain yield (Mg ha )
Contrast
Non-orthogonal contrast group means

--------------- COx -----------ns
10.4 vs 10.1
ns
10.4 vs 9.8
ns
10.4 vs 10.1
ns
9.8 vs 10.1
ns
10.1 vs 10.1
ns
9.8 vs 10.1
----------6.1
PSCU vs Control
PSCU vs 100% U
PSCU vs UCM
100% U vs Control
UCM vs Control
100% U vs UCM
Linear % PSCU
Quadratic % PSCU
C.V. (%)
------------ SOx ----------*

10.9 vs 7.5
*
10.9 vs 9.2
*
10.9 vs 9.6
*
9.2 vs 7.5
*
9.6 vs 7.5
*
9.2 vs 9.6
----------10.7
* and ns indicate significantly and not significantly difference, respectively at (p0.1). Values represent means of each contrast group.
90
60
50
SOx (R4 Corn Growth Stage)

COx (R3 Corn Growth Stage)
y = 80,8 - 1,8x + 0,014x2 (R2 = 0,98*)
y = 1,7 + 0,02x (R2 = 0,96*)
40
NH4+ + NO3- (mg kg-1)
70
SOx (V14 Corn Growth Stage)

COx (V12 Corn Growth Stage)
y = -21,6 + 0,76x (R2 = 0,94*)
y = 6,7 + 0,11x (R2 = 0,98*)
50
NH4+ + NO3- (mg kg-1)
80
NH4+ + NO3- (mg kg-1)
50
60
SOx (V6 Corn Growth Stage)
COx (V4 Corn Growth Stage)
y = 104,8 - 0,59x (R2 = 0,92*)
y = 89,9 - 0,45x (R2 = 0,91*)
40
30
20
30
20
4
2
10
40
0
0
50
60
70
80
Proportion of PSCU (%)
90
100
50
60
70
80
90
100
50
60
70
80
90
100
Figure 1. Inorganic nitrogen content on the 0-0.1 m layer of the two experimental sites according to the proportion of polymer-sulphur
coated urea in the blend.
302

54
NITROGEN EFFICIENCY FOR DIFFERENTS SOURCES

FERTILIZERS IN MAIZE
LVIA A. TIRABOSCHI1, JULIO BOGIANI2, LUIS TORRES3
1
PD&I Product, Development and Inovation, Yara Brasil Fertilizantes SA, Av. Padre Cacique, 320, Menino Deus, Porto Alegre,
RS, 90.810-240 , Brasil (livia.tiraboschi@yara.com; joao.macas@yara.com); 2 Researcher of Embrapa Algodo Cerrado Nucleo,
Fundao Bahia, Rod. BR 020/242, S/N, KM 50,7. 47.850-000 - Zona Rural - Luis Eduardo Magalhes, BA, Brasil (julio.bogiani@
embrapa.br); 3 Product and Application R&D Department, Research Centre Hanninghof, Yara International ASA, Yara GmbH & Co.
KG, Hanninghof 35, D-48249 Duelmen, Germany (luis.torres@yara.com)
Introduction

Maize has crucial role in the scenario of
the Brazilian Agriculture. Used both in food and

feed, their demand is increasing worldwide, including for producing ethanol. Nitrogen is the nutrient
most demanded by culture and has a primary role
in the biosynthesis of proteins and chlorophyll in the
plant (Andrade et al., 2003) to supply the demand
for ever more productive plants, and consequently
more demanding in nutrients, is required use high
doses of nitrogen fertilizer in split coverage due to
the nutrient in the soil is very dynamic. Among the
fertilizers used urea is the most common in Brazil, due to its lower cost per unit of N in relation
to others. However, when it is applied on the soil
surface without incorporation, N losses can occur
through volatilization of NH3 (Lara-Cabezas et al.,
1997). The use of minimum tillage and direct seeding over straw, high temperatures and low humidity
can worsen ammonia volatilization (Cantarella et al,
1999;. Cantarella & Marcelino, 2007). The search
for better nitrogen use has been constant, both to
determine the best rates, as the best sources of
nitrogen (Coelho et al, 2004;. Pavinato et al, 2008;.
Costa et al, 2003.). Reduce nitrogen losses in the
field can bring economic and environmental benefits. The study aimed to evaluate the productivity
and desirable agronomic features for different rates
of urea fertilizer in the amide form, compared to a
source of nitric and amonial form (YaraBelaTM),
practically no susceptible to volatilization.
Methods

The experiment was conducted at the
Center for Research and Technology of West Baiano CPTO, Fundao Bahia, in Lus Eduardo
Magalhes BA. The hybrid maize cultivar used
was AS 1551 PRO2, we used plant density of 4.5
plants per meter. The treatments consisted of different rates of nitrogen applied on top dressing, like
amide form (urea 44% N) or nitrate and ammonium
form (YaraBelaTM, 27% N) and an additional treatment without application of nitrogen. The rates of
nitrogen were 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 kg.ha-1 (10
treatments + control treatment). It was adopted the
randomized complete block design with four replications, 44 plots. Each plot consisted of nine lines of
seven meters, was considered as a useful plot the
five central lines, discarding one meter each end.
The topdressing with N was held in V7 (seventh
leaf fully expanded). The first reading of intensity
of chlorophyll in the plant with the aid of equipment
N-Tester TM - Yara SPAD was also performed in V7,
was used for that five randomly selected plants
within the useful area of each plot. Were read 30
points of the seventh plant leaf fully expanded. In
addition, four more evaluations were made of chlorophyll in leaves, followed by the same criterion. In
total, 5 reviews were made with an interval of 10
days between them. Leaves was collected for nutritional analysis in the V7 stage and at the stage of
issuance of spikes. Were used 15 leaves collected
randomly within the useful area of each plot. In V7
stage, were collected the younger fully expanded
leaves. At the issuance of the spikes stage, were
collected the leaves located opposite and below
the spike. All the leaves were identified, dried in a
forced air circulation at 65 C to constant weight
and sent to the laboratory for determination of nitrogen. Before harvest was held the height measuring in 10 random plants within the useful area of
each plot. After harvest was assessed the number
of rows per spike and number of grains per row
and thousand grain weight. Data were subjected to
analysis of variance, and to assess the difference
between the types of fertilizer used is comparison
of means (Tukey - 5%).
303
References

The data were statistically analyzed, it was
observed that there was interaction between the
sources used and the rates with respect to grain
yield achieved, the highest productivity reached
was obtained using YaraBelaTM (Table 1). The urea
had reached their maximum productivity with rate of
164.2 kg.ha-1, 9281.0 kg.ha-1. YaraBelaTM obtained
the maximum yield with the rate of 163.3 kg.ha-1,
was reached 9982.7 kg.ha-1, productivity linear regression (5%) obtained with the yield data are presented in Figure 1. The use of a nitric and ammonium source may have provided an improvement
in the root environment by increased absorption of
anions and cations. Bernardi et al. (2010) observed
a higher recovery efficiency of nitrogen in ryegrass
Bernardi, A. C. C.; Mota, E. P.; Cardoso, R. D.; Oliveira P. P. A.; Volatilizao de amnia, produo
de matria seca e teores foliares de N do azevm
adubado com fontes nitrogenadas. So Carlos:
Embrapa Pecuria Sudeste, 2010. (Circular Tcnica, 8p).
with ammonium nitrate as compared to urea. Primavesi et al. (2005) observed that the uptake of
cations and anions by the plants increased when
was used higher rates of nitrogen, even with urea or
ammonium nitrate, but being greater with ammonium nitrate. The result can also have been obtained
due to higher recovery of nitrogen through the use
of YaraBelaTM is not subject to volatilization as urea.
The remaining factors tested like number of rows
per spike or plants height, are strongly determined
by genetic factors and rarely show statistically significant differences in relation to different sources of
fertilizer, because the nutrient rates used were the
same between urea and YaraBela TM.
Conclusions

There was no significant difference between the two sources of fertilizer (Urea and YaraBela) for evaluations of plant height, number of rows
of grains per spike, leaf nitrogen content, intensity
of chlorophyll.

The grain yield of maize was higher when
used as a source of N fertilizer YaraBela.
Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, maize, volatilization,
urea
Pavinato, P. S.; Ceretta, C. A.; Girotto, E.; Moreira, I. C. L. Nitrognio e potssio em milho irrigado:
anlise tcnica e econmica da fertilizao. Cincia
Rural, Santa Maria, v. 38, n. 2, p. 358-364, 2008.
Coelho, A. M. Manejo da adubao nitrogenada na
cultura do milho. Sete Lagoas: Embrapa Milho e
Sorgo, 2007. (Circular tcnica, 96).
Cantarelli, H; Marcelino, R. O uso de inibidor de
urase para aumentar a eficincia da uria. IPNI,
Anais: Palestra apresentada no 1 Simpsio sobre Informaes Recentes para Otimizao
da Produo Agrcola. INPI, Piracicaba, 15 a
16/3/2006.
Primavesi, A. C.; Primavesi, O.; Corra, L. A.; Cantarella H.; Silva, A. G. Absoro de ctions e nions
pelo capim-coastcross adubado com uria e nitrato
de amnio. Pesq. agropec. bras., Braslia, v.40, n.3,
p.247-253, mar. 2005
Andrade, A. C.; Fonseca, D. M.; Queiroz, D. S.; Salgado, L. T.; Cecon, P. R. Adubao nitrogenada e
potssica em capim-elefante (pennisetum purpureum schum. cv. napier). Cincia e Agrotecnologia,
Lavras, p. 1643-1651, dez. 2003. Edio especial.
Cantarella, H.; Rosseto, R.; Barbosa, W.; Penna,
M.J.; Resende, L.C.L. Perdas de Nitrognio por volatilizao da amnia e resposta da cana-de-acar
adubao nitrogenada, em sistema de colheita de
cana sem queima prvia. In: Congresso Nacional
da STAB, 7., Londrina, p.82-87, 1999.
Lara-Cabezas, W.A.R.; Korndorfer, G. & Motta,
S.A.Volatilizao de N-NH3 na cultura de milho: I.
Efeito da irrigao e substituio parcial da ureia
por sulfato de amnio. R. Bras. Ci. Solo, 21:481487, 1997.
304
Table 1. Average of plants height, nitrogen content in the leaves at V7 stage and tasseling stage, number of rows per
spike and grain yield in relation of the nitrogen using on topdressing for urea and YaraBelaTM
Variable
Plant height
Sources
cm
TM
Nitrogen content
V7
Tasseling
N. of rows
per spike
-1
-------------- mg.kg --------------
Yeild grains
kg.ha
-1
YaraBela
Urea
Average
202,6
201,1
201,9
18,1
19,0
18,6
30,5
29,6
30,0
14,0
13,8
13,9
8551,1 a
8062,1 b
8306,6
Fsources
Frates
Fsources*rates
CV%
ns
**
ns
1,94
ns
--10,9
ns
*
ns
8,62
ns
**
ns
4,41
0,01*
**
ns
7,77
**, *, ns, significant at 1%, 5% probability and not significant, respectively. Means followed different letters in the column differ
significantly by the Tukey test at 5% probability.
Yield, kg/ha
12.000
10.000
8.000
6.000
YaraBela y = -0,1686x2 + 55,069x + 5486
4.000
2.000
Uria
0
45
y=
R = 0,98
+ 46,638x + 5451,6
R = 0,98
-0,142x2
90
135
180
225
Rates of N, kg/ha
Figure 1. Yield Grain (13% de UR) in relation of rates of nitrogen on topdressing for urea (y = -0,142x2 +
46,638x + 5451,6 - R = 0,98) and YaraBelaTM (y = -0,1686x2 + 55,069x + 5486 - R = 0,98).
305
55
EFFICIENCY OF THE FUSED MAGNESIUM

POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE FOR SOYBEAN
CLEIDE APARECIDA DE ABREU1, CAMILA PRADO CENCIANI DE SOUZA1, ANA CLARA KOZMA
VIARO1, CRISTIANO ALBERTO DE ANDRADE2 E MNICA FERREIRA DE ABREU1
1
Center of Soil and Environmental Resources of the Agronomic Institute, PO Box 28, Campinas, Cep: 13.012-970, Brazil
(ccencian@yahoo.com.br, cleide@iac.sp.gov.br, claritahkozma@hotmail.com, monica@iac.sp.gov.br). 2Embrapa Environment, PO
Box 69, Jaguarina, Cep: 13.820-000, Brazil (cristiano.andrade@embrapa.br).
Introduction

Potassium (K) is the second macronutrient
most extracted by the soybeans and, in general, the
natural levels of this element in Brazilian soils are
considered low. Therefore, the supply via fertilizers
applied to the soil is essential to ensure productivity.
The main source of potassium in Brazilian agriculture is KCl, which is completely imported. One of
the strategies to reduce the foreign dependence on
potassium is the use of alternative sources.

The use of ground natural rocks (in natura) containing K was evaluated for the cultivation of
rice (NEPTUNE et al., 1980), corn (Siqueira et al.,
1985) and more recently in corn, soybeans and millet (Resende et al., 2006), whose agronomic results
were not satisfactory. However, when the potassic
rock is fused at high temperatures and calcareous is added, you get the product known as fused
magnesium potassium phosphate (TK) with K availability increased (SANZONOWICZ & MIELNICZUK,
1985). In a study to evaluate the fused magnesium potassium phosphate in corn, there was an increase in the production of dry matter and higher K
accumulation in plants (FAQUIN et al., 1987) mass.
High agronomic efficiency of this source was also
observed for Marandu-grass with equivalent or superior results when compared to KCl (ORIOLI JR
& Coutinho, 2009). No study, however, was conducted to assess the efficacy of fused magnesium
potassium phosphate in providing K for soybean,
which is recognized for its strategic importance in
the Brazilian agribusiness.

In light of the above, this study aimed to
assess the efficacy of the fused magnesium potassium phosphate as a source of potassium for soybean.
Methods

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse using samples of an Alic Distrophic Red-
Yellow medium texture Latosol, with K content

extracted by resin equals to 1.7 mmol dm-3. The
soil samples were dried, sieved and the liming was
performed by applying calcium carbonate + magnesium carbonate (Ca:Mg 3:1). The pots with 3.2 kg
of soil were incubated for 20 days and the humidity
maintained at 60% of the total pore volume (TPV).

The experimental design was completely
randomized, in a factorial scheme consisting of 4
treatments (fused magnesium phosphate without
the application of K - control, fused magnesium potassium phosphate (TK) 100%, 50% fused magnesium potassium phosphate (TK) + 50% KCl, 100%
KCl) and 2 doses of K (60 and 120 mg kg-1 of K2O),
with 4 replicates, totaling 32 experimental units.
The chemical characterization of the fertilizers is in
Table 1.

The fertilizers evaluated and the others applied on the basic fertilization (in mg kg-1: 300 of P,
50 of N, 30 of S, 0.5 of B, 5.0 of Mn and to 5.0 of
Zn) were mixed with the soil in the planting process.
Each pot received eight soybean seeds of the cultivar IAC Foscarin-31, the thinning was performed at
the 7th day after emergence (DAE), remaining 3 vigorous and uniform plants in each pot. Soil moisture
was maintained around 70% of the TPV by adding
distilled water, defined by a periodic pot weighing.
During the experiment, N was applied 6 times by
coverage via aqueous solution at a dose of 50 mg
kg-1 each. The soybean shoots were cut 41 DAE,
washed in distilled water, dried at 65oC, the dry
matter quantified and ground. The determination
of macro and micronutrients levels was performed
by digestion with concentrated HNO3 and H2O2 in a
microwave oven, the K reading was held in a flame
photometer and the other elements in ICP-OES.

The K concentration in the soybean shoots
associated to the dry matter, was used to calculate
the K accumulation by the plant. The agronomic efficiency (AE) of the sources was calculated based on
306
the standard treatment, which K was provided 100%

as KCl according to AE (%) = (K source K control) / (K stand K control) x 100. The data analysis was made
ard source
by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the comparison
of means by Tukey test with 95% probability.

The dry mass of the soybean shoots
was not affected by the K application in the pots
at both doses since the amount of dry matter
produced in the control treatment did not differ
statistically from the other treatments (Table 2).
This fact can be assigned to the mean content
of K in the soil (1.7 mmol dm-3) in control plants
at the planting time, which was enough to meet
the demand of the plants.

The highest K concentrations and accumulation in the soybean shoots were found in the
plants that were fertilized with the highest dose of
K (120 mg K2O kg-1). For the K concentration, there
was a tendency to increase when part of the K was
supplied as KCl, since the treatments KCl and TK
+ KCl at the lowest dose (60 mg kg-1) had similar
behavior. For the highest dose, the KCl source was
superior (Table 2). According to COUTINHO NETO
et. al (2010) there were no differences in K concentration in the soybean shoots and even on dry
matter production of alfalfa plants when exposed to
potassium fertilization with KCl and TK sources applied alone or together in different proportions.

The K accumulation (parameter that reflects what was effectively absorbed) showed that
regardless of the dose, there was no difference between the KCl and KCl + TK treatments, which are
superior to the treatment with only TK (Table 2).
This fact shows that the K contained in a source
that is insoluble in water TK is quickly released to
the plants and this may be related to hydrothermal
treatment that the potassium rock is subjected as
commented by other authors (SANZONOWICS &
MIELNICZUK, 1985; FAQUIN et al., 1987). Thus,
the mixture of the TK with soluble KCl could have
the same effect as the isolated application of KCl
and this means that part of the fertilization with KCl
could be suppressed when the fused magnesium
potassium phosphate as a source of phosphorus is
used, since the product also contains this element,
for example. In plants where K was not supplied,
the concentration and accumulation of this element

in both doses tested was lower than the other treatments (Table 2). Similar behavior of higher K accumulation by millet was observed when these were
fertilized with soluble sources KCl and K2SO4 compared to isolated application of kaliofilita (KAlSiO4 insoluble rock) subjected to hydrothermal treatment
at doses of 0, 150 and 350 kg ha-1 as reported by
SANZONOWICS & MIELNICZUK (1985).

The agronomic efficiency of the sources
(AE) for the K accumulated in soybean shoots
showed effectiveness in TK + KCl treatment, a little inferior to the standard treatment with KCl in 60
and 120 mg K2O kg-1 doses, while the treatment
TK showed about 60% AE compared to KCl in both
doses (Table 2). This fact allows us to say that the K
from TK can be easily solubilized in the rhizosphere
and made available to plants as commented by
other authors (SANZONOWICS & MIELNICZUK,
1985; FAQUIN et al, 1987).
Conclusions

The fused magnesium potassium phosphate associated with KCl proved to be an efficient
alternative source in providing K for soybeans. The
lowest agronomic efficiency of fused magnesium
potassium phosphate used alone can be compensated by increasing the K dose applied.
Keywords: Availability, potassium accumulation, alternative sources of potassium, Glycine max.
Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to the company Minerao Curimbaba Ltda for the financial support of
the research.
References
Abastecimento. Instruo Normativa SDA N 28, de
27 de Julho de 2007. Dirio Oficial da Unio de
31/07/2007. Seo 1, pgina 11.
COUTINHO NETO, A. M.; ORIOLI JNIOR, V.;
CARDOSO, S. S.; SILVEIRA NETO, V. G.; STEFAROLI, F. P.; COUTINHO, E. L. M. Eficincia do
termofosfato magnesiano potssico para a alfafa.
Ncleo, v.7, n.2, p. 135-144, 2010.
FAQUIN, V.; KINJO, T.; MALAVOLTA, E. Efeito do

tratamento trmico da mistura de sienito nefelnico
com calcrio dolomtico na disponibilidade de potssio ao milho, em solo sob cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, v.11, p.221-228, 1987.
NEPTUNE, A. M. L. et al. Disponibilidade de potssio a partir de vrios materiais potssicos, utilizando o arroz como planta indicadora. Anais da
Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba, v.27, p.979-989, 1980.
ORIOLI JNIOR, V.; COUTINHO, E. L. M. Eficincia do termofosfato magnesiano potssico para o
capim-marandu. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do
Solo, v.33, p.1855-1862, 2009.
307
RESENDE, A. V. de et al. Rochas como fontes de

potssio e outros nutrientes para culturas anuais.
Espao e Geografia, Braslia, v. 9, p. 135-161,
2006.
SANZONOWICZ, C.; MIELNICZUK, J. Fontes, doses e mtodos de aplicao de potssio no solo.
Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, v.21, p.473480, 1985.
SIQUEIRA, J. O.; GUEDES, G. A. A.; RIBEIRO, M.
A. V. Disponibilidade do potssio do Sienito Nefelnico de Poos de Caldas, avaliada em cultivos sucessivos com milho. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, v. 20, p. 299-307, 1985.
Table 1. Chemical characterization of the fertilizers used in the experiment. *Methods according to Brasil (2007).
Products/Guarantees
Fused magnesium
potassium phosphate TK
Fused magnesium
phosphate (control)
KCl
-------------------- Guarantees % (mass/mass basis) -------------------*
P2O5 total
12.7
17.4
----
P2O5 CA2%*
11.7
17.5
----
4.5
0.7
58.6
K2O
*
CA2%
K2O in water
----
----
58.7
14.9
16.7
----
4.0
6.6
----
Ca total
Mg total
CA: citric acid.
Table 2. K concentration and accumulation in the soybean shoots and agronomic efficiency of the sources. TK: fused
magnesium potassium phosphate. Means followed by the same lowercase and uppercase letter on the line do not differ
from each other by Tukey test at 95% probability for the treatment and K dose, respectively
Treatments
Control
100% TK
50% TK + 50% KCl
100% KCl
Mean
17.8
17.6
17.7 AB
17.6 ns
16.9 ns
Dry mass production (g)

-1
60 mg kg
-1
120 mg kg
Mean
17.9
16.6
17.2 AB
16.6
15.8
16.2 B
18.1
17.6
17.8 A
-1
K concentration in soybean shoot (g kg )

-1
60 mg kg
-1
120 mg kg
Mean
9.2 c
9.6 c
9.4 C
13.5 b
14.9 b
14.2 B
14.2 ab
15.2 b
14.7 AB
14.7 a
16.4 a
15.5 A
12.9 B
14.0 A
261 a
288 a
274 A
226 B
238 A
100
100
-1
K accumulation in the aerial part (g pot )

-1
60 mg kg
-1
120 mg kg
Mean
165 c
160 c
162 C
223 b
235 b
229 B
256 a
267 a
262 A
Agronomic Efficiency
-1
60 mg kg
-1
120 mg kg
61
59
95
84
308

56
EFFICIENCY OF DIFFERENT NITROGEN SOURCES

IN MAIZE AT FIELD CONDITION
LVIA A. TIRABOSCHI1, LEONARDO A. AQUINO2, LUIS TORRES3, JOO MAS1.
1
PD&I Product, Development and Inovation, Yara Brasil Fertilizantes SA, Av. Padre Cacique, 320, Menino Deus, Porto Alegre, RS,
90.810-240 , Brasil (livia.tiraboschi@yara.com; joao.macas@yara.com); 2 Production Vegetable Department, Universidade Federal
de Viosa, Campus Rio Paranaba, Rod. MG-230, Km 7 - Zona Rural, Rio Paranaba - MG, 38810-000,Brasil (aquino.ufv@gmail.
com); 3 Product and Application R&D Department, Research Centre Hanninghof, Yara International ASA, Yara GmbH & Co. KG,
Hanninghof 35, D-48249 Duelmen, Germany (luis.torres@yara.com)
Introduction

Maize is the main cereal produced in Brazil, which is currently the third largest producer in
the world, it will reach 72.5 million tons in this year
(USDA, 2014). Nitrogen (N) is the nutrient more
required by maize and can limit high yields if not
available in enough rates (Lourente et al., 2007).
This nutrient is important for plant biochemical processes, as a constituent of proteins, enzymes, coenzymes, nucleic acids and chlorophyll (Fornasieri
Filho, 2007). Coelho (2007) points out that the average amount of nitrogen used in Brazilian commercial maize crops is 60 kg ha-1. There are technical recommendations for achieving high yields
from 60 to 100 kg ha-1 for nitrogen top dressing in
field without irrigation, and 120 to 160 kg ha-1 for
irrigated field (Amaral Filho et al., 2005; Pavinato
et al., 2008). Farmers have reached, frequently,
higher yields in maize applying huge doses of nitrogen, often, above the rates recommended in their
regions by official research entities (Coelho et al.,
2004). Pavinato et al. (2008) achieved corn grain
yield 12,000 kg ha-1 with the application of 289 kg
ha-1 of nitrogen. According Setiyono et al (2010) the
maize plant needs for each ton of grain produced,
on average, 16.4 kg of Nitrogen and 64% of that
amount are exported through the grain. The Nitrogen, supplied in sufficient quantities, delays the leaf
senescence and increases the period of high photosynthetic rate. These features are especially important after the R1 stage (silk emission on the cob),
this may increase the grain mass (Lee & Tollenaar,
2007).

The efficiency of nitrogen used on top
dressing can be highly reduced when it is applied
in unfavorable weather conditions. Among the processes linked to the reduction of efficiency, the NH3
volatilization is the most important, when the source
is urea, mainly if the urea is supplied without incorporation at soil. Loss of Nitrogen in ammonia form,
because of volatilization, can reach values higher

than 50% under conditions of high temperatures
and low humidity (Tasca et al., 2011). The most
common forms of nitrogen found in fertilizers are
amide, nitrate and ammonia, and the amide form
becomes predominantly ammonium days after application. The balance between nitrate and ammonium form can influence the use of nitrogen by the
plant. Tisdale (2005) cites that plant growth is improved when was applied the two sources instead
the isolated use of nitrate or ammonium. Therefore,
strategies for improving nitrogen use and minimize
your losses in the soil-plant system are absolutely
desirable in agriculture. The aim of this study was
to evaluate and compare the efficiency of nitrogen
from a source not subject to losses by NH3 volatilization in acid soils (ammonium nitrate as YaraBelaTM) versus the common urea.
Methods

The trial was conducted in the experimental area of COOPADAP (Agricultural Cooperative
Alto Paranaba), in Rio Parnaba (MG). Corn seeds
were sowed after the harvest of wheat (Zero Tillage) over straw. The crop rotation used in the area
has been made for five years with corn, soybeans
and wheat. The hybrid maize P30F53YH was sown
with spacing between lines of 0.6 m and density of
70,000 plants ha-1. The treatments consisted of different rates of nitrogen applied on top dressing, like
amide form (urea 44% N) or nitrate and ammonium
form (YaraBelaTM, 27% N) and an additional treatment without application of nitrogen. The rates of
nitrogen were 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 kg.ha-1 (10
treatments + control treatment). It was adopted the
randomized complete block design with four replications, 44 plots, each one with six lines with 6 m.
Nitrogen sources were applied in bands distributed
at V3 and V6 stage, each stage was applied half
the total rate of each treatment. In stage R1 (on-
set of female inflorescence) held the indirect measurement of chlorophyll content through the Minolta
SPAD-502. Thus, was held on reading of 30 leaves
opposite and below the cob per plot in the middle
part of the leaf blade.

Leafs sample were analyzed for evaluating
the nitrogen concentration. For this, was collected the
1st physiologically mature leaf, below and opposite the
cob at the R1 stage. Ten leafs were removed, they
were cleaned with cotton soaked in a neutral detergent solution, packed in paper bags and dried in a
constant temperature of 70 C for 72 hours forced air
ventilation. After the harvest it was evaluated the prolificacy (number of cobs per plant), number of grains
per row on the cob, number of rows of grains per cob,
thousand grain weight and grain yield, after correction
of humidity to 13%. Data were subjected to analysis of
variance. The dates collected around the yield were
submitted in regression analysis by software SISVAR,
version 5.3

There was interaction between the factors,
sources and levels of nitrogen over the yield (Table 1, Figure 1). When the source used was urea,
maximum grain yield of 13,511 kg ha-1 was obtained
with the dose of 153.5 kg ha-1 of nitrogen top dressing. On the other hand, when the N source was applied YaraBelaTM (with nitric and ammonium form)
showed a linear increase in productivity. With this
source we obtained the grain yield of 14,133 kg ha-1
with the application of 200 kg ha-1 of nitrogen on top
dressing. Bernardi et al. (2010) observed a higher
recovery efficiency of nitrogen in ryegrass with ammonium nitrate as compared to urea. Primavesi et
al. (2005) observed that the uptake of cations and
anions by plants increases as increase the nitrogen rates applied, urea or ammonium nitrate, being
greater with ammonium nitrate. The supply of nitrogen in the ammonium form and part in nitrate form
provides a better balance of cation in the rhizosphere of maize and thus improve growth and increase yield.
Conclusions

Urea applied on top dressing allowed maximum grain yield, 13511 kg ha-1, with the rate of
153.5 kg ha-1 N.
309
YaraBelaTM applied on top dressing linearly

increased the grain yield of maize. The highest rate
evaluated has afforded grain yield of 14,133 kg ha-1.
Keywords: Ammonium nitrate, maize, volatilization,
urea
References
USDA. Official Statistics, USDA Estimates. United
States Departament Agriculture.
http:// www.fas.usda.gov. Acess in jun 2014.
Tasca, F. A.; Ernani, P. R.; Rogeri, D. A.; Gatiboni,
L. C.; Cassol, P. C. Volatilizao de amnia do solo
aps a aplicao de ureia convencional ou com inibidor de urease. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do
Solo, v. 35, p. 493-502, 2011.
Setiyono, T. D.; Walters, D. T.; Cassman, K. G.;
Witt, C.; Dobermann, A. Estimating maize nutrient
uptake requirements. Field Crops Research, v. 118,
p. 158-168, 2010.
Bernardi, A. C. C.; Mota, E. P.; Cardoso, R. D.; Oliveira P. P. A.; Volatilizao de amnia, produo
de matria seca e teores foliares de N do azevm
adubado com fontes nitrogenadas. So Carlos:
Embrapa Pecuria Sudeste, 2010. (Circular Tcnica, 8p).
Pavinato, P. S.; Ceretta, C. A.; Girotto, E.; Moreira, I. C. L. Nitrognio e potssio em milho irrigado:
anlise tcnica e econmica da fertilizao. Cincia
Rural, Santa Maria, v. 38, n. 2, p. 358-364, 2008.
Lee, E. A.; Tollenaar, M. Physiological basis of successful breeding strategies for maize grain yield.
Crop Science, v. 47, p. 202-215, 2007.
Coelho, A. M. Manejo da adubao nitrogenada na
cultura do milho. Sete Lagoas: Embrapa Milho e
Sorgo, 2007. (Circular tcnica, 96).
Fornasieri Filho, D. Manual da cultura do milho. Jaboticabal: Funep, 2007.
Lourente, E. R. P.; Ontocelli, R.; Souza, L. C. F.;
Gonalves, M. C.; Marchetti, M. E.; Rodrigues, E.
T. Culturas Antecessoras, Doses e Fontes de Nitrognio nos Componentes de Produo do Milho.
Acta Scientiarum Agronomy. Maring, v. 29, n. 1, p.
55-61, 2007.
310
Amaral Filho, J. P. R.; Fornasieri Filho, D.; Farinelli,

R.; Barbosa, J. C. Espaamento, densidade populacional e adubao nitrogenada na cultura do milho. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v.
29, n. 3, p. 467-473, 2005.
Primavesi, A. C.; Primavesi, O.; Corra, L. A.; Cantarella H.; Silva, A. G. Absoro de ctions e nions
pelo capim-coastcross adubado com uria e nitrato
de amnio. Pesq. agropec. bras., Braslia, v.40, n.3,
p.247-253, mar. 2005
Table 1. Summary of analysis of variance features evaluated according to the rates and sources of nitrogen applied on
top dressing in maize. Rio Parnaba, MG (2013).
Variables
DF
Average square of the variables

NRGC
NGR
TGW
1,80
ns
97,8
ALT
ns
PLF
Sources
0,46
ns
Rates
0,26
ns
5,92
ns
1508,7
ns
0,018
Sources*Rates
0,16
ns
5,01
ns
1033,1
ns
0,006
SPAD
NFOL
0,99
ns
1,46
ns
3,57
ns
35,59
10784
0,001
6,08
ns
15,94
ns
711,3
ns
0,001
**
0,013
ns
0,003
**
YIELD
134,3
CV (%)
3,6
8,2
6,9
2,7
5,1
3,9
9,1
5,0
Average
16,5
35,7
358,4
2,39
1,31
47,9
34,66
12,6
ns
**
DF Degree of freedom; NRGC - number of rows of grains per cob; NGR - number of grains per row; TGW - thousand grain weight;
ALT - plant height; PLF - prolificacy (number of ears per plant); SPAD - units with SPAD chlorophyll meter measurements; NFOL leaf nitrogen content (g kg-1); YIELD - grain yield (t ha-1);
**, *, - significant by F test at 1, 5, 10 and 20% probability, respectively
Figure 1. Grain yield according to levels of N applied on top dressing with urea () or YaraBelaTM ().
Rio Parnaba, MG (2013).
Posters | Section 11 | Secondary macronutrients and micronutrients in NPK fertilizers
311
57
SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES ACCORDING TO DOSES

OF BENTONITE SULPHUR AND GYPSUM
LEANDRO JOS GRAVA DE GODOY1, FELIPE PACHIONI GAROTTI2, FELIPE GUSTAVO FRANA3
1
So Paulo State University, Campus de Registro, Rua Nelson Brihi Badur, 430, Vila Tupy, Registro, SP, 11900-000, BRASIL.
(legodoy@registro.unesp.br); 1 So Paulo State University, Campus de Registro. (garotti_5@hotmail.com);
1
So Paulo State University, Campus de Registro. (flidis2005@yahoo.com.br)
Introduction

For some crops are used mixed NPK fertilizers of high concentration, in which potassium
chloride, monoammonium phosphate and urea,
all without sulfur in its composition are used. This
is the case of the banana crop, mainly in the So
Paulo State. Without the use of other sulphur sources such as ammonium sulfate (240 g kg-1 S) and
simple superphosphate (120 g kg-1 S), it is common to observe low concentrations of soil sulfate
and consequently deficient sulfur content in the leaf
of banana plant. Fertilizer sulfur sources such as
gypsum (130 g kg-1 S) and elemental sulfur (990 g
kg-1 S) are alternatives, however, because they are
powdered, demand separate application of fertilization, resulting in increase of hand labor.

The use of a national fertilizer in pastil form,
which can be added to the mixed NPK fertilizer,
containing 900 g kg-1 S combined with bentonite,
may be an attractive alternative, however, it is necessary to know their reaction in the soil. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effects of
bentonite sulfur fertilizer application on soil chemical properties compared to gypsum.
Methods

The experiment was conducted in 2012/13,
in banana plantation in Sete Barras, SP (24 261,
61 S and 47 57 29, 47, altitude of 30 m above
sea level) with banana cv. Zelig, Cavendish, first
cycle, spaced 2.5 x 2.5 m. The climate is classified
as Af (Kppen). During the experimental period the
average temperature was 25.4 C and accumulated
rainfall of 974 mm. The soil in the area was identified as Dytric Cambisol.

The soil had the following characteristics,
in the 0 to 0.2 m layer: pH (CaCl2) 6.0; 26 g dm3 of
OM.; 288 mg dm-3 P (resin); 10.4; 11.1; 87; 31 and
141 mmolc dm-3 of potential acidity, K, Ca, Mg and
CEC, respectively; base saturation (V) of 92%, 15.2
mg dm-3 S (calcium phosphate); 1.2; 4.7; 56; 19.6;
4.3 mg dm-3 of B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn, respectively;

260; 352; 612 g kg-1 of clay, silt, sand, respectively.

The design was a randomized block, in factorial scheme 2 x 4 with two sulphur sources (bentonite sulphur and gypsum) and four doses of S (50,
100, 200 and 400 kg ha-1 S), plus a treatment without application of S, with five replicates. Each plot
consisted of eighteen plants, with the four central
plants considered useful. Gypsum used in the treatments was obtained in industry located in Cajati,
SP, in powdered form, with 250 g kg-1 CaO, 130 g
kg-1 S and 300 g kg-1 of humidity. The sulfur bentonite possessed 900 g kg-1 S (w/w), 100 g kg-1 bentonites (w/w), in the form of small pastils. Bentonite
is a 2:1 clay with expansive characteristics when
hydrated. Both products were manually applied to
the soil surface around the plants, 0.3 m from the
pseudostem, on November 26, 2012.

The soil chemical properties were evaluated at 45, 90 and 135 days after application (DAA).
Four soil samples were collected from each plot
with a dutch auger at 0 to 0.2 m depth, in the area
where fertilizers were applied. Soil samples were
dried in an oven (45 C), sieved (2 mm) and sent
to a laboratory for soil analysis: pH(CaCl2), organic
matter, potential acidity, Ca, Mg, K, P(resin) and
S(calcium phosphate).

The results were submitted to analysis of
variance by F test using the SISVAR 5.0 software,
Tukey test at 5 and 1% probability to compare
sources, and regression analysis, using the t test,
at 5 and 1% probability, to verify the significance of
the linear and quadratic fits.
Results e discussion

Linear increase of soil Ca content in function of both sulphur sources , at 45 and 135 DAA
was observed (Fig. 1a and 1b). This increase was
more pronounced when was used gypsum, at 45
and 90 DAA, which provided increased 13 and 16
mmolc dm-3 Ca, every 100 kg ha-1 S, in the 0 to 0.2
312
m soil layer. However, at 135 DAA, sulfur bentonite

provided an increase of 13 mmolc dm-3 Ca, for each
100 kg ha-1 S, while with the application of gypsum
the increase was equivalent to 7 mmolc dm-3 Ca, for
each 100 kg ha-1 S.

The increase in soil Ca content with the application of gypsum was expected, since it has 250
g kg-1 CaO, however did not expect this effect to
the sulfur bentonite. Aranha et al. (2002) found that
some bentonites have 1-12 g kg-1 CaO in its composition. Despite of the low CaO content in the bentonite, the application was located, which increases
its concentration, may explain the observed effect.

The content of S-SO42- in the soil increased
with both sulphur sources, at 45 and 135 DAA (Fig.
1c and 1d). Gypsum provided greater increase in
the S-SO42- content in the soil, soon to 45 DAA,
because the S in its composition to be in the sulfate
form. The sulfur bentonite have to undergo oxidation mediated by microorganisms to become elemental S to sulfate, and is detected by the analysis,
and therefore is available to the plant. The sulfur
bentonite have to suffer oxidation mediated by microorganisms to the elemental sulphur to be transformed to sulfate, and to be detected by the analysis, and therefore to be available to the plant. Thus,
at 135 DAA, a higher content of S-SO42- in the soil
in the treatment with bentonite sulfur was observed
compared to gypsum. At 45 DAA, the increase in
the S-SO42- content in the soil was of 24 and 32
mg dm-3 to each 100 kg ha-1 S applied as bentonite sulfur and gypsum, respectively. Three months
later, the rate of increase of soil S-SO42- content, for
each 100 kg ha-1 S, was 70 mg dm-3 when using the
gypsum and 188 mg dm-3 when using the bentonite
sulfur, reaching the maximum value in the dose of
294 kg ha-1 S.

At 90 and 135 DAA observed reduction
of soil pH by the action of sulfur bentonite when
compared to gypsum, especially at the two highest
doses of S (Fig. 1e and 1f). This decrease was due
to oxidation of elemental sulphur, generating protons H+ in solution, and as the reaction is mediated
by microorganisms, the effect was not detected as
early as at 45 DAA. Soil pH was reduced by, approximately, 0.2 units for each 100 kg ha-1 S applied
as bentonite sulfur.For the same reasons there was
an increased potential acidity and soil exchange-
able aluminum content and reduction of soil base

saturation. There was no effect of gypsum on pH,
potential acidity, soil exchangeable aluminum or the
soil base saturation.

It may also be noted, in the last two evaluations, effect of sulfur bentonite in increasing the
soil Mg content, on average, 2 to 3 mmolc dm-3 to
each 100 kg ha-1 S (Fig. 1g and 1h). The Mg content
in the soil was higher in sulfur bentonite treatment
compared to treatment with gypsum, especially at
the two highest doses (300 and 400 kg ha-1S), from
45 to 135 DAA. According to Aranha et al. (2002),
the content of MgO present in the bentonite is
greater than the CaO, ranging from 21 to 29 g kg-1,
however the effect of bentonite sulfur in increasing
the Mg content in soil is less than the increase soil
Ca level, due the adsorption force of the hydrated
ion Ca be greater than the Mg. There was no effect
of gypsum on the Mg content of the soil.

The effect on the linear increase of soil
CEC, at 45 and 90 DAA, was similar to the sulfur bentonite and gypsum treatments. However, at
135 DAA, the soil CEC in sulfur bentonite treatment
was higher than in the gypsum treatment, in the two
largest sulphur doses. This effect was due to the
higher soil content of Mg and greater soil potential
acidity in treatments with sulfur bentonite with respect to gypsum.
Conclusions

The bentonite sulphur and gypsum increased
the content of S-SO42- e Ca in the 0 to 0.2 m soil.

Only the bentonite sulphur increased soil
content of Mg, Al and potential acidity and it reduced soil pH.
Keywords: Sulfate; fertilization; soil fertility; fertilizer.
Acknowledgements
Produqumica for the financial support for the experiment.
References
ARANHA, I. B.; OLIVEIRA, C. H.; NEUMANN, R.;
ALCOVER NETO, A.; LUZ, A. B. Caracterizao
Mineralgica de Bentonitas Brasileiras. In.: XIX Encontro Nacional de Tratamento de Minrios e Metalurgia Extrativa, Anais... Volume 1, Recife, 2002.
313
Posters | Section 11 | Secondary macronutrients and micronutrients in NPK fertilizers
Ca content in the soil, mmolc dm-
140,0
120,0
100,0
80,0
60,0
BS = 0,0852*x + 84,715
R = 0,909
Bentonite sulfur
40,0
G = 0,1307**x + 90,434
R = 0,618
Gypsum
20,0
0,0
100
200
300
S-SO42- content in the soil, mg dm-
250,0
45 DAA
200,0
150,0
100,0
Bentonite sulfur
BS = 0,2445**x + 92,315
R = 0,8995
50,0
G = 0,3241**x + 104,33
R = 0,7636
Gypsum
100
200
300
400
40,0
Bentonite sulfur
BS = 0,126**x + 74,42
R = 0,8415
20,0
Gypsum
G = 0,068**x + 81,48
R = 0,778
0,0
100
200
300
400
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
135 DAA
Bentonite sulfur
Gypsum
250,0
200,0
150,0
100,0
BS= -0,0032**x2 + 1,8819x + 42,883

R = 0,9398
50,0
0,0
G = 0,7011**x + 38,635
R = 0,8558
0
100
200
300
400
Doses de S, Kg ha-1
135 DAA
6,4
Soil pH (CaCl2)
6,2
5,5
5,0
4,5
Bentonite sulfur
BS = -0,0018**x + 6,1115
R = 0,9374
Gypsum
3,5
6,0
5,8
5,6
5,2
100
35,0
200
Doses of S, Kg
ha-1
300
400
e
90 DAA
30,0
25,0
20,0
15,0
Bentonite sulfur
10,0
5,0
0,0
Gypsum
BS = 0,0172*x + 25,105
R = 0,6645
G = 22,9 ns
100
200
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
Bentonite sulfur BS = -0,0023**x + 6,2695

R = 0,9334
5,4
G = 6,2 ns
300
400
Gypsum
G = 6,2 ns
100
200
300
400
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
45,0
Mg contento in the soil, mmolc dm-
Soil pH (CaCl2)
60,0
300,0
90 DAA
4,0
Mg content in the soil, mmolc dm-
80,0
350,0
6,0
3,0
100,0
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
6,5
135 DAA
120,0
400
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
0,0
140,0
45 DAA
S-SO42- content in the soil , mg dm-
Ca content in the soil, mmolc dm-
160,0
135 DAA
40,0
35,0
30,0
25,0
20,0
15,0
Bentonite sulfur
10,0
Gypsum
5,0
0,0
BS = 0,0283**x + 28,755
R = 0,6413
100
G= 27,2 ns
200
Doses of S, Kg ha-1
300
400
Figure 1. Soil chemical properties depending on the doses and sources of S (bentonite sulfur and gypsum): a. Ca content in the soil at
45 DAS; b. Ca content in the soil at 135 DAA; c. S-SO42- content in the soil of at 45 DAA; d. S-SO42- content at 135 DAA; e. Soil pH at
90 DAA; f. Soil pH at 135 DAA; g. Mg content in soil at 90 DAA; h. Mg content in the soil at 135 DAA (Sete Barras, SP, Brazil, 2012/13).
DAA: days after application; ns, *, **: not significative, significative at 5 and at 1% probability by t test, respectively.
314

58
RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF REACTIVE PHOSPHATES ASSOCIATED TO

SOLUBLE PHOSPHOR SOURCE TO CORN PRODUCTION IN THE THIRD
AGRICULTURAL CYCLE
DAYANE GOMES DOS SANTOS(1), EDILSON CARVALHO BRASIL(2), ADILSON DE OLIVEIRA
JNIOR(3), LETCIA CUNHA DA HUNGRIA(1), RBIA CARLA RIBEIRO DANTAS(1), MARLENE
EVANGELISTA VIEIRA(1)
Agronomy, Universidade Federal Rural da Amaznia, Av. Presidente Tancredo Neves, 2501, Belm-PA, 66077-901, BRAZIL
(dayanesantos_13@hotmail.com); (2) Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (Embrapa) Oriental Amazon, Travessa Enas
Pinheiro, n/n, Belm-PA, 66095-105, BRAZIL (edilson.brasil@embrapa.br); (3) Embrapa Soybean, Rod. Carlos Joo Strass, n/n,
Distrito de Warta, Londrina-PR, 86001-970, BRAZIL (adilson.oliveira@embrapa.br)
(1)
Introduction

In Brazil, the low availability of phosphor
(P) in soil is a major limitation to plant growth and
hence crop productivity and according to Novais
and Smyth (1999) may be caused by its high power
of adsorption/precipitation, which has conditioned
the reduced efficiency of utilization of phosphatic
fertilizers (Yost et al., 1981). The most widely used
fertilizer in brazilian market are those with higher
solubility in water (triple superphosphate and monoammonic phosphates), but they are more expensive. It has driven the search for alternative sources
of P (Prochnow et al., 2003; Resende et al., 2006).
Although soluble sources have greater capacity to
provide P to soil, the use of natural phosphates minimize the fixation procedures and provide higher efficiency of utilization of nutrients by the crops, over
time (Novais & Smyth, 1999). Natural sources have
a higher residual effect which can keep longer the
performance levels of the crops in longer production cycle (Peruzzi & Kaminski, 1997). Therefore,
the association of these phosphate sources could
allow greater availability of P to plants in the first
year of cultivation, and ensure the maintenance
of good yields over the years. This study aimed to
evaluate the efficiency of the implementation of reactive phosphates associated with a soluble source
of P in the nutrient utilization in the third cycle of agricultural production of corn on an Oxisol Amazon.
Methods

The experiment was carried out at the
Embrapa Amaznia Oriental, in the municipality of
Paragominas (PA), in a clay dystrofic Yellow Latosol, which presented at surface layer (0-20 cm) the
following chemical properties: pH (H2O) equal 5.5;
21.9 g kg-1 of organic matter; 2 and 72 mg dm-3
of P and K (Mehlich 1), respectively; 3.1; 4.0; 0.3;

and 10.1 cmolc dm-3, of Ca, Ca+Mg, Al and CTC,
respectively. The physical characteristics of the soil
were: 13, 27, 260 and 700 g kg-1 of coarse sand, fine
sand, silt and clay, respectively (Embrapa, 1997).

The experimental design was a randomized block with four replications in a split plot.
In plots, corrective phosphate sources (Itafs phosphate, Bayvar thermophosphate aluminum, and
triple superphosphate), plus a control treatment (no
P) were tested. Subplots maintenance fertilization
levels (60% and 120% of the recommended by the
State of Par, equivalent to 90 kg ha-1 of P2O5 fertilization) were tested and a control treatment without
maintenance fertilization. Corrective sources were
applied at the rate of 240 kg ha-1 P2O5, on the surface and incorporated before the first crop; water
soluble phosphate sources was applied in a localized manner in rows. The correction of soil acidity
was performed with dolomite limestone.

In the third agricultural cycle we proceed to
sowing corn to evaluate the residual effect of the tested reactive phosphates. All plots received additional
fertilization with nitrogen, potassium and micronutrients in the form of urea, potassium chloride and FTE.

Grain yield of maize was significantly affected by the interaction of applied doses and
sources (Table 1). In the absence of fertilization
maintenance, Bayvar, Itafs and superphosphate
triple (SFT) corrective sources showed the highest
grain yield of corn and did not differ significantly
from each other in relation to thermo aluminum and
treatment without corrective fertilization, indicating
that in the third crop, there was still residual effect of
the first three sources used for the correction of the
Posters | Section 12 | Strategies for better use efficiency
initial P concentration in soil. However, the residual

effect of corrective sources, applied in the first year
of cultivation, did not affect grain yield in the third
year, when the maintenance fertilization was performed in both applied amounts (54 and 108 kg ha-1
P2O5) . These results indicate that corrective fertilization, in the third year of cultivation, was not sufficient
to ensure the achievement of satisfactory grain yields
when fertilizers are applied annually to maintain the
levels of P in the soil at adequate levels.

Increasing the dose of maintenance fertilization with soluble source (SFT) favored increased
production of corn grains only in the treatment with
aluminum thermo applied in the first year of cultivation and treatment without corrective fertilization.
This result demonstrates the importance of applying fertilizer maintenance annually, with a soluble
source when it is not performed the initial elevation
of the levels of soil P (phosphate).

It was observed that there was no statistical effect on grain yield between the levels of
maintenance fertilization, combined with corrective
sources SFT and Bayvar. However, for phosphate
Bayvar there was a strong trend of increasing production with increasing doses, verifying increments
producing 34 and 31% at doses of 54 and 108 kg
ha-1 P2O5, respectively, regarding treatment without
fertilization maintenance. The same behavior was
observed for the TSP used as corrective source,
where there was a tendency for increases of 17%
and 27% for grain yield, at doses of 54 and 108 kg
ha-1 P2O5, respectively.
Conclusions

Bayvar and Itafs phosphates have residual effects in the third cycle of production of maize,
315
when applied in the absence of maintenance fertilization with soluble source (SFT). The maintenance
fertilization has great importance in the production
of maize, when the phosphate is not performed.
Keywords: Fertilizers, fertilization, doses of P.
Financial support: FAPESPA/VALE
References
EMBRAPA-CNPS. (1997) Manual de mtodos de anlise de solo. Rio de Janeiro: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa
de Solos. (Embrapa-CNPS. Documentos, 1).
KAMINSKI, J. & PERUZZO, G. (1997). Eficcia de
fosfatos naturais reativos em sistemas de cultivo.
Santa Maria - RS, Sociedade Brasileira de Cincia
do Solo. (Boletim Tcnico no.3).
NOVAIS, R.F. de; SMYTH, T.J. (1999). Fsforo em
solo e planta em condies tropicais. Viosa: UFV.
PROCHNOW, L. I. et al (2003). Characterization
and agronomic evaluation of single superphosphates varying in iron phosphate impurities. Agro
nomy Journal, Madison, v. 95, p. 293-302.
RESENDE, A. V.; FURTINI NETO, A. E.; ALVES,
V. M. C.; MUNIZ, J. A.; CURI, N.; FAQUIN, V.; KIMPARA, D. I.; SANTOS, J. Z. L.; CARNEIRO, L. F.
(2006) Fontes e modos de aplicao de fsforo
para o milho em solo cultivado da regio do cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v.
30, n. 3, p. 453-466.
YOST, R. S.; KAMPRATH, E. J.; NADERMAN, G.
C.; LOBATO, E. (1981) Residual effects of phosphorus adsorving Oxisol of Central Brazil. Soil
Science Society America Journal, Madison, v.45,
p.540-543.
Table 1. Grain production in the third agricultural cycle of maize (kg ha-1) in function of the application of corrective
phosphates sources applied in combination with a soluble source in maintenance (SFT).
P corrective source
(240 kg ha-1)
Superphosphate Triple
Maintenance fertilization (SFT in kg ha-1 de P2O5)

Without P
54
108
6702 a A
9024 a A
8819 a A
Bayvar
7748 a A
9094 a A
9801 a A
Itafs
5479 a B
8963 a A
9282 a A
Thermophosphate aluminum
1985 b B
9002 a A
8879 a A
No corrective fertilization
3907 b B
7060 a A
9081 a A
Values followed by same lowercase letters in the column and uppercase letters on line, are not significantly different at p0.05 by
the Scott-Knott test.
316

59
NANOCOMPOSITES PRODUCED FROM EXTRUSION OF UREA AND

MONTMORILLONITE: A NEW PERSPECTIVE TO PRODUCE SLOW
RELEASE FERTILIZER
ELAINE INCIO PEREIRA1, CAUE RIBEIRO DE OLIVEIRA2
Embrapa Instrumentation, 1452 XV de Novembro Street, So Carlos - SP, Zip code: 13560-970, Brazil. (elaineinciopereira@
gmail.com); 2 Embrapa Instrumentation, 1452 XV de Novembro Street, So Carlos - SP, Zip code: 13560-970, Brazil. (caue.ribeiro@
embrapa.br)
1
Introduction

The efficient use of mineral fertilizers to
supply the demand for macronutrients (nitrogen,

phosphorus and potassium) is a key aspect to agricultural productivity, and several commercial options are available today. Among the molecules
widely applied for nitrogen delivery, urea, CO(NH2)2
is one of the most interesting from an economic
standpoint. However, effects such as ammonia volatilization and nitrate leaching reduce the effectiveness of this fertilizer when applied to alkaline, and
coarse textured soils, respectively (1). Thus, several alternatives have been studied to control the urea
supply in order to reduce these losses. Among the
possible technologies that might contribute to more
efficient use of N fertilizers, consequently, with solutions to the economic and environmental problems
caused, slow or controlled release compounds are
important choices; especially those based on association of fertilizers with lamellar materials. Clay
minerals are hydrated layered silicates, able to exchange cations, and intercalate neutral molecular
species between the interlayer regions by interaction with structural water. Montmorillonites (MMT)
are the most abundant minerals within the smectite
group (2:1 clay minerals) and determinant component in bentonites. They can be compact but,
mostly, they are foliated (2). This material may be
properly processed by extrusion (3), since this clay
presents good plasticity, mainly driven by attraction
forces between clay lamellae and the lubricating action of water present between the lamellar particles
(4). This process is quite attractive due to the use
of minimal amounts of water, which reduces production costs related to drying. In the specific case
of such clays, the process may be carried out at
low temperatures, which is important in the case
of urea due the undesirable conversion for biuret
(5). Finally, the process is also attractive due to the
ability of produce granules of adjustable size in a
continuous process with very high outputs. The present study therefore, describes the preparation and
characterization of slow releasing nanocomposites
based on MMT intercalation into an urea matrix, by
a simple and fast extrusion process at room temperature, which can produce high nitrogen content
granules and retard the release of nitrogen to varying degrees.
Methods

Nanocomposites were prepared at different ratios (w.w-1 basis) of clay MMT:urea - 1:1 (50%
urea), 1:2 (66% urea) and 1:4 (80% urea). The
preparation of the composites consisted of three
steps: mixing, extrusion and drying. MMT (Bentonita, Drescon S/A - Produtos de Perfurao) and
commercial urea were separately weighed, premixed and 8% water at room temperature was added to complete the mixture. Compositions obtained
were extruded in a twin-screw extruder (Coperion
ZSK 18), at 120 rpm and 40C, and converted into
pellets with 3 mm diameter per 5 mm height, as
illustrated in Figure 1a. The materials were dried
at room temperature for 48 hours in darkness. The
composites were designated MMT/Ur 1:1, MMT/
Ur 1:2 and MMT/Ur 1:4, being ratio w.w-1 MMT
and urea, respectively. Materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry
(TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energydispersive X-ray (EDX), simple compression test,
and tests for determining release rate of active
components in aqueous medium adapted from Tomaszewska and Jarosiewicz (6,7).

Materials were analyzed by XRD (Fig. 1b)
to monitor the exfoliation and intercalation of urea
into the clay after the processing. The position of
the d001 peak (2 = 6.6) showed a substantial shift
to low angle, suggesting a change in the interplanar
317
spacing of the matrix clay. The interplanar expansion observed, with respect to MMT (d = 1.34nm)
for all the composites (d = 1.93nm, independent of
the ratio MMT/Ur), was about 0.59 nm. This expansion confirmed the intercalation of urea in the interlamellar spaces. However, it is important to note
that the absence of any difference between 1:1 and
1:4 mixtures indicate that the separation of lamellar
structures was maximized using 1:1 mixtures. TG
was used to evaluate the thermal stability of MMT
and urea intercalated samples during thermal decomposition of solid materials (Fig. 1c). The nanocomposites show the thermal degradation behavior
almost dominated by the urea degradation, showing
the same degradation temperatures, except for the
1:1 mixture. In this condition, which is the maximum
compression. As observed in Figure 3a, the behavior of an urea granule is similar to a fragile material, with poor plasticity and fracturing at low pressure. On the other hand, all the nanocomposites
were very deformable, even without rupture until
the maximum deformation supported by the equipment. It is noticeable that this behavior can not be
assumed to be solely due to the MMT structure,
since the same analysis in the pure MMT extruded
revealed a low mechanical resistance. However, it
is noteworthy the similarity between the three nanocomposites, with negligible differences observed
between them. It suggests that the mechanical behavior is dominated by the intercalated fraction of
the material, which deforms continuously when solicited. This is an interesting behavior for the practi-
MMT content regarding urea studied, a significant

reduction of 17oC (from 212 to 195oC) in the first
degradation temperature was observed, indicating that the interaction with MMT reduced the urea
crystallinity, imposing a slight reduction at melting
temperature. Actually, in higher urea contents, a
large part of the material is unlinked to MMT, and
the free degradation was observed. Also, it is important notice that in all the nanocomposites, the
final residue after 600oC corresponds to the initial
MMT content expected.

SEM was applied to analyze the morphological aspects of pure MMT and nanocomposites
(Fig. 2). One may observe morphology changes after the formation of the composites compared with
the pure MMT. This modification, after processing,
may be related to the urea intercalation in clay, corroborating the XRD data. In fact, the lamellar structure related to MMT is observed even in condition
1:4, separated by a large amount of undefined material, identified here as crystallized urea. In some
images it is possible identify void spaces probably
related to the detachment of urea crystals during
the sample preparation. The identification of urea
and MMT regions was performed by EDX (Table
1). The regions signalized by 1 into the SEM images corresponds to urea crystals redispersed. On
the other hand, the region signalized by 2 corresponds to urea-intercalated MMT.

A comparative analysis of the mechanical
resistance of the granules was performed by simple
cal use of those materials as a fertilizer, since fragile granules are more prone to produce dust during
application, which may be avoided or minimized by
the nanocomposite materials. Figure 3b shows the
urea release for the three produced nanocomposites, compared to urea release. The urea dissolution
occurred in less than 1 hour. However, by comparing the nanocomposites, one can notice that all the
formulations retarded the urea release. It was very
important notice that this dissolution experiment was
very aggressive, since a complete immersion of the
produced materials in water is done. Although this, the
release is comparable to other controlled releasing
systems with very different action principles, as the
observed by Tomaszewska and Jarosiewicz (6) (for
some polymeric coatings applied in urea granules) or
in PMMA hydrogels, as reported by Bortolin et al. (8),
denoting that those values obtained for the nanocomposites are promising.
Conclusions

We described a simple and fast method to
produce a nanocomposite based on the intercalation of MMT clay into urea, at different proportions.
The process, based on conventional ceramic extrusion, do not involve application of heating, extensive previous preparation of the MMT:Ur mixture
or the addition of granulating or plasticizing agents.
Also, the presence of urea acted as a dispersant for
MMT clay, only requiring low water contents to be
processed.
318

The nanocomposite showed a slow release
behavior for urea dissolution, even in low MMT
amounts, which is a very important result for its application as a slow-release fertilizer.
(3) Vervaet, C.; Baert, L.; Remon, J. P. Int. J. Pharm.

1995, 116, 131-146.
Keywords: Urea, fertilizer, montmorillonite, extrusion, slow release
(5) Shen, R. C. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1959, 7, 762763.
Acknowledgements
(6) Tomaszewska, M.; Jarosiewicz, A. J. Agric. Food

Chem. 2002, 50, 4634-4639.
Embrapa Instrumentation; UFSCar; CNPq; CAPES;

FINEP; FAPESP.
References
(1) Aarnio, T.; Martikainen, P. J. Soil Biol. Biochem.
1995, 27, 1325-1331.
(4) Jiang, G. P.; Yang, J. F.; Gao, J. Q. Mater. Res.

Innovations. 2009, 13, 119-123.
(7) With, T. K.; Petersen, B.; Petersen, T. D. J. Clin.

Pathol. 1961, 14, 202-204.
(8) Bortolin, A.; Aouada, F. A.; Moura, M. R.; Ribeiro, C.; Longo, E.; Mattoso, L. H. C. J. Appl. Polym.
Sci. 2012, 123, 2291-2298.
(2) Lagaly, G., Ziesmer, S. Adv. Colloid Interface

Sci. 2003, 100-102, 105-128.
Table 1. Ratio of C, N, O, Al, and Si in the composites (marked by numbers in Fig. 2) measured by EDX in atomic %.
1
2
C
5,2
------
1
2
C
3,7
2,8
1
2
C
4,7
0,2
MMT/Ur 1:1
N
O
Al
21,8
14,0
3,9
1,8
35,1
16,5
MMT /Ur 1:2
N
O
Al
17,7
16,2
7,0
*23,6
12,8
MMT /Ur 1:4
N
O
Al
21,3
14,3
4,0
2,4
25,5
12,6
Si
5,1
33,9
Si
11,2
28,5
Si
6,5
27,3
Figure 1. (a) Nanocomposite MMT/Ur 1:1; (b) X-ray diffraction patterns; (c) thermogravimetric curve of MMT, urea, and of the
nanocomposites MMT/Ur 1:1, MMT /Ur 1:2, and MMT /Ur 1:4
Figure 2. SEM images of MMT

and of the nanocomposites
Figure 3. (a) Stress-strain curves for the pure urea and for the MMT /Ur composites; (b) Release rate of urea as
a function of time for pure urea and each of the composites at pH 7 and room temperature.
319
320

60
A STUDY OF THE GRINDING EFFECT ON THE KINETICS

SUPERPHOSPHATE SOLUBILIZATION
FBIO PLOTEGHER1, CAUE RIBEIRO2
Universidade Federal de So Carlos, Departamento de Qumica Rodovia Washington Lus, km 235 CEP 13565-905 So
Carlos So Paulo Brasil. (fabioplotegher@yahoo.com.br); 2 Embrapa Instrumentao, Rua XV de novembro, 1452, CEP 13560970 So Carlos So Paulo Brasil. (caue.ribeiro@embrapa.br)
1
Introduction

Phosphorus is an essential element for life
it is present in organelles of great importance for

the existence of life on earth as well as for energy
storage and photosynthesis. The phosphorus along
with nitrogen and potassium formal group over the
three nutrients required by plants. In the nineteenth
century, the need of the crop was supplied with
bone meal, but this material slow to decompose
and the needs of the plants in the early stages.
Justus von Leibig found that adding sulfuric acid
to bone meal helped in the solubilization, then the
first born phosphate fertilizer in the world. Since its
discovery was little changed as manufacturing, only
source of phosphorus, currently phosphate rocks.
Despite its simplicity few papers describe physicochemical phases that composes, its thermal degradation behavior and solubility kinetics. Thus, this
paper presents a detailed characterization of this
material[1,2].
Methods

The samples: SSP starting from a commercial fertilizer grinds were made at intervals of predetermined time 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 minutes of
grinding mill, in a orbital mill, with porcelain jar and
with alumina balls.

Characterizations: The mineralogical structure of the material was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analyzes. Chemical analysis of the material
was done using the technique of X-ray fluorescence
with lithium tetraborate fusion. The morphology of
the milled samples fertilizer was observed by scanning electron microscopy. In order to obtain total
surface area measurements analyzes were done
using the nitrogen fisisorption technique, using the
BET (BrunauerEmmettTeller) isotherm. The samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), with heating rate of 10o C.min-1 up to
1000o C under synthetic air atmosphere. Differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis at 10o C.min-1
from 25 to 400oC, in an aluminum pan and inert nitrogen atmosphere.

The solubility of the material was directly
tested in deionized water. The experiment was
carried out for 7 days, collecting daily samples. To
determine concentrations of phosphate solubilized
first aliquots were complexed to the formation of
blue phosphoantimonylmolybdenum. The readings
were made by the colorimetric technique for UV-VIS
spectrometer with 880nm wavelength[3].

Figure 1A shows the X-ray pattern for the
SSP sample before any milling. The main observed
phases were Gypsum [Ca(SO4)xH2O], and a phosphate phase corresponding to di-hydrogen calcium phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2.xH2O]. The chemical analysis determined by X-ray fluorescence. It
is known that the P2O5 concentration in SSP fertilizer may vary due to manufacturing processes,
the phosphorus concentration in the rock (used as
raw material) and other factors. For this material
the expected values are in the range of 7 to 10%
(16 to 23% P2O5) available. The fertilizer used in
this study contained 23.3% P2O5 available, a value
that is within the standards for this material. The
micrographs shown in Figure 2. show that each increase in the milling time induced a decrease in
particle size. It is observed that the milling was effective since particle deformation occurred, but one
can notice small aggregates with increasing milling
time. Also, one can notice the particles sub-micron
size, which is clearly seen even in 5-min milled
sample. The analysis of the relative surface area by
nitrogen physisorption technique presented in Figure 1B. show the relative increase in surface area
with increasing milling time, which confirms the conclusions drawn by the micrographs.

Thermogravimetric analysis showed for all
samples the same profile as shown in Figure 3A.
The first mass loss (between temperatures 100-250
C) refers to the mass loss related to the water molecules in gypsum and the calcium phosphate. In
both cases the complete dehydration would occur
until 300 oC. A second interesting region observed
in this analysis was between 550-950 C, as shown
in Figure 3B. for all milled samples including granular fertilizer. This significant loss of mass is not related to some kind of phase transformation of gypsum because it is stable in the anhydrous phase to
temperatures around 1300 oC. Studies have shown
that in this temperature range the change of phase
of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to calcium carbonate (CaO) occurs oxide, considering that one of the
steps in fertilizer production is the neutralization
of the sulfuric acid by adding excess some type of
limestone (calcite or dolomite), this phase transfor-
milling presented a significant increase in release

kinetics. This shows that the agglomeration effect
of gypsum has a influent role in SSP solubilization
kinetics, since the desaglommeration was effective
to improve its solubilization.
Conclusions

According to the results of this study we
conclude that the grinding was effective to decrease
the size of the particles observed in the micrographs
and the relative increase in surface area. This effect was evident in the results of thermogravimetry
where temperatures of events of mass loss and
phase changes were diminished and mainly in the
solubility of the material even if it contains a soluble
phosphate phase there was an increase in the rate
of release of this material.
mation can occur and be detected by this technique.

In this step it is interesting to note that a significant
reduction in the transformation temperature following the milling time occurred, from 791 to 762 C.
This fact also indicates that milling affect the material structure, facilitating weight loss in these thermal
events. Differential scanning calorimetry analyses,
presented in Figure 4.A., show the same profile for
all milled samples, where one can notice that in the
range between 150 and 225 oC there are only endothermic events. These peaks regard to the loss of
structural water molecules in gypsum and calcium
phosphate. In order to observe the milling effect
on release kinetics of nutrient P in water, the Figure 4.B., show a correspondence between milling
time and release kinetics: the solubilization of 70%
of total available phosphate, in the granular SSP,
was attained after 3 day of immersion, whereas the
same content was obtained for the 80 min-milled
material in 2 days. It is noteworthy that the milling
has higher effect in short periods, since the 2.5 minA
321
Keyword: Superphosphate, characterization, grinding, solubilization.
Acknowledgements
To CAPES for the scholarship and the EMBRAPA
by laboratories.
References
K.F. Isherwood, Mineral Fertilizer Use and the Environment, first ed., IFA International Fertilizer Industry Association, Paris, 2000.
D.Cordell, J. Drangert, S. White, The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought.
Glob. Environ. Chang. 19 (2009) 292-305.
L. Drummond, W. Maher, Determination of phosphorus in aqueous solution via formation of the
phosphoantimonymolybdenum blue complex reexamination of optimum conditions for the analysis
of phosphate, Anal. Chim. Acta, 302 (1995) 69,74.
B
Figure 1. A: X-Ray
Diffraction.
B: Specific Surface
Area
322
Figure 2. Electron microscopy for the milling samples
Figure 3. A: Thermogravimetric analysys (TG). B: DTG analysis for the all samples
Figure 4. A: DSC. B: Solubilization test
323
61
EVIDENCE OF SYNERGISTIC EFFECTS ON THE SLOW RELEASE

OF FERTILIZERS BY NANOCOMPOSITE HYDROGELS
ADRIEL BORTOLIN1,2, ANDR R. T. SERAFIM1,2, FAUZE A. AOUADA3,
LUIZ H. C. MATTOSO2, CAUE RIBEIRO2
Departamento de Qumica, Universidade Federal de So Carlos, 13565-905, So Carlos, SP, Brazil (adrielbortolin@gmail.com);
2
Laboratrio Nacional de Nanotecnologia aplicado ao Agronegcio (LNNA) - Embrapa Instrumentao (CNPDIA), 13560-970,
So Carlos, SP, Brazil; 3 Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira, UNESP Univ. Estadual Paulista, Departamento de Fsica e
Qumica, 15385-000, Ilha Solteira, SP, Brazil.
Introduction

Nitrogen is one of the essential elements
for good soil fertility, and among the available commercial options for its application, one of the most
economically feasible is the urea, CO(NH2)2. However, this compound is not very efficient as fertilizer.1
The nitrogen loss to the atmosphere via ammonia
volatilization is one of the main factors responsible
for the low efficiency of urea applied on the soil surface. The amount of nitrogen lost through volatilization after application of urea onto soil surface can
reach extreme values close to 80%.2 This justifies
the great interest in developing alternatives that allow the slow nitrogen liberation to the soil and consequently better administration, and hydrogels have
emerged as a good means of doing so. In this work,
we conducted the synthesis of a new hydrogel nanocomposite comprising polyacrylamide (PAAm),
the biodegradable polysaccharide methylcellulose
(MC), and the clay mineral calcic montmorillonite
(MMt) as modifiers. Such materials were characterized regarding their hydrophilic, spectroscopic,
kinetic, structural, mechanical, morphological, and
thermal properties as well as to the controlled desorption of the nutrient urea.
Methods

The hydrogels comprising PAAm and the
polysaccharide MC with different amounts of MMt
were obtained through chemical polymerization of
the acrylamide monomer (AAm, Fluka) in aqueous
solution containing MC and MMt. The AAm, MC and
N,N,N,N tetramethylethylenediamine catalyzer
(TEMED) were kept in constant concentrations in
whole nanocomposites. The MMt concentration
was varied regarding to the mass of AAm + MC
used in the synthesis. The synthesis of the hydrogels was started by a first solubilization of AAm in
water followed by a dispersion of MMt into an AAm
solution. The crosslinking agents MBAAm and TEMED were added and the solution was mechanically stirred for 30 min. After preparing the mixture, N2
was bubbled into the solution for 20 min to remove
oxygen. Finally, sodium persulphate (Na2S2O8) was
added in order to initiate the polymerization reaction by free radical mechanism. The hydrogels were
then named hydrogel (1:1) or (50% hydrogel: 50%
MMt in weight); hydrogel (2:1) or (66% hydrogel:
33% MMt); hydrogel (3:1) or (75% hydrogel: 25%
MMt); hydrogel (4:1) or (80% hydrogel: 20% MMt)
and hydrogel (1:0) or (neat hydrogel). The hydrogels that have undergone the hydrolysis treatment
were named with the abbreviation Hd.. For example, Hydrogel (1:1) Hd. is the hydrogel (1:1) which
has undergone the hydrolysis treatment. The hydrolysis process started by placing dried hydrogels
in a 0.5 mol L-1 NaOH solution, which was left to
swell during 18 hours at 75 C. The hydrolyzed hydrogels were put in Milli-Q water and the swelling
degree was monitored for 24 hours.

The X-ray diffractogram of the pure clay
showed an intense peak at 2 q = 6.56, referring
to the basal plane and corresponding to the interlamelar distance d001 = 1.35 nm, which identifies
the montmorillonite phase, as expected. Peaks at
25 and 27o were also observed, corresponding to
possible quartz contamination commonly present
in materials of mineral origin.3 Diffraction peaks at
and 45o were observed for the neat hydrogel, corresponding to the inter-planar distances 3.18, 2.88,
2.63, and 2.09 . In the nanocomposite materials,
clay characteristic peaks were not observed in the
region between 2 q
= 3-10, indicating good nanodispersion (intercalation) and exfoliation of the clay

lamellae in the hydrogel matrix for all of the conditions, except the 1:1 condition, in which the basal
324
plane moved to 3.90 that corresponds to d001 =

2.26 nm. This behavior was expected because, at
this high clay content, there is less hydrogel content
for lamellae separation. However, the displacement
of the basal plane, even in this condition, indicates
the good interaction of the clay mineral with the
hydrogel. On the other hand, it was observed that
the hydrolysis process facilitated the clay nanodispersion and exfoliation in the hydrogel matrix, allowing, in this condition, the disappearance of the
basal plane. The controlled desorption of urea test
in different pHs (4, 7, and 9) was done with the
hydrogel nanocomposites hydrolyzed and non-hydrolyzed (1:1), (3:1), and (1:0), as well as with the
commercial urea (i. e., without being added to the
hydrogel structure). The presence of the clay min-
Conclusions
eral in both of them causes the hydrogel to desorb

the nutrient in a slower manner, however it implies
the reduction of the total urea amount carried in
the material due to strong clay-urea interaction. The
urea desorption for the hydrolyzed hydrogels was
shown to be responsive to the pH, since when the
pH increased from 4 to 7 and then 9, the desorbed
nutrient amount remarkably increased, as shown
in Figure 1. This can be related to the counterions
or electrolytes needs to promote the change in the
system. Therefore, ionically charged resources
could favor the release by ionic exchange or by reactions with the hydrogel structure, such as hydrolysis reactions, possible in basic pH. . A prominent
factor and the most important is that the hydrolyzed
hydrogels showed an inverse tendency of that occurred in the non-hydrolyzed hydrogels. In other
words, Hydrogel (1:1) Hd. released more nutrients
than Hydrogels (3:1) Hd. and (5:1) Hd.
content, around 90 g per g of dried hydrolyzed hydrogel.

The hydrolysis of the hydrogels greatly facilitated MMt dispersion. Overall, the presence of
the clay mineral improved some properties of the
hydrogels and they allowed the hydrogel to release
the nutrient in a more prolonged manner, releasing the urea about 72 times more slowly than the
hydrogel without the hydrolysis treatment and up to
192 times more slowly than the hydrolyzed hydrogels, if compared with the polymer-free urea. Based
on such results, we highlighted the potential and
feasibility of the application of these nanocomposites in systems for the controlled release of urea.
In addition, to the best of our knowledge, these nanocomposite hydrogels are the first to present this
very high quantity of the urea released per hydrogel
Keywords: nanocomposites; polyacrylamide; montmorillonite clay; controlled release of fertilizer.
Acknowledgements
EMBRAPA FAPESP UFSCar (Departamento de
Qumica) CNPQ CAPES FINEP
References
Ni, B.; Liu, M.; L, S.; Xie, L.; Wang, Y. J. Agri. and
Food Chem. 2011, 59, 10169.
Pereira, E. I.; Minussi, F.B.; da Cruz, C. C. T.;Bernardi, A. C. C.;Ribeiro, C. J. Agri. and Food Chem.
2012, 60, 5267.
Jiantao, L.; Shimei, X. A.; Xiaomei, S.; Shun, F.;Jide,
W. Polym. Advan. Technol., 2009, 20, 645.
Yoshihiko, K.; Yoshiyuki, S.; Kazuyuki,K. J. Mater.
Chem. 1999, 9, 3081
Amount desorbed (g of urea/ g of hydrogel)
60
50
40
30
20
(1:1) Hd.
(3:1) Hd.
(1:0) Hd.
10
0
50
100
150
200
250
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
(1:1) Hd.
(3:1) Hd.
(1:0) Hd.
10
0
50
100
Time (h)
200
250
(b)
(a)
150
Time (h)
100
80
60
40
(1:1) Hd.
(3:1) Hd.
(1:0) Hd.
20
50
100
150
200
250
Time (h)
(c)
Figure 1. Kinetic curves of urea controlled desorption in different pH values for the hydrolyzed hydrogels: (a) 4.0,
(b) 7.0, and (c) 9.0.
325
326

62
HYDROXYAPATITE/UREA NANOCOMPOSITES - INCREASED SOLUBILITY

BY DISPERSION IN A SOLUBLE MATRIX
AMANDA S. GIROTO1,CAUE RIBEIRO2
Federal University of So Carlos, Departament of Chemistry - Rod. Washington Luiz, km 235, So Carlos - SP, Zip code: 13565905, Brazil (asgiroto@gmail.com); 2 Embrapa Instrumentation, 1452 XV de Novembro Street, So Carlos - SP, Zipe code: 13560970, Brazil (caue.ribeiro@embrapa.br)
Introduction

Among the top three primary macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), phosphorus is the least required (by mass) by plants.
However, it is the nutrient that limits the production
more and more widely used in fertilizers in Brazil.
The main industrial sources of P used in agriculture are obtained by treating phosphate rock (rock
phosphate). Natural phosphates, because of their
low solubility in water, undergo chemical and physical processes such as acidification by treatment
with sulfuric acid or phosphoric acid to increase its
solubility in water, producing superphosphate, triple
among others. These processes, on the one hand
render phosphate more available, also reduce the
solubility control, beyond the issues associated with
the high production costs Involved. In this sense, the
current phosphate fertilizer demand requires more
rational methods are designed for the use of this
nutrient, seeking strategies to Increase and control
the solubility of the sources used, besides avoiding immobilization, coalescence or agglomeration
processes compromise the availability during the
proceeding. Thus, hydroxyapatite (HPT) was chosen as a model of mineral phosphates due to their
physical characteristics, structural, morphological
and yet the higher solubility compared to other existing phases. To establish an increased phosphate
release strategy was established as the use of a
synthetic route that would allow the isolation of nanoparticles HPT commercial soluble matrix, thereby
allowing control of the solubility of phosphate nanoparticles gradual exposure to the environment preventing their agglomeration and thus improving its
solubility. Matrices for formation of nanocomposites
must necessarily be compatible with the surface of
phosphate nanoparticles - therefore hydrophilic. A
candidate for dispersion of HPT is urea, the main
fertilizer used as a nitrogen source in Brazil. The
present work, therefore, describes the preparation
and characterization of slow-release bifunctional
nanocomposites based on the isolation of HPT in

a urea matrix by an extrusion process simple and
quick to reasonable temperature. This process can
produce granules containing high levels of HPT nanoparticles with particle size values of interest for
the solubilization process.
Methods

Nanocomposites were prepared at different
ratios (w.w-1basis) of hydroxyapatite HPT:urea i.e.
1:1 (50 % Polylab Rheodrive and mixer Rheomix
OS4) 60 rpm, 10 min at 100 C. The materials were
dried at roomtemperature for 24 hours in darkness.
After obtaining the dry materials, they were taken
to grinding pressurized shaker mill with centrifugal
action (Servitech, CT 242) to obtain powders, as illustrate in Fig. 2a. The composites were designated
HPT/Ur 1:1, HPT/Ur 1:2 and HPT/Ur 1:4, being
ratio w.w-1 HPT and urea, respectively. The nacomposites were characterized by electron microscopy
(SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Particle
size distribution.and thermogravimetry (TG).

To monitor the morphology and dispersion
of hydroxyapatite into the urea after the processing, the materials were analyzed by SEM and EDX
(Fig. 1 and Table 1). One may observe morphology changes after the formation of the composites
compared with the pure HPT and the urea This
change, after processing, may be due to good interaction between urea and the hydrophilic surface of
hydroxyapatite. is observed that from 1:2 presence
of long urea crystals and between the crystals the
presence of small particles of HPT as confirmed by
analysis of EDX. It is observed through the SEM
images that the regions indicated by 1 correspond
hydroxyapatite nanoparticles dispersed in urea.
While the region indicated by 2 corresponds to
redispersed urea crystals.

Through Fig. 2a shows how materials pre-
327
sent after drying and milling. The obtained powder

is important because the application of such materials is by direct spraying, or even in other solvents
dispersion. TG was used to evaluate the thermal
stability of HPT and urea dispersed samples during thermal decomposition of solid materials (Fig.
2b). The nanocomposites shows the thermal degradation behavior almost dominated by the urea
degradation, showing the same degradation temperatures, except for the 1:2 and 1:4 mixture. These
nanocomposites by their lower content of hydroxyapatite had a greater dispersion in urea matrix. This
improves the dispersion of PTH, was responsible
for the increase in thermal stability of the nanocomposites, verified by temperature shift of the first
stage of degradation of urea around 20 C. This
size of its particles, since the solubility of the particles in the medium is related to its size according to the equation Ostwald-Freundlich (4), so it
is believed that smaller particles will have higher
solubility.
behavior is due to the strong interactions between

the surface of PTH and urea, therefore, not observing signals of the degradation of free urea in the
nanocomposites.Also, it is important notice that in
all the nanocomposites, the final residue after 350
C corresponds to the initial HPT content expected.
The Fig. 2c shows the results of size analysis of nanocomposite particles when in contact with water.

Thus, this analysis shows the distribution
of the size of nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite after
total solubilization of urea present. Thus, we can
see that the commercial hydroxyapatite has a size
of about 618 nm. By adding urea found that the
affinity between the components to promote dispersion and consequently a reduction of the particle
size of PTH present in the nanocomposite. Thus the
composite HPT / Ur 1:4 showed the smallest size
around 31 nm.

One way to increase the solubility of
phosphates in soil is the use of decreasing the
tion process, leading to performance or even slow

controlled release.
Conclusions

It was possible obtain by dispersing of HPT
in urea, nanocomposites simply and with a high
loading of phosphate. The nanocomposites showed
a greater thermal resistance of compared to pure
urea because of the strong interactions between
the components. In addition, the nanocomposites
showed considerable particle size in the presence
of excess urea. It is expected that this positively influences the behavior of hydroxyapatite solubiliza-
Keywords: Phosphate, hydroxyapatite, fertilizer, extrusion, slow release.
Acknowledgements
Embrapa Instrumentation; UFSCar; CNPq; CAPES;
FINEP; FAPESP.
Literature cited
(1) Enstn, B. V.; Turkevich, J. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
82:4503,1960.
(2) Fan, C.;Chen, J.;Chen,Y.;Ji, J.;Teng, H. H. Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac. 70:3820, 2006.
(3) Fathi, M.H.; Hanifi, A. Mater. Lett., 61:3978,
2007.
(4) Atkins, P; de Paula, J. Fsico-Qumica Vol.1.
LTC Editora, So Paulo, 2008, 8ed. 592 p.
328
Table 1.Ratio of C, N, O, P, and Ca in the composites (marked by numbers in Fig. 1) measured by EDX in atomic %.
HPT/Ur 1:1
1
2
C
5.55
15.37
N
23.99
49.95
O
30.42
27.12
P
14.45
2.32
Ca
25.22
5.24
HPT/Ur 1:2
1
2
C
5.40
13.66
N
24.82
31.84
O
43.82
48.88
P
6.11
2.96
Ca
18.99
HPT/Ur 1:4
1
2
C
5.36
9.12
N
11.64
36.09
O
56.20
48.73
P
11.48
2.19
Ca
15.21
3.87
Figure 1. SEM images of MMT and of the nanocomposites.
Figure 2. (a) Nanocomposite HPT/Ur 1:1 before and after milling; (b) thermogravimetric curve of HPT, urea, and of the
nanocomposites HPT/Ur 1:1, HPT/Ur 1:2, and HPT/Ur 1:4; (c) Particle size analysis of nanocomposites by the percentage
of the number of particles.
329
63
EFFECT OF HUMIC ACID RATES AND CARBONATE SOURCES

IN AVAILABLE P IN A TROPICAL SOIL
HENRIQUE JOS GUIMARES MOREIRA MALUF1, CARLOS ALBERTO SILVA2,
DAVI LOPES DO CARMO1
1, 2
Soil Science Department, University Campus, PO Box 3037, Lavras-MG, CEP: 37200-000, BRAZIL (rick.maluf@yahoo.com.br,
csilva@dcs.ufla.br, davigoldan@yahoo.com.br).
Introduction

Clay fraction of highly weathered soils,
such those found in Brazil, is predominantly dominated by caulinite and oxy-hydroxides of Fe and
Al. These soils have a high capacity to adsorpt and
retain P, one of the main factors which govern the
P nutrient availability to plants and limit its supply
in most of the Brazilian agricultural production systems. Due to high P retention in tropical soils, this
nutrient stands out as the most applied in fertilizers.

Recent studies have shown that soil organic matter can reduce P losses and promote positive effects on availability to plants (S et al., 2013),
blocking active sites for adsorption and minimizing
the formation of precipitates with P (Pavinato & Rosolem, 2008). Humic acid (HA) may generate such
effects due to the load and the functional groups
existing in its structure, with the advantage of being
stable in soil (Pavinato & Rosolem, 2008).

Liming is an essential practice in acidic soils
in order to obtain satisfactory crop yields, since it increases the pH, neutralize exchangeable forms of
Al, provide Ca and Mg to plants, and increases the
availability of other nutrients, including P. Elevation
of soil pH increases the concentration and activity
of OH- ions in solution, promotes the precipitation
of Fe and Al, and reduces the precipitation of P;
when lime are added to soils, negative charges are
generated by deprotonation of the hydroxyl groups
exposed in clays and soil organic matter, promoting
repulsion between phosphate ion and adsorbent
surface (McBride, 1994), minimizing losses by specific adsorption, which results in increased availability of P in soil.

However, errors are usually frequently associate to liming, not only by the amount of lime
applied, but the correct choice of the soil acidity
corrective source, which could unbalance the relationship between the cations in soil, especially with
the excessive increase soil Ca levels, which can
minimize the beneficial effects of acidity correction
on soil P availability.

The aim of this study was to determine the
levels of available P, extracted by resin, in soil under the influence of humic acid rates and carbonate
sources.
Methods

Treatments were defined by 6 x 2 factorial
arrangement with six rates of HA extracted from leonardite: 0, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg kg-1 combined
with two carbonate sources, CaCO3 and MgCO3.
These treatments were distributed in a completely
randomized design with four replications.

Oxisol (Red Latosol) samples collected in
0 to 20 cm in a forest area of Lavras, MG, Brazil,
were used to incubate the treatments already cited.
The soil was characterized as clayey (500 g kg-1
clay), with pH in water of 4.7; K and P (Mehlich-1)
of 40.00 and 1.52 mg dm-3, respectively; Ca2+, Mg2+,
Al3+, H+Al, effective CEC and CEC at pH 7.0 of
0.37, 0.13, 1.03, 7.07, 1.64, and 7.67 cmolc dm-3, respectively; the base saturation was 8%; remaining
phosphorus was 16 mg L-1 and organic matter, 25.8
g kg-1. The HA was extracted from leonardite, using
0.5 mol L-1 KOH, following principles described in
the method recommended by the International Humic Substances Society (SWIFT, 1996).

The experiment was conducted in two
phases: firstly, the soils sample were incubated
CaCO3 or MgCO3, both pure for analysis (p.a.), and
with HA rates during 30 days; soil moisture were
kept around 80% of the field capacity during the
previous incubation of treatments, secondly soil
samples were dried, sieved to 2 mm mesh, and
again incubated, under the same conditions already
mentioned; in this second phase, P was added to
soils at a rate of 400 mg kg-1; KH2PO4 (p.a.) were
the P source used and the soil samples were incubated during another 30 days. The experimental unit consisted of 150 g of dry soil incubated in
closed polyethylene container with plastic lids.
330
The soil acidity correction had the primary purpose

of raising the pH in the range of 6.0 to 6.5, and to
promote the elevation of Ca2+ levels (CaCO3), or
only the soil Mg2+ contents (MgCO3). The amounts
of lime were estimated by previously acidity neutralization curves which take into account the specific
soil acidity buffer capacity of the Oxisol incubated.

In the end of the second incubation, soil
samples were air dried and sieved with 2 mm mesh
for analysis of available P levels, whose extraction
were performed by using the mixed ion exchange
resin method (Raij & Quaggio, 2001). P levels were
determinate in a UV-visible spectrophotomer machine, at a wavelength of 725 nm.

After the analysis of variance, database
was subjected to regression analyzes, considering
al. (2013) studied forms of P in the soil through the

use of synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy and found in forms of P complexed to HA
by metal bridge with Al. These complexes can involve both bi as well trivalent cations.

The soil after the experiment had an average pH of 6.4 0.20; in this soil acidity condition,
the resin P levels were also influenced by the carbonate sources used as lime for soil acidity correction. In soils where acidity was neutralized by
MgCO3, contents available P was higher in comparison to those limed with CaCO3 (Fig. 2). Use of
Mg carbonate instead of Ca, on average, increased
resin soil P contents in 7%.

Thus, the option to Ca or Mg carbonate
in the soil acidity correction can directly affect the
the soil P levels as a function of HA rates; R 3.0.3

software (R Core Team, 2014) was used to perform
the statistics analysis.
availability of P to plants. The positive role played

by Mg in increasing P levels must be investigated,
with the focus to study the stability and solubility
of the salts formed; complexes formed by HA-P
forms in soil is also another important issue to be
investigated. The lowest available P content in soil
amended with CaCO3 may be related to the formation of phosphate bi and tricalcium of low solubility
or may be also related to the formation of HA-P
complex, mediated by Ca2+ bridge, which may have
higher affinity than the Mg2+ for P counter-ions.

The quadratic model was the best which fits
to the soil available P contents, showing increase in
P levels for HA rates up to 329 mg kg-1, followed by
a decrease in resin P levels to HA rate of 400 mg
kg-1 (Fig. 1). At the HA rate of 329 mg kg-1, available
soil P was increased to 207 mg dm-3, an 18% increase in P in comparison to the soil where HA was
not applied.

This increase in the availability of P in the
soil may be related to the reduction of P retention
in soil, demonstrating the potential of HA in blocking active sites of phosphate adsorption and, or,
the capacity of organic ligands in complexing cations, mainly Fe, Al, and Ca, which could reduce the
formation of precipitates of P. Guan et al. (2006)
studied the adsorption of P and verified that, among
the organic compounds studied, HA was the most
effective in blocking the active sites of P adsorption
and, maintain P in soil solution for a longer time.

However, as the HA rate is increased, the
chance of formation of complexes between HA and
P is higher, especially when levels of divalent cations are increased, such as Ca2+ and Mg2+, which
involved HA-P complex by metal bridge; formation
of such organic-metallic complexes may explain the
reduction in soil available P content available for HA
rate higher than 329 mg kg-1 HA. Giguet-Covex et
Conclusions

The rate of HA applied to the soil is determinant to increase the levels of soil available P
extracted by the ion exchange resin method.

Use of CaCO3, in comparison to MgCO3,
increases the levels of Ca2+ in soil and reduces the
soil P availability, which may reduce the efficiency
of phosphate fertilizer and use efficiency of P by
plants.
Keywords: Specific P adsorption; Organic matter;
Organic-metal complexes; Liming.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank CAPES, for the scholarship provided to the first author; to the Soil Science Department and Soil Organic Matter Laboratory, both at
UFLA, Brazil, for allowing the lab determinations.
CNPq (308592/2011-5 process) is also acknowledge for financing part of the experiment costs
and providing scholarships to the authors of this
stud; and FAPEMIG for financing to attend the congress.
References
GIGUET-COVEX, C.; POULENARD, J.; CHALMIN, E.; ARNAUD, F.; RIVARD, C.; JENNY, J.P. &
DORIOZ, J.M. XANES spectroscopy as a tool to
trace phosphorus transformation during soil genesis and mountain ecosystem development from
lake sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
118:129-147, 2013.
GUAN, X.H.; SHANG, C. & CHEN, G.H. Competitive adsorption of organic matter with phosphate on
aluminum hydroxide. Journal of Coloid and Interface Science, 296:51-58, 2006.
McBRIDE, M.B. Environmental chemistry of soils.
New York, University Press, 1994. 406p.
PAVINATO, P.S. & ROSOLEM, C.A. Disponibilidade
de nutrientes no solo: Decomposio e liberao de
compostos orgnicos de resduos vegetais. Revista
Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, 32:911-920, 2008.
331
RAIJ, B.van & QUAGGIO, J.A. Determinao de

fsforo, clcio, magnsio e potssio extrados
com resina trocadora de ons. In: RAIJ, B.van;
ANDRADE, J.C.; CANTARELLA, H. & QUAGGIO,
J.A., eds. Anlise qumica para avaliao da fertilidade de solos tropicais. Campinas, Secretaria
de Agricultura e Abastecimento, APTA/IAC, 2001.
p.189-199.
R CORE TEAM. R: A language and environment for
statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical
Computing, Vienna, Austria. 2014.
S, J.C.M.; BRIEDIS, C. & FERREIRA, O.A. No-till
corn performancein response to P and fertilization
modes. Revista Ceres, 60:96-101, 2013.
SWIFT, R.S. Organic matter characterization. In:
SPARKS, D.L. PAGE, A.L.; HELMKE, P.A.; LOEPPERT, R.H.; SOLTANPOUR, P.N.; TABATABAI,
M.A.; JOHNSTON, C.T. & SUMNER, M.E. (Eds.).
Methods of soil analysis: part 3: chemical methods.
Madison: SSSA, 1996. p.1011-1020.
Figure 1. Levels available resin P as a function of

humic acid (HA) rate
Figure 2. Available resin P levels as a function of

carbonate sources. Bars followed by the same letter
do not differ statistically at P<0.05.
332

64
AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF REACTIVE PHOSPHATE BAYVAR

IN A Brachiaria brizantha CV. PIAT CROP
WANTUIR FILIPE TEIXEIRA CHAGAS1, DOUGLAS RAMOS GUELFI SILVA1, EDUARDO BUCSAN
EMRICH1, ANDR LUIZ CARVALHO CAPUTO1, FRANCISCOHLCIOCANUTOAMARAL1,
DIGO FAUSTOLO ALVES BISPO1
1
Department of Soil Science, DCS-UFLA3037, Lavras, 37200-000, BRAZIL (wantuirfilipe@gmail.com)
Introduction

Pastures are considered the primary food
source for ruminants in Brazil. Phosphorus (P) is
one of the factors that most influence the productivity and quality of tropical grasses (MESQUITA et
al., 2004). In applications of phosphate fertilizers in
acid soils, only a fraction of P is used by plants being the biggest part fixed in the soil (PHEAV et al.,
2003). Thus, to obtain high yields, applications of
great doses of P are required.

Phosphorus sources of low solubility generate lower P fixing by the soil and, also, lower residual effect (XIONG et al., 2002). It occurs, because the release of phosphorus in the soil solution
is made more slowly, presenting lower cost per
unit of P (CAIONE et al., 2011). Bayvar reactive
phosphate presents intermediate solubility, being
between P sources and natural phosphates. It is a
phosphate from sedimentary origin and is characterized by having a high degree of isomorphic substitution of phosphate by carbonate ion, which gives
it speed of reaction in the soil, when compared to
other natural phosphates (NOVAIS et al., 2007).

Because of the importance of P in soil fertility management in tropical conditions, were compared the agronomic efficiency of reactive phosphate Bayvar, triple superphosphate and magnesium thermophosphate, with or without liming for
Brachiaria brizantha cv. Piat.
Methods

The experiment was conducted under
greenhouse conditions of Soil Science Department
of Federal University of Lavras (Minas Gerais, Brazil). Soil samples were collected in the 0-20 cm
layer in a Dystrophic Red Latosol (LVd), with clay
texture, passed through a sieve of 4 mm mesh and
air dried. The subsamples were passed through a
sieve with of 2 mm mesh to obtain air dried soil
(TFSA) and subjected to physical and chemical
analysis. The experimental design was completely

randomized, composed of three P sources: Triple
superphosphate (TSP), Magnesium termophosphate Yoorin (MT) and Reactive phosphate Bayvar (BP), six phosphorus doses (0; 50; 100; 200;
400; 800 mg dm-3 P2O5), applied with or without lime
(+ C and C, respectively), with three replicates.

Each experimental plot consisted as a pot
containing 5 kg of soil. For plots that received lime,
it was applied CaCO3 and MgCO3 (4:1), to raise
base saturation (V) to 45%. Lime reaction time was
of 60 days and treatments were applied after this
period. The amount of each source of phosphorus
applied was determined according different contents of P2O5 (Table 1). After that, it passed through
an incubation period of 30 days.

It was performed a fertilization with all other
nutrients, except P (MALAVOLTA, 1980), through
analytical reagent salt sources. Fifteen seeds of
Brachiaria brizanta cv. Piat were seeded per pot
and five days after seedling emergence was performed rough to maintain five plants per pot. After 60 days of sowing, it was made the first cut of
shoots two centimeters above de soil. Three subsequently cuts were made at intervals of 40 days.
After each cut, the forage biomass was dried in a
forced oven at 65 C to obtain the dry weight of
shoots (DWS) and, in the end of experiment, roots
were dried to perform roots dry mass (RDM).

Agronomic efficiency index (AEI) was constructed for each cut and for the four cumulative
cuts, taking the TSF reference in the following formula (NOVAIS et al., 2007):

AEI = (production of tested source) (control production) * 100/ (triple superphosphate production) (control production).

The results were subjected to variance
analysis and, when interactions were significant, the
deployment of variables was performed, through
regression, and the averages were compared by
the Scott-Knott test at 5%. Statistical analyzes were

performed using and computational program R Development Core Team (2010).
333
Acknowledgements
To FAPEMIG for financing the project and for scholarships concessions and to CNPq for scholarships
concessions.

Treatments MT+C, MT-C e TSP-C e
TSP+C showed equal AEI at first and second cuts.
For total, it was observed that values for MT did not
differed from the reference (SFT+C) with or without
lime (Table 2). Being MT a source with low solubility in water, its elevated AEI can be attributed not
only to phosphorus, but the presence of calcium
and magnesium in its composition, which favors the
improvement of soil chemical conditions (MALAVOLTA, 2006).

For BP, AEI was lower than other sources
References
for four cuts and for total, with or without lime. However, AEI increased along cuts in the presence or
absence of lime. This behavior over the cuts was
observed by Bonfim-Silva et al. (2012) evaluating
the mass production of Brachiaria brizanta cv. Marandu under application of Bayvar reactive phosphate. When the BP was applied in the presence of
lime (FB + C), a decrease was observed in the AEI
in relation BP-C. Prochnow et. al (2006), evaluating AEI of phosphate fertilizer with different water
solubilies, found higher AEI for sources of lower
solubility in soils with higher capacity of phosphorus
adsorption, that is, without acidity corrected.

According to Rajan et. al (1996), Natural
phosphates are ideal for cultivating perennial plants
because it gradually release phosphorus to soil solution, it may, also, minimize phosphorus fixation
by iron and aluminum oxides and reduce costs per
phosphorus unit (PROCHNOW et al. 2006).

The sources and doses interaction was not
significant.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA AGROPECURIA. Manual de anlises qumicas de

solos, plantas e fertilizantes. Braslia: Embrapa
Solos, 1999.
Conclusions

Agronomic efficiency index, at the end of
four cuts followed the order: TSP+C = MT + C =
MT-C = TSP-C > BP-C> BP+ C. BP agronomic efficiency ndex was higher in the absence of lime.
Keywords: Phosphorus, Pastures, Brachiaria brizanhta.
BONFIM-SILVA, E. M. et al. Caractersticas morfolgicas e produtivas do capim-marandu adubado

com fosfato natural reativo em solo de cerrado. Revista Agro@mbiente, Roraima, v. 6, n. 2, p. 166171, 2012.
CAIONE, G. et al. Fontes de fsforo em variedades
de cana-de-acar forrageira. Pesquisa Agropecuria Tropical, Goinia, v. 41, n. 1, p. 66-73,
2011.
MALAVOLTA, E. Elementos de nutrio mineral

de plantas. So Paulo: Agronmica Ceres, 1980.
MALAVOLTA, E. Manual de nutrio mineral de
plantas. So Paulo: Agronmica Ceres, 2006.
MESQUITA, E. E. et al. Teores crticos de fsforo
em trs solos para o estabelecimento de capimmombaa, capim-marandu e capim-andr
opogon em vasos. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia, Viosa, v. 33, n. 2, p. 290-301, 2004.
NOVAIS, R. F. et al. (Org.). Fertilidade do solo.
Viosa: Sociedade Brasileira de Cincia do Solo,
2007.
PHEAV, S. et al. Fate of applied fertilizer phosphorus in a highly weathered sandy soil under
lowland rice cropping, and its residual effect.
Field Crops Research, Amsterdam, v. 81, n. 1,
p. 1-16, 2003.
PROCHNOW, L. S.; FRANCISCO, J. F. B.; BRAGA, E. A. G. Effectiveness of phosphate fertilizers
of different water solubilities in relation to soil phosphorus adsorption. Scientia Agricola, Piracicaba,
v. 63, v. 4, p. 333-340, July/Aug. 2006.
334
R DEVELOPMENT CORE TEAM. R: a language

and environment for statistical computing. Vienna:
R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 2010.
RAJAN, S. S. S.; WATKINSON, J. H.; SINCLAIR,
A. G. Phosphate rocks for direct application to soils.
Advances in Agronomy, San Diego, v. 57, p. 77159, 1996.
XIONG, L. M. et al. Isotopic assessment of soil

phosphorus fertility and evaluation of rock phosphates as phosphorus sources for plants in subtropical China. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, Dordrecht, v. 63, n. 1, p. 91-98, May 2002.
Table 1. Chemical and physical characterization of phosphate fertilizers
Characteristics
Total
Soluble P2O5
Equivalent
Ca Mg B
Fe Mn Zn
P2O5
in AC
CaCO3
--------------------------------------------------- % ---------------------------------------------------TSP
48
40.4
7
Source
BP
26
5.12
34.3 0.4 0.05 0.3
MT
16
9.75
23.3 8.7 0.01 5.1
0.3 0.04
Granulometry
granulated
branny
50
powder
Table 2. Agronomic efficiency of phosphorus sources, with or without lime, compared to triple superphosphate (TSP)
in the mass production of the shoots.
Treatments
1cut
2cut
3cut
4cut
Total
---------------------------------- % ---------------------------------BP+C
24 Ca
26 Ca
44 Cb
57 Bb
38 C
TSP+C
100 Aa
100 Aa
100 Aa
100 Aa
100 A
MT+C
98 Aa
93 Aa
99 Aa
99 Aa
97 A
BP-C
53 Ba
66 Ba
84 Bb
86 Ab
72 B
TSP-C
97 Aa
90 Aa
91 Ba
92 Aa
92 A
MT-C
95 Aa
96 Aa
95 Aa
100 Aa
96 A
Averages followed by the same letter, capital letters in columns and lowercase letters in lines, do not differ by the Scott-Knott test at
5% level of significance.
335
65
FORMS OF PHOSPHORUS APPLICATION ON DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS

OF PLANTING SOYBEANS: ACCUMULATION OF NUTRIENTS
ADRIANE DE ANDRADE SILVA1, PEDRO AFONSO COUTO JUNIOR2, REGINA MARIA QUINTO
LANA2, ANGELA MARIA QUINTO LANA4
1
Institute of Agrarian Science (ICIAG) - Federal University of Uberlndia, Municipal highway LMG 746 km 1- block 1A, Monte
Carmelo, 38500-000, BRASIL (adriane@iciag.ufu.br); 2Institute of Agrarian Science (ICIAG) - Federal University of Uberlndia, Av.
Amazonas, block 4C sla 115, Uberlndia, 38408-100, RASIL (pj-dm@hotmail.com;- rmqlana@terra.com.br); 3Federal University of
Minas gerais- UFMG, Av. Presidente antnio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, BRASIL ( lana@vet.ufmg.br)
Introduction

Soybean stands out not only in the domes-
tic market by acreage, but also by the great technological development used in its cultivation. Among
the factors that increase production, there is the
use of more productive varieties, both by classical
breeding techniques as the use of organisms GM
(disease resistance, herbicide selectivity between
others), the greater absorption of nutrients (the
use of more sources available forms of application
and / or use of bio-stimulants, inoculants, among
other products), arrangements differentiated space,
more effective control of pests and diseases (using different active ingredients, biological control)
techniques and management impacted on pre and
post-seeding (managements fallow crops, early fertilization). Thus, it becomes studies are needed that
give support to more intensive land use, to prevent
depletion of nutrients in the maintenance of physical, chemical and biological soil, promoting planting
with high technology, but sustainable.

Regarding the spatial arrangements, soybeans adapted to changes in spacing, and there
are different arrangements that can be practiced,
and the seeding system called crossover planting
is an alternative and an innovation for a better use
of the area under soybean cultivation, for it seeks a
better allocation of plants in area. The system has
a different seeding conventional plant, where the
plant is in normal form line, parallel to the contour
shape and then, another pass is made perpendicularly to the line already planted. In all change
management should pay attention to nutritional efficiency, form of fertilizer application to ensure the
best use of fertilizers. The form of phosphorus application at planting or broadcasting, may interfere
to obtain a better cost/benefit ratio.

Motomiya et al (2004), evaluated methods
of application of phosphate soybean observed that
there is difference between application onto soil at
planting, and this difference is more pronounced according to the source of phosphorus applied. These
issues attached to different arrangements deserve
to be objects of study, in evaluate the efficiency in
the absorption of plant nutrients in conventional
soybeans and crossed arrangement subjected to
different forms of phosphorus application.
Methods

The experiment was conducted at the experimental farm Capim Branco, Uberlndia-MG,
with the establishment of two independent experiments in two arrangements of plantings. In experiment 1, we used the conventional arrangement in
which the planting was done with spacing of 0.5 m,
containing 18 seeds per meter of soybean. In the
second arrangement, we used different planting in
the final stand of the plot was twice the conventional system of plants. Sowing was carried crosswise,
ie held seeder sowing in north/south direction and
soon after in the east/west, doubling the number
of seeds of each booth, applying fertilizer only in
the north/south direction. The total floor area of the
experiment was 540 m2. Portions contained 10 m
wide and 10 m long. Increasing doses equivalent of
phosphorus were used 0, 60, 120, 180, 240 kg ha-1
to P2O5 from triple super phosphate source (SFT)
polymer coated (Kimcoat). Which used to grow
in 1080 SYN-RR from Syngenta, seeded in the
minimum tillage system and applied a single dose
in the planting of 100 kg ha-1 K2O, a source of potash polymer coated (58% K2O). Analyzes were performed of the vegetative tissues of macro and micronutrients stems, leaves and pods, according to
the methodology described by EMBRAPA (2009),
the vegetative stage V6 and R1. Aps to determine
DM content and of nutrients in the different fractions
of plant nutrient accumulation was performed as follows: Accumulation of nutrients (kg ha-1) = dry mass
(kg ha-1) x nutrient content (g kg-1)/1000. The results
336
were tested for normality KomogorovSmirnov tests

to test the distribution of residuals, and homogeneity Levene, for variances, all at 1% probability. Data
without normal distribution and heterogeneity were
submitted for processing data with square root.
The analysis of variance was done by F test at 1
and 5% probability. Subsequently, the means were
compared by Tukey test (p < 0.01 and 0.05) for the
values qualitative and quantitative values became
regression.

Regarding nutrient accumulation in soybean fractions, it was observed that the leaf fraction
in both stages of the different forms of application
P2O5 (Table 1).

The accumulation of nutrients are higher in
V6 and R1, with furrow application. There was a
change in the sequence of accumulation of nutrients between the V6 and R1 stages in system conventional in stage V6 (N<K<S<Ca<Mg<P) and in R1
(N<K=Ca<S<Mg<P) in macronutrients. To N there
was an increase of 63% and P increase the 39% in the
accumulation of R1. The sequence of accumulation
the micronutrients, in estage V6(Fe<Mn=B<Zn<Cu)
and in R1(Fe<Mn<B<Zn<Cu) it was observed that
between R1 and V6 stages there was a great difference in the absorption of Mn. Also, accumulates
greater amounts of all elements in stage R1.

In cross soybean planting system (Table 1), the sequence of accumulation of nutrients in the stadium V6 (N<K<S<Ca<Mg) and R1
(Ca<N<K<S<Mg). The change in the sequence of
accumulation of nutrients was more significant in
relation to Calcium in which there was an increase
of over 700% over the V6 stage. In relation to nitrogen, the increase between V6 and R1, was 48.10%.
In micronutrients also observed a change in the se-
quence of accumulation of nutrients, which in V6

(Fe <B <Mn <Zn <Cu) and R1 (Fe <Mn <Zn <B
<Cu).

According to Table 2, it is observed that depending on the arrangements adopted in R1 the
highest concentrations were obtained by cross arrangement, observed in the same V6 S, Cu, and Fe
for not obtained differences (P> 0.05), but the cross
arrangement gave an increase of 33% more than in
the conventional arrangement. Note that increasing
the number of plants per area not impaired nutrient absorption, whereas the stand with the greatest
number of plants is obtained twice or more of Ca,
Mg, S, Cu, Fe and Mn. This was probably due to the
increase of the dry matter of plants, and for better
exploitation by the roots.
Conclusions

There is a difference in the accumulation of
nutrients between different planting arrangements
and vegetative stages (V6 and R1). This accumulation is affected by the mode of application of phosphorus.
Keywords: Phosphorus, fertilization to haul and
groove spacing , Glycine max .
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements to FAPEMIG, ICIAG, UFU
References
MOTOMIYA, W. R. et al . Mtodos de aplicao de
fosfato na soja em plantio direto.Pesq. agropec.
bras., Braslia , v. 39,n. 4,Apr. 2004.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA AGROPECURIA - EMBRAPA. Manual de anlises qumicas de solos, plantas e fertilizantes. 2.ed. Braslia,
Informao Tecnolgica, 2009. 628p.
337
Table 1. Accumulation of foliar nutrients, in stadiums and arrangements of soybeans, according to the management
impacted, Uberlndia - MG.
Conventional Soybeans
Nutrients
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
S
B
Cu
Fe
Zn
Mn
V6
Furrow
15,17 a
0,92 a
5,91 a
3,55 a
1,65 a
3,64 a
26,36 a
2,60 a
572,49 a
14,45 a
26,99 a
Nutrients
N
P
K
Ca
Mg
S
B
Cu
Fe
Zn
Mn
Furrow
32,72 a
1,89 a
12,08 a
6,68 a
3,09 a
7,17 a
59,14 a
4,10 a
819,18 a
30,52 a
46,06 a
Surface
C.V.%
DMS
R1
Furrow
Surface
11,30 b 25,35
2,57
24,80 a
20,29 a
0,70 b 28,63
0,17
1,28 a
1,10 a
4,28 b 22,61
0,88
9,55 a
7,91 b
2,42 b 41,59
0,95
9,33 a
7,92 a
1,10 b 39,06
0,41
2,66 a
2,12 b
2,56 b 37,74
0,89
7,08 a
5,55 a
18,82 b 31,56
5,47
26,16 a
20,90 b
1,71 b 34,69
0,57
7,20 a
5,26 a
620,78 a 113,5 519,51
553,84 a
539,01 a
9,44 b 28,64
2,62
28,35 a
23,20 a
19,55 b 22,67
4,04
89,14 a
66,93 a
''Crossover'' planting soybeans
V6
R1
C.V.%
DMS
Surface
Furrow
Surface
30,67 a
39,16
9,52
48,46 a
54,39 a
1,71 a
33,49
0,46
2,40 a
2,81 a
11,67 a
33,41
3,04
18,01 a
20,00 a
6,22 a
37,25
1,84
53,50 a
19,35 a
2,90 a
36,42
0,83
5,04 a
5,76 a
7,61 a
40,22
2,28
13,82 a
15,02 a
55,65 a
35,78
15,75
67,29 a
72,40 a
3,76 a
38,5
1,16
14,65 a
15,65 a
959,19 a
56,3
384,00 1243,87 a 1215,46 a
23,60 a
60,97
12,65
56,60 a
58,73 a
41,18 a
49,98
16,72
126,24 a
131,92 a
C.V.%
DMS
28,05
29,48
23,57
24,09
26,09
36,02
26,47
42,79
62,05
32,74
40,32
4,85
0,27
1,57
1,59
0,47
1,74
4,77
2,04
206,09
6,47
24,14
C.V.%
DMS
55,29
52,15
44,04
278,13
59,04
61,02
40,1
68,66
68,7
52,63
56,72
21,81
1,04
6,42
77,72
2,44
6,75
21,48
7,98
648,08
23,28
56,17
* Means followed by different letters differ by Tukey test at 0.05 significance;

#
Macronutrients are in kg ha-1 and micronutrients in g ha-1.
Table 2. Accumulation of foliar nutrients in V6 and R1 stage, depending on the arrangements adopted, Uberlndia MG.
V6
Nutrients
CV%
DMS
R1
CV%
DMS
36,42 a
318,09
37,52
2,39 b
5,40 a
58,95
1,2
1,18
6,31 b
14,42 a
61,99
3,36
39,22
0,62
6,23 b
15,15 a
71,71
3,97
889,18 a
80,16
311,83
546,42 b
1229,66 a
72,48
337,06
43,62
47,43
8,31
78,04 b
129,08 a
54,42
29,5
Furrow
Surface
Furrow
Ca
2,99
6,45
40,53
8,62 a
Mg
1,37
2,99
39,35
3,10 b
7,39 a
43,06
Cu
2,16 b
3,93 a
Fe
596,64 a
Mn
23,27
* Means followed by different letters differ by Tukey test at 0.05 significance,

#
Macronutrients are in kg ha-1 and micronutrients in g ha-1.
Surface
338

66
EVALUATION OF ORGANO-MINERAL GRANULAR FERTILIZERS ENRICHED

WITH POTASSIUM SOLUBILIZING MICROORGANISMS
FLVIA CRISTINA DOS SANTOS1, IVANILDO EVDIO MARRIEL1, ELIANE APARECIDA GOMES1,
CHRISTIANE ABREU DE OLIVEIRA PAIVA1, JOS CARLOS POLIDORO2, ANTNIO CARLOS DE
OLIVEIRA1, DER DE SOUZA MARTINS3
1
Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, Rodovia MG 424, Km 45, C.P. 285, Sete Lagoas, MG, CEP 35701-970, Brasil (flavia.santos@
embrapa.br, ivanildo.marriel@embrapa.br, eliane.a.gomes@embrapa.br, christiane.paiva@embrapa.br, antoniocarlos.oliveira@
embrapa.br); 2Embrapa Soils, Rua Jardim Botnico, 1024, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 22460-000, Brasil (jose.polidoro@embrapa.br);
3
Embrapa Cerrados, BR 020, Km 18, C.P. 08223, Planaltina, DF, CEP 73310-970, Brasil (eder.martins@embrapa.br)
Introduction

Potassium (K) is an essential macronutrient for plants, performing important functions such
as activation of several enzyme systems, osmotic
regulation, plant resistance to diseases and pests,
among others. In fertility management programs, K
is a nutrient that can not be overlooked because it is
closely related to obtaining high crop yields, and it
is the second element absorbed by plants in larger
quantities, only behind nitrogen (Marschner, 1997).

Thus, the demand for potash fertilizers in
the Brazilian agriculture is high and the availability
in the market is almost entirely from soluble sources
such as chloride and potassium sulfate. However,
almost all of this demand is met by external market
(about 90%), which places Brazil in a situation of
high dependence on imports of this fertilizer (Birth
& Lapido-Loureiro, 2009). Therefore, the search for
alternative sources of K, as potassic rocks, is an
option to reverse this situation.

The use of rocks in soil fertilization is known
since the beginning of agriculture, and researches
on the use of alternative sources of K were performed between 1970 and 1980 (Coelho, 2005),
with tests under greenhouse and field conditions ir
order to evaluate the agronomic potential of various
rocks and minerals sources of K. The rocks were
applied pure or in mixtures, in natura or after they
experience chemical treatment (acidification) or
heat. The results indicated that, in most cases, the
agronomic efficiency of rock depends on its origin
and composition of soil factors, the incubation time,
the chemical or heat treatment applied and crop
used. In general, the possibility of direct application
of the rock was discarded due to low availability of
K for plants (Martin et al., 2008). In general, unsatisfactory results using rocks as a source of nutrients
are related to the lack of mineralogical characteristics of the material used, and thus, it is important
to choose both the material and the proper form for

soil application.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of granulated organic-mineral fertilizers enriched with K solubilizing microorganisms
in the cultivation of millet in a greenhouse test.
Methods

The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, Sete
Lagoas, Minas Gerais, in 2011, in three successive
crops. Virgin savannah (Cerrado) soil, classified as
Hapludox, clayey, was used, with low K (30.3 mg
dm-3).

Millet CMS 01 was used as test plant with
a final population of 10 plants per pot containing 4
kg of soil, cultivated for 45 days in each cycle. Soil
fertility was corrected to meet the demand of the
plant, with application of lime and nutrients, in the
first crop, just to check the residual effect of inputs.
Only nitrogen was divided into four applications for
each cultivation due to its low residual effect.

randomized, with four replications. Treatments
consisted of a factorial 2x2x3 + 2, and the factors
studied were two potassic rocks (verdigris and phonolite), with and without organic source (poultry litter), three treatments related to the use of K solubilizing microorganisms, belonging to Collection of
Multifunction Microorganisms of Embrapa Maize
and Sorghum (1- M1, 2- M2, 3- without microorganisms) and two additional treatments: control without K and fertilization with potassium chloride. The
K dose applied was 200 mg dm-3, in granulated
form, involving potassic rocks mixing of inoculated,
or not, with solubilizing microorganisms, with or
without addition of poultry litter.

At harvest, the dry matter yield of the
shoots of millet in each cultivation, extraction of K
by plants and available potassium in soil by extrator Mehlich 1 were evaluated. Based on the data of
dry matter yield of treatment of each cultivation the
relative efficiency of them in relation to KCl (ER (%)
= [( productivity of the treatment of interest - productivity of control)/(KCl productivity-productivity of
control)]*100) was calculated.

Data were subjected to analysis of variance. Means were compared using LSD at 5%
probability test, using the statistical program Sisvar
(Ferreira, 2011).

The statistical analysis showed no significant difference (p <0.05) for the variables assessed
in the first cultivation of millet. This result can be
explained because the experiment was made with
potassic rock, with slow and gradual release of
potassium so that the effect of fertilization may be
manifested later.

In the second cultivation, in the analysis of
potassium extracted by plants, treatments containing phonolite, in general, were higher than the control without K and did not differ from the treatment
with KCl (Figure 1A). Still about this variable, there
was a significant difference considering the split of
the microorganism within organo-mineral with phonolite (p <0.10), where the combined use of the rock
with M1 provided a 22% higher potassium extraction than the treatment without microorganism (Figure 1A). As for the available potassium in the soil,
also in the second crop, the biofertilizers treatments
with phonolite rock microorganisms associated with
M1 and M2 were superior to treatment without microorganism, absolute control and KCl (Figure 1B).
As it is of interest in this study, these results show
that the microorganisms solubilize more potassium
than the other treatments, since there was no difference in dry matter produced in the second cultivation.

In the third crop, the dry matter yield of M1
treatment did not differ from M2, but exceeded 23%
in the treatment without microorganism, 137% in
treatment without application of K and 95% in treatment with KCl (Figure 1C), showing the potential of
this technology. There was no statistical difference
for potassium extracted by plants and the available
potassium in the soil. It is evident, from the results
339
presented, the greater efficiency of the rock phonolite compared to the rock verdigris, since there
was no significant result for the latter; as well as the
importance of using an organic source, in this case,
poultry litter, as a carbon source for microorganisms
because the treatments with poultry litter were statistically higher than those without it.

The phonolite rock is of volcanic origin
and has about 8.4% K2O. The dominant mineral
in this rock is feldspar, where the K is trapped in
the crystal structure. This fact makes it insoluble in
weak acids that commonly occur in nature, which
reduces its efficiency when used as an agricultural
fertilizer (Cortes et al., 2010). Therefore, the results
of this study are of great importance because they
show the potential response of plants to use this
rock associated to solubilizing microorganisms of
K. Moreover, it is evident the importance of the residual effect of this input, since in the early crops
there was only the effect of K extracted by plants
and of available K in soil of treatments with microorganisms compared to treatment without microorganism. While the response in productivity, which
is in fact of greatest interest, there was only in the
third crop.

The calculation of the relative efficiency of
the treatments using phonolite plus poultry litter, associated to solubilizing microorganisms of K (Table
1) reinforces the potential of this input with greater
efficiency in numerical values, of the granulated in
relation to KCl already in first crop, especially in
the third crop, and including statistical difference (p
<0.10).
Conclusions

The organo-mineral fertilizers of potassic
phonolite rock with poultry litter associated with
solubilizing microorganisms of K, M1 and M2, have
potential for use in agriculture. However, field experiments are needed to validate this potential.
Keywords: Potassium fertilizer, biofertilizers, millet
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge financial support given
by Embrapa.
340
References
COELHO, A.M. O potssio na cultura do milho. In:
YAMADA, T.; ROBERTS, T.L. (Eds.). Potssio na
agricultura brasileira. Piracicaba: Institudo da Potassa e Fosfato. p.612-658. 2005.
CORTES, G.P.; FERREIRA, R.C.; CORTES, G.P.;
RAMPAZZO, L.; FERREIRA, L.C. Fonolito como
substituto do cloreto de potssio e/ou outras fontes
de potssio na agricultura e pecuria do Brasil. I
Congresso Brasileiro de Rochagem, 2010. p.75-83.
Anais...
FERREIRA, D.F. Sisvar: a computer statistical
analysis system. Cincia e agrotecnologia, Lavras,
v.35, n.6, p. 1039-1042, 2011.
MARSCHNER, H. Mineral nutrition of higher plants.

2.ed. London: Academic Press, 1997. 889 p.
MARTINS, E.S.; OLIVEIRA, C.G.; RESENDE, A.V.;
MATOS, M.S.F. Agrominerais rochas silicticas
fomo fontes minerais alternativas de potssio para
a agricultura. In: LUZ, A.B.; LINS, F.A.F. (Eds).
Rochas & Minerais Industriais, usos e especificaes. p.205-221. 2008.
NASCIMENTO, M.; LAPIDO-LOUREIRO, F. O potssio na agricultura brasileira: fontes e rotas alternativas. In: LAPIDO-LOUREIRO, F.E.; MELAMED,
R.; FIGUEIREDO NETO, J. Fertilizantes agroindstria e sustentabilidade. Cetem, Rio de Janeiro,
2009. p.305-335.
Table 1. Relative efficiency (%) of granulated phonolite rock with poultry litter associated with solubilizing microorganisms
of K, of each cultivation of millet
Treatment
M1
M2
Cultivation 1
117,4
100,2
Cultivation 2
112,9
115,7
Cultivation 3
313,4
288,0
Figure 1. Potassium extracted by plants of millet in the second

cultivation (A), available potassium in the soil after harvest of
the second crop (B) and dry matter yield of millet in the third
cultivation (C) in the treatments with microorganisms M1, M2,
without microorganisms (considering the granulated rock
phonolite plus poultry litter), absolute control without K and
fertilization with KCl. (Treatments followed by the same letter do
not differ by Tukey test at 5%)
341
67
GROWTH OF SEEDLINGS OF CORN (Zea mays L.) ORIGINATING FROM

SEEDS TREATED WITH NANOPARTICLES OF ZINC
CRISTIANE SEGATTO1, ADARIELY GALERA3, CRISTIANO RESCHKE LAJS1,
LUCIANO LUIZ SILVA1, HUMBERTO GRACHER RIELLA4, MRCIO ANTNIO FIORI1,2
1Post-Graduate Program in Technology and Management of the Innovation. Universidade Comunitria da Regio de Chapec
(UNOCHAPEC) Chapec, SC - 89809-000 Brazil (segattobio@unochapeco.edu.br; clajus@unochapeco.edu.br; lucianos@
unochapeco.edu.br; fiori@unochapeco.edu.br); 2Post-Graduate Program in Environmental Science. Universidade Comunitria da
Regio de Chapec (UNOCHAPEC) Chapec, SC - 89809-000 Brazil (fiori@unochapeco.edu.br); 3 Department of Chemical
Engineering. Universidade Comunitria da Regio de Chapec (UNOCHAPEC) Chapec, SC - 89809-000 Brazil (adariely@
unochapeco.edu.br); 4 Post-Graduation Program in Chemical Engineering Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Florianpolis, SC 88040-900 Brazil (lucas.dominguini@ufsc.edu.br)
Introduction

A deficiency of Zinc (Zn) is recognized as a
major agronomically nutritional problems for growing corn (Zea mays L.), where tropical soils have
low concentrations of this element in the source
material or inadequate management practices
such as liming in excess and high concentrations of
phosphorus in the row.

The Zn plays important roles, especially as
enzyme activator and is required for the synthesis
of the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor of the biosynthesis of IAA (indole acetic acid) (FLOSS, 2011).
Typically, the quantities of Zn required for culture
are relatively low, it becomes difficult to apply in the
whole area of small amounts of fertilizer (PRADO;
MOURO, 2007), justifying the application of nanotechnology in the treatment of seeds of corn (ZHAO
et al., 2012).

This new technology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale
and works with structures measuring between 1 to
100 nanometers. It is seen, therefore, that in spite
of nanoscience be a very recent technology in the
agricultural sector, is expected to produce food in
the future, with higher quality, nutritional value and
lower aggregate amount of inputs in the most efficient and sustainable systems (FURLANETO,
2011).
Given this context, the objective of this work was
to define a new treatment process of the corn with
zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnO) and evaluate the effect on emergence and growth of corn seedlings.
Methods

The work was developed in the Laboratory of Process and Technology in Materials and
in the room Germination Seedling Nursery of the
University Community of the Region of Chapec Unochapec, in the period May-June 2014. Seeds
of hybrid corn, AS1572 were used.

To obtain the nanoparticles of ZnO was
used a hydrothermal route. In a solution of 2.0 M
NaOH warmed to 90.0C was added under stirring
a solution of 1.0 M Zn (NO3)2 drop by drop. The pH
values were monitored and when reached the value
of 6.0 the drip was finalized. Subsequently, the precipitate was decanted and the excess water was
removed. The nanozinc particle precipitate was filtered and dried in a vacuum oven at 70.0C for 24
hours.

The seeds were treated in solutions containing different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles
(control, 50, 200 and 350 mg/L) and with stirring time
of 4, 8 and 12 hours. The experiments consisted of
two procedures after the treatments, with the washing
of the seeds and without washing).

randomized, factorial (4 x 3 x 2) with three replications of 50 seeds per treatment were sown
3 cm deep in plastic trays with dimensions of
45.0x30.0x6.5 cm, using as substrate is washed
and sterilized sandy texture medium (less than 0,8
mm and greater than 0.05 mm in diameter) moistened to 60% of its water holding capacity.

The response variables in the experiment
were seedling emergence-EM: noting the number
of normal seedlings (%) on the seventh day after
sowing, i.e, those who showed the coleoptile on the
surface of sand with 2/3 or more its filling with the
plumule; radicle length-RL (cm): determined at 15
days after sowing, with the aid of a millimetric ruler;
dry root weight-RDW (g), dry weight of shoots-SDM
(g) and total dry mass-TDM (g): performed on seedlings emerged after 15 days of sowing, cut close to
342
the ground, separating the root of the aerial portion

of the seedlings placed in paper bags and taken to
the thermoelectric oven at 60C for 72 hours (VIANA et al., 2005).

The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance by F-test and differences between
means were compared by Tukey test at 0,05 significance.

The seeds were digested with concentrated nitric acid and the atomic absorption technique
was applied to determine the concentration of ZnO
nanoparticles incorporated into the seed by shaking process. The atomic absorption spectrometer
used was the MODEL AANALYST 800 AAS (Perkin
Elmer) and the standart curves were obtained with
AA Test Mix (Perkin Elmer).

The ANOVA revealed a significant effect
(P0.05) of the doses factor of ZnO nanoparticles
in relation to the variables EM, RL, RDW, SDM and
TDM. In the variable EM, the dose of 350 mg/L
was significantly different from the others, showing the importance of seed treatment of corn with
ZnO (TAYLOR; SALANENKA, 2012), however the
SDM variable, the lowest dose (50 mg/L) presented
the best results (Table 1). Prado, Moor and Natale
(2007) also found a positive effect on the growth of
corn seedlings whose seeds were treated with ZnO.

The ANOVA revealed a significant effect
(P0.05) of the time factor of agitation and rinsing
seeds factor on the variable EM, especially at 04
and 08 hours and unwashed seeds (Table 1). A frequent question indicated in the treatment of seeds
related work refers to morphophysiological positive
effects caused by the use of micronutrients (MALAVOLTA, 2006). It is known that several factors may
influence the occurrence of these effects, including the type of formulation containing the nutrient,
dosage, different combinations of formulations, cultivar (FAROOQ et al., 2012), mixing time (agitation)
and washing seeds, as observed in this study. The
Absorption Atomic results showed that the incorporation process is efficient. All seeds treated have
a significant amount of ZnO nanoparticles incorporated in its structure in relation to seed control. The
ZnO concentrations increased from 1.25 g to values above 12.00 g in the treated seeds (Table 2).

The results showed that the increase of the
treatment time promotes the increase of the ZnO
nanoparticle concentration in the seed (Table 2).
But, with the solutions that containing higher concentrations of ZnO the maximum amounts of the
nanoparticles in the seed occur with lower time.
These results indicate a kinetic for the incorporation
mechanism of ZnO in the seed, dependent of the
time and of the concentration, that is a study object
fo this work too.
Conclusions

Seed treatment with ZnO nanoparticles
constitutes effective alternative to the emergence
and early growth of corn plants.
Keywords: Nanotechnology, corn, seed treatment
and zinc oxide.
Acknowledgements
Employees and interns at the Laboratory of Processes and Technologies of Materials and Seedling
Nursery of the University Community University of
the Region of Chapec (Unochapec-SC) and the
National Council for Scientific and Technological
DevelopmentCNPq.
References
FAROOQ, Muhammad et al. Micronutrientes application through seed treatments: a reviex. Journal
of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Temuco, v.
12, n. 1, p. 125-142, 2012.
FLOSS, Elmar Luiz. Physiology of crop plants:
the study of what is behind what you see. 5. ed.
Passo Fundo: UPF, 2011. 734 p.
FURLANETO, Fernanda de Paiva. Nanotechnology in agriculture. Research & Technology, So
Paulo, v. 8, n. 69, p. 1-4, 2011.
MALAVOLTA, Euripedes. Manual of plant mineral
nutrition. So Paulo: Agronomic Ceres, 2006. 638 p.
PRADO, Renato de Mello.; NATALE, William;
MOURO, Melissa de Castro. Sources of zinc to
seed nutrition and early growth of maize cv. Fort.
Journal Biosciences, Uberlndia, v. 23, n. 2, p.1624, 2007.
TAIZ, Lincoln.; ZEIGER, Eduardo. Plant Physiol-
ogy. 5. ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2013. 918 p.

TAYLOR, Alan; SALANENKA, Yuliya. Seed treatments: phytotoxicity amelioration and tracer uptake.
Seed Science Reserach, Cambridge, v. 22, n. 1, p.
86-90, 2012.
343
ZHAO, Lijuan et al. Transport of Zn in a sandy

loam soil treated with ZnO NPs and uptake by corn
plants: Electron microprobe and confocal microscopy studies. Chemical Engineering Journal, Texas,
v. 184, n. 1, p. 1-8, 2012.
VIANA, Jeandson Silva et al. Emergence and

growth of maize seedlings originating from seed
produced in soil tillage with and without mineral fertilization systems. Magazine Agronomic Science,
Cear, v. 36, n. 3, p. 316-321, 2005.
Table 1. Emergency (EM), radicle length (RL), dry root weight (RDW), shoot dry mass (SDM) and total dry matter
(TDM) of corn seedlings from seeds treated with nanoparticles ZnO. Chapec-SC. Unochapec, 2014.
Doses of ZnO
nanoparticles (mg/L)
EM
----%----
0
50
200
350
87.00 B
87.83 B
81.33 C
91.00 A
Exposure time (hours)

04
08
12
RL
----cm----
RDW
----g----
SDM
----g----
TDM
----g----
134.42 AB
159.39 A
111.42 B
112.48 B
1.55 A
1.47 A
0.31 B
0.28 B
0.40 B
0.47 A
0.04 C
0.04 C
1.95 A
1.94 A
0.35 B
0.32 B
88.63 A
87.88 A
83.88 B
126.51 A
140.00 A
121.77 A
0.88 A
0.93 A
0.90 A
0.24 A
0.23 A
0.24 A
1.12 A
1.16 A
1.14 A
Washing the seeds

With
Without
85.83 B
87.75 A
132.17 A
126.68 A
0.93 A
0.91 A
0.25 A
0.23 A
1.18 A
1.16 A
CV (%)
3.16
22.35
11.82
19.72
1.14
Means followed by the same letter do not differ by Tukey test (P0,05).
Table 2. Concentration of the ZnO nanoparticle in the seed after treatement with differente times and concentrations of
ZnO. Chapec-SC. Unochapec, 2014.
Treatment Time
(hours)
Solution (mg/L)
50
200
___________________________________________
Control
04
08
12
1.25
12.22
13.97
14.68
g
1.25
15.04
11.85
15.74
350
__________________________________________
1.25
16.87
15.08
15.39
344

68
POTENTIAL OF BENZIMIDAZOLES AS UREASE INHIBITORS

OF AGRICULTURAL INTEREST
NGELO DE FTIMA1, DBORA P. ARAUJO1, VINCIUS S.S. MORAIS2, LUZIA V. MODOLO2
1
Departamento de Qumica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, BRAZIL (adefatima@qui.
ufmg.br - de_quimicaufjf@yahoo.com.br); 2Departamento de Botnica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG,
31270-901, BRAZIL (lvmodolo@icb.ufmg.br - vsmorais22@gmail.com)
Introduction

The use of urea in Brazilian agriculture corresponds to 60% of the total nitrogen fertilizers employed. This is due to the low cost, high percentage
of nitrogen per urea unit, compatibility with other
agricultural inputs, among others. However, considerably nitrogen losses are observed when urea
is applied to the soil as a result of intense urease
activity exhibited by the microbiota that degrade
urea to form gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide
(Soares et al., 2012). Urease, an enzyme ubiquitous in plants, fungi and bacteria, increase the velocity of urea hydrolysis by 1014-fold (Maroney and
Ciurli, 2014).

The use of urease inhibitors is one of the
strategies to overcome nitrogen losses when urea
is employed as the soil fertilizer. The N-(butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) is the most used urease inhibitor in agriculture. In the presence of soil
microbiota, NBPT is known to be converted to the
oxo-analogue called N-(butyl)phosphoric triamide
(oxo-NBPT) that exhibit high capacity of inhibiting
the ureolytic activity of ureases (Kawakami et al.,
2012). Many other substances have been investigated with respect the potential to inhibit urease
activity in soil, but very few were found to be promising for further studies. In this sense, the present
work aimed the synthesis 24 benzimidazoles and
evaluation of their potential to inhibit the urease activity in in vitro and soil assays.
Methods
Synthesis of benzimidazoles

Twenty four benzimidazoles were synthesized from the condensation of aldehydes to orthophenylenediamine using sodium hydrogen sulfite
as catalyst and microwave irradiation (Fig. 1).
In vitro and Soil Assays

In vitro tests were performed with jack
bean urease in reactions containing urea 10 mM
in presence or absence of benzimidazoles at 1.6

mM. NBPT, thiourea (TU) and hydroxyurea (HU)
were used as reference of urease inhibitors.

All compounds synthesized were also
screened for the ability to inhibit the activity of soil
microbiota urease. Five hundred miligrams of topsoil, classified as Haplustox (Brazilian cerrado region), were incubated in the presence of 72 mM
urea and each benzimidazole at 1.6 mM. NBPT
was used as reference of inhibitor of soil microbiota
urease.

The ammonium produced in the reaction
media in both set of experiments was determined
by the indophenol method (Krajewska and Ciurli,
2005).

All benzimidazoles were successfully synthesized in a single step in yields equal or higher
than 80%.

Fig. 2 shows that 8 out of 24 benzimidazoles were the most promising inhibitors of jack
bean urease as they affected the enzyme activity by
at least 10%. Compounds 18 and 22 were 2.5- and
4.0-fold more potent than TU and HU (references of
urease inhibitors) while the other compounds were
as effective as these urease inhibitors. NBPT inhibited jack bean urease by 92%.

In soil, compounds 3 and 21 were roughly
as the effective as the urease inhibitor NBPT (Fig.
2). Notably, compounds that were not effective in
the in vitro assay, such as 1, 3-5, 11, 14 and 23,
exhibited inhibitory activity on ureases in soil in the
range of 25 to 37% (Fig. 2). On the other hand,
compounds that have shown good activity against
jack bean urease (2, 8, 12 and 18) failed to inhibit
the microbiota ureases (Fig. 2). Overall, these results indicate that in vitro evaluation of the potential
of molecules as urease inhibitors of agriculture interest cannot be used as the sole criteria to exclude
inhibitor candidates.
345
Conclusions
Acknowledgements

Twelve benzimidazoles synthesized by
our group (out of 24) were shown to be effective
inhibitors of ureases from topsoil microbiota. The
potency of compounds 3 and 21 on the microbiota
ureases make these benzimidazoles interesting
candidates for further studies in soil-plant systems.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work
that describes benzimidazoles as promising urease
inhibitors.
This work was made possible by the Network for

the Development of Novel Urease Inhibitors (www.
redniu.org) which is financially supported by the
Brazilian agencies CNPq, CAPES and FAPEMIG.
References
Kawakami EM, Oosterhuis DM, Snider JL, Mozaffari M (2012) Eur J Agron 43:147-154.
Krajewska B, Ciurli S (2005) Plant Physiol Biochem
43: 651-658.
Keywords: Urea, urease inhibitors, benzimidazoles,

NBPT.
Maroney MJ, Ciurli S (2014) Chem Rev 114:42064228.

Soares JR, Cantarella H, Menegale MLC (2012)
Soil Biol Biochem 52:82-89.
NH2
R CHO
R
N
H
Reaction cond it ions: a) DMA, NaHSO3, MWI, 30 min, 80-120 C
NH2
R1
R=
or
R2
W
or
X = S and R2 = H (16 )
R1 = H (1), 4-NO 2 (2),
X = NH and R2 = H (17)
3-NO2 (3), 2-NO 2 (4),
X = O and R2 = H (18)
4-CN (5), 4-N(CH3) 2 (6),
X = O and R2 = NO2 (19)
4-SCH3 (7), 4-F (8),
4-Cl (9), 4-OH (10),
3-OH (11), 2-OH (12),
4-OCH3 (13), 3-OCH 3 (14 ) or
2-COOH ( 15 )
Y
Z
or
or
W and Y = H, Z = N (22)
W and Z = H, Y = N (23)
Z and Y = H, W = N (24)
( 21 )
(20)
Inhibition of jack bean urease (%)
100
80
60
40
20
12
18
19
21
22
Compound at 1.6 mM
TU
HU NBPT
Inibition of soil microbiota ureases (%)
Figure 1. General procedure for the synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives.
50
40
30
20
10
11
14
19
21
22
23
24 NBPT
Compound at 1.6 mM
Figure 2. Inhibitory activity of benzimidazoles on urease activity. Jack bean urease was used in the in vitro assays while topsoil was
employed for the experiments of assessement of inhibition of microbiota ureases. Thiourea (TU), hydroxyurea (HU) and N-(butyl)
thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) were used as reference of urease inhibitors.
346

69
CHARCOAL (BIOCHAR) AS SOIL CONDITIONER TO ENHANCE

FERTILIZERS AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY IN AGRICULTURE IN
ACID TROPICAL SOILS IN THE CENTRAL AMAZON BASIN
WENCESLAU G. TEIXEIRA1, CHRISTOPH STEINER2, GILVAN C.
MARTINS3 , MURILO R. DE ARRUDA4
1
Embrapa Soil, Rua Jardim Botnico, 1024, Rio de Janeiro,22460-000, Brazil (wenceslau.teixeira@embrapa.br); 2 University of
Kassel, Steinstr. 13, 37213, Witzenhausen, Germany; 3,4 Embrapa Amaznia Ocidental, km 30 Rod. AM 010 km 30, Manaus ,
Brazil (gilvan.coimbra@embrapa.br; murilo.arruda@embrapa.br)
Introduction
Biochar is a name for charred organic
material (charcoal - carvo vegetal in Portuguese)
when it is used as a soil amendment. Different
methods of pyrolysis is used to make charcoal.
In the Amazon the traditional way is the called
caiera, that consist in earth kiln is digged and fulfilled with vegetal debris (mainly trunks of trees) its
is covered with soill. Some opening vents in the
soil allow to control the flux of oxygen into the kiln.
Another traditional technique is the called hot tail
(rabo quente) which is still a simple technique using a kiln made with bricks. After the kiln is filled a
small fire is ignted at the kiln entrance then the door
is sealed with soil and the vegetal residues is left to
undergo incomplete combustion, creating charcoal
and some ammount of ash (Swami et al. 2009).
Charcoal as soil amendment is traditionally used
by the population in the Amazon to enhance soils to
cultivate some horticultural crops as medicines and
spices. Moreover in the Amazon ash from burned
vegetation is the lime and the fertilizers used in the
traditional slash and burn or shifting cultivation, a
system of land clearing practiced by several thousand of small farmers in the Amazon. In spite of
potential agronomic benefits to enhance soil quality
(Teixeira et al., 2010) biochar has also the potential
to reduce carbon emissions (Lehmann et al., 2005).
Many publications sad that biochar can increase
soil fertility, increase agricultural productivity, and
provide protection against some foliar and soilborne diseases. Furthermore, adding biochar can
prolongate the time of cultivation it may reduces
pressure on forests areas to agriculture as happens
in Amazonian Dark Eath sites (German, 2003).

The Amazon soils comprise a large spectrum of soil with different potential to be used in
the agriculture, in the Central Amazon the soils of
the upland areas are mainly dystrofic Ferralsols

and Acrisols (Teixeira et al., 2011). However in the
floodplains of many rivers, rich in sediments, the
predominant soils are eutrofic Gleysols and Fluvisols. In the upland area in the Central Amazon, the
only fertile soil (eutrofic) were the pretic Anthrosols
(Amazonian Dark Earths), called regionally as Terra Preta de ndio, this type of soil has many good
agronomic qualities (Teixeira et al., 2010) and can
be considered the source of inspiration to apply
biochar in soils (Benitez et al., 2010; Steiner et al.,
2010; Steiner et al., 2009). The TPI shows normally
a high concentration of P, Ca, Mn and large stocks
of carbon. Moreover a large amount of the carbon
in this type of soil seems to be of pyrogenic origin
(Glaser et al.2001 ) and has large amount of charge
(CEC) (Liang et al., 2010). This article summarize
result of many experiments conducted in 15 years
of research with biochar in nursery and field experiments in the Central Amazon.

The material and methods used in the experiments were detailed described in the publications listed in the reference section.

The results summarize the main results of
many experiments conducted by the authors et al
during the last decade
Fields experiments

In Central Amazon many fields experiments
were conducted testing different levels of biochar in
combination with different treatments (organic and
mineral fertilizers). Also the response in productivity
in annual crops (rice and sorghum) were studied
(Steiner et al., 2007). In experiments with perennial
crops, Banana (Musa sp) and Guarana (Paulinia
347
cupana) the treatments with addition of biochar reconfirm the previous results of potential enhance in
the productivity for a longer period and to improve
the CEC, respectively the studies of Steiner et al.,
2007, Steiner et al., 2008 and Arruda and Teixiera,
2010 and Arruda et al. 2012. In an field experiment,
with application of charcoal pieces in planting holes
for a banana plantation (Steiner et al., 2009) addition of charcoal inreased the water hold at potential
of 100 kPa that indicate a that charcoal ammendment enhace soil pores with radius of ~ 0.015 mm.
Either biochar promoted the aggregation with soil
pores with pores of this size or biochars porosity
itself was responsible for this increase. The experiments with application of biochars in the Central
Amazon show that only mineral fertilizer can also
related with the liming effect of ash that contaminated many biochar. Application of biochar with large
amount of ash in alkaline soils some advantages
may change to disadvantages. The most biochar
can not be commercialized in the Brazil as fertilizer
as do not attend the minimum required by legislation by the most part of nutrients and it should be
refered as soil ammendment or conditioner.
not guarantee higher productivity for a long period.

Is that necessary to apply some source of organic
matter in combination with the fertilizers and biochar is an option. In spite of the difficult to isolate
single mechanism to explain some improvement in
productivity and soil quality in acid tropical soils, the
results are clearly related with reduction of leaching rates and enhancing efficiency of fertilization
management.
media

Biochar from wood residues done in the traditional ways in the central Amazon (caieras and rabo
quente) is a mixed of charred material and ash on liming, fertilizing and enhace water hold capacity.
Nursery experiments
To Embrapa Amaznia Ocidental and our colleagues there (Gilvan Coimbra Martins, Murilo Arruda) to University of Bayreuth that carried for many
years a cooperation with Embrapa in Brazil concerning Terra Preta de ndio and Biochar application (Wolfgang Zech, Bruno Glaser, Johannes Lehmann). To Embrapa, University Federal do Amazon
(UFAM), CNPq and Capes for funding the studies

Experiments were conducted using charcoal as component o growing media in nurseries for
different plant species: Guaran (Paulinia cupana);
Crajiru (Arabidae chica) and Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa) the results are published respectively
in Arruda et al., (2007); Souza et al., (2007) and
Nunes and Teixeira, (2010). The main conclusion
of these experiments is that charcoal pieces can
be a component of growing media in substitution
to A horizon and commercial components (as vermiculite, montmorilonite) with similar results and the
advantage to be cheaper and regionally available.
The water holding capacity in lower tension of soil
with adition of charcoal can be similar or higher that
provide by addition of active clays.

In the future more sophisticated technologies may produce biochar by specific demand combining more stable charred material to reduce emission or to delivery nutrients and to enhance cation
exchange capacity (CEC). Many benefits of charcoal application related in the literature are probably
Conclusions

Biochar has a potential when combined
with fertilizers (mineral and organic) to enhance
productivity in the dystrofic Ferrralsols in the Central Amazon.

Biochar has a potential to replace the A horizon in the nursery as a component of the growing
Keywords: Biochar, tropical soils, CEC, Latossolo

Amarelo
Acknowledgements
and and scholarships for students and authors.
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ATROCH A AND NASCIMENTO FILHO FD. 2012.
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A.N. & TEIXEIRA W.G. Survival rate of guarana
herbaceous cuttings in different growing media.
Cincia Agrotcnica, 31:236-241, 2007
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AND PIMENTA AS 2009. Utilizao de Carvo e
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HN AND WOODS, WI (Eds.) As Terras Pretas de
ndio da Amaznia: sua caracterizao e uso deste
conhecimento na criao de novas reas, Manaus:
Embrapa Amaznia Ocidental, p. 286.
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coevolution of environment and livelihood: contributions to the debate on Amazonian Black Earth.
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AND ZECH W. 2001. The terra preta phenomenon: a model for sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics. Naturwissenschaften 88: 37 - 41.
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Global Change 11: 403-427.
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J.; NEVES, E. G. Black carbon increases cation
exchange capacity in soils. Soil Science Society of
American Journal, Madison, v. 70, p. 1719, 2006.
NUNES M.M. & TEIXEIRA W.G. Crescimento de
mudas de Castanheiras do Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa ) em funo de doses de carvo vegetal como
componente de substrato. In: III Reunio Cientfica
da Rede CTPETRO Amaznia, 2010, Manaus.
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XAVIER J. Growth of crajiru (arrabidaea chica verlot.) on different growing media. Revista Brasileira
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STEINER C., DE ARRUDA M.R., TEIXEIRA W.G. &

ZECH W. Soil respiration curves as soil fertility indicators in perennial central amazonian plantations
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charcoal as slow release nutrient carrier on n-p-k
dynamics and soil microbial population: Pot experiments with ferralsol substrate. In: W. I. Woods, W.
G. Teixeira, J. Lehmann, C. Steiner and A. WinklerPrins, eds. Book Ttle Berlim, Springer, 2009. p. 325.
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W., LEHMANN J., BLUM W.E. & ZECH W. Nitrogen
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MAJOR, J.; LEHMANN, J.; ZECH, W.; BLUM, W.
E. H. Corte e carbonizao como uma alternativa
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MACEDO, R. S.; MARTINS, G. C.; LIMA, H. N.;
RODRIGUES, T. E. Solos do Estado do Amazonas.
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Figure 1. Traditional use of charcoal pieces (biochar) to enhance soil to cultivated horticultural crops in the Amazon
350

70
AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION FROM ENHANCED EFFICIENCY

FERTILIZERS IN BRAZILIAN COFFEE CROP
ANDERSON WILLIAM DOMINGHETTI1, DOUGLAS RAMOS GUELFI SILVA2, EDUARDO BUCSAN
EMRICH2, EDUARDO LOPES CANCELLIER2, ANDR LUIZ CARVALHO CAPUTO2, BRUNO DE
ALMEIDA GONALVES2
1
Agriculture Department, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitrio, s/n, Lavras MG, CEP: 37200-000, Brazil
(andersonwd10@yahoo.com.br); 2 Soil Science Department, Federal University of Lavras, Campus Universitrio, s/n, Lavras MG,
CEP: 37200-000, Brazil (douglasguelfi@dcs.ufla.br; eduardo@bucsan.com.br; educancellier@gmail.com; caputoandre@gmail.com;
bruno.almeida.16@hotmail.com).
Introduction

Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the
world, with a total of more than 49 million sacks

in 2013/2014 year (CONAB, 2014), representing
about 30% of world production. To reach these production levels, the crop demands great amounts of
nutrients, being nitrogen (N) one of the most important. On the other hand, agricultural inputs use, in
coffee crop, needs to be optimized to increase its
competitiveness and to provide economic return to
Brazilian coffee producers. To do this, it is essential
to increase conventional N fertilizers efficiency. The
most important cause of N losses, in tropical crops
like coffee, is the volatilization. These losses occur
due to presence of urease, enzyme produced by
fungi, bacteria or plants residues that promotes the
conversion of N present in fertilizers into ammonia,
which is volatile, being lost to the atmosphere.

Volatilization is the main process that leads
to lower nitrogen use by coffee crop. In tropical conditions, according Lara Cabezas et al. (2000) and
Costa et al. (2003), N losses by volatilization can
range from 36 to 54%, with urea fertilizer utilization. To reduce losses and increase N fertilizer efficiency, stabilized, slow or controlled release fertilizers are an interesting alternative, because it makes
possible to tune nutrients supply according crops
demand. Thus, it was objected to evaluate N-NH3
losses by volatilization from conventional, stabilized
and slow or controlled release fertilizers in a brazilian coffee crop.
Methods

The experiment was conducted in an area
of Federal University of Lavras (Minas Gerais, Brazil) in adystrophic RedLatosol with clay texture.
The experimental design utilized was complete
randomized blocks with three replicates. There
were utilized twelve plants per plot, planted in a
space of 3.7m between lines and 0.7m between

plants, being considered useful plot only the ten
central plants of each plot. As the first and the last
plant of each plot, the last two lateral lines were
considered as border. Treatments were made by
nine N fertilizers: urea (45% of N), urea dissolved
in water (50 g L-1 of water), urea + 25% of N-(nbutyl) tio-phosphoric-triamide (NBPT), urea + sulfur (S) + polymer, urea + plastic resine, urea +
0.15% of copper (Cu) as copper sulfate + 0.4%
of boron (B) as boric acid, urea formaldehyde,
ammonium nitrateand ammonium sulfate.

The chemical and physical characteristics
in 0 to 20 cm layers are: pH(water) = 5.4; MO = 30 g kg1
; P (Mehlich-1) = 7.21 mg dm-3; K+ = 138 mg dm-3; Ca2+
= 1.9 cmolc dm-3; Mg2+ = 0.5 cmolc dm-3; Al3+ = 0.3
cmolc dm-3; V = 34% and clay content of 470 g kg1
. During evaluations, (baseline and every sixtieth
day after fertilization) were determined variations in
soil pH in 0-5 cm layer, for all treatments (Table 1).
Sixty days before fertilization, liming was performed
in quantity of 2 ton ha-1. The maintenance fertilization was conducted with 450 kg ha-1 of N and 300
kg of K2O ha parceled out in three applications in intervals of sixty days and 100 kg ha-1 P2O5 applied as
a single dose on the first fertilization. As K2O source
it was used potassium chloride (60% of K2O) and
as P2O5 source, it was used a simple superphosphate (20% de P2O5). The first, second and third
fertilizations were applied, respectively, 11/19/2013,
01/18/2014 and 03/18/2014. The micronutrients
(boron, zinc and copper) were applied as foliar.

To quantify the nitrogen losses by volatilization it was utilized the method of semi-open collector, developed by Nonmik (1973) and adapted by
Lara Cabezas (1999). The collectors were installed
in each plot, under the canopy of plants, previous
to nitrogen fertilization. After each evaluation, the
collectors were swapped in the soil, in order to re-
duce the spatial variability of ammonia emission as

a function of environmental factors.

The evaluations of ammonia volatilization
were performed one, two, three, four, five, seven,
nine, twelve, fifteen, nineteen, twenty three and thirty days afterwards fertilization. In the third fertilization, the collection periods were extended to sixty
days after fertilization, due to volatilization was still
occurring in some treatments. Data were subjected
to analysis of variance and analyzed by Skott-Knott
test at 5% significance level by Sisvar software
(FERREIRA, 2011).

The amounts of volatilized ammonia ranged
between kind of fertilizer applied and from fertilization period (Table 1).

In the first fertilization, decreasing sequence of N losses by volatilization of fertilizer was:
urea + S + polymer = urea > ureia + Cu + B > urea
dissolved in water > urea + NBPT = urea formaldehyde = ammonium sulfate = urea + plastic resine
= ammonium nitrate. In the second fertilization it
was found higher amounts of N - NH3 volatilization
in descending order: urea + S + polymer = urea >
urea+ Cu + B > urea + plastic resine = urea + NBPT
= urea dissolved in water > urea formaldehyde =
ammonium nitrate = ammonium sulfate. In the third
N fertilization it was observed that amounts volatilized by urea = urea + S + polymer > urea + Cu + B
> urea + NBPT > urea + plastic resine > urea dissolved in water = ammonium nitrate = urea formaldehyde = ammonium nitrate.

Some climatic factors such temperature
(SENGIK et al., 2001; LONGO e MELO, 2005) and
soil factors as pH, water potential, aeration, texture
and amount of organic carbon (SENGIK et al. 2001),
are determinants for urease activity, providing variations in conversion rates of nitrogen to ammonia,
main volatile molecule that promote N losses to the
atmosphere, factors that provide variation in volatilized quantities between the three fertilizations.
For the third fertilization, the lowest values of precipitation (159.6 mm) combined with disuniformities
occurrence provided greater amounts of ammonia
volatilized from fertilizers.
351
Conclusions

The decreasing N losses by volatilization,
the average of the three fertilization, the different
conventional, stabilized and slow or controlled release nitrogen fertilizers were: urea (31.2% of total
applied) = urea + S + polymer (31%) > ureia + Cu
+ B (25.6%) > urea + NBPT (11.9%) > urea + plastic resine (8.6%) > urea dissolved in water (4.5%)
> urea formaldehyde (1.1%) = ammonium sulfate
(0.9%) = ammonium nitrate (0.3%).

Fertilization with urea dissolved in water
promoted a reduction in nitrogen losses by volatilization and is an important alternative for coffee crop
management.
Keywords: Nitrogen, coffee, urea, urease.
Acknowledgements
To Fundao de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) for financing the project and for
scholarships concessions and to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfico (CNPq) for scholarships concessions.
References
COMPANHIA NACIONAL DE ABASTECIMENTO.
Avaliao da Safra Agrcola Cafeeira. 4 Levantamento.
Dezembro/2013.Disponvelem:http://
www.conab.gov.br/OlalaCMS/uploads/arquivos/13_12_20_10_53_32_boletim_cafe_-_original.
Acesso em: 31mai. 2014.
COSTA. M.C.G.; VITTI. G.C. e CANTARELLA. H.
Volatilizao de N-NH3 de fontes nitrogenadas em
cana-de-acar colhida sem despalha a fogo. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo. v. 27. p. 631637. 2003.
FERREIRA. D. F. Sisvar: um sistema computacional de anlise estatstica.Cincia e Agrotecnologia.
Lavras. v. 35. n. 6. p. 1039-1042. 2011.
LARA CABEZAS. W.A.R. et al. Calibration of a
semi-open static collector for determination of ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizers. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis.
New York. v.30. p.389-406.1999.
352
LARA CABEZAS. W.A.R.; TRIVELIN. P.C.O.;

KONDRFER.G.H. & PEREIRA. S. Balano da
adubao nitrogenada slida e fluda de cobertura
na cultura do milho em sistema de plantio direto no
tringulo mineiro (MG). Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo. v. 24. p. 363-376. 2000.
NNMIK. H. The effect of pellet size on the ammonia loss from urea applied to forest soils. Plant and
Soil. Dordrecht. v. 39. p. 309-318. 1973.
SENGIK. E.; KIEHL. J.C.; SILVA. M.A.G..;
PALANGANA. D.C. & LAWDER. M.R. Perdas de
amnia em solo e de resduos orgnicos autoclavados e tratados com uria. Acta Scientiarum
v.23.p.1099-1105. 2001.
LONGO. R.M. e MELO. W.J. Atividade da urease

em Latossolo sob influncia da cobertura vegetal
e da poca de amostragem. Revista Brasileira de
Cincia do Solo. v.29. p.645-650.2005.
Table 1. Volatilization of conventional, stabilized and slow or controlled release nitrogen fertilizers and soil pH
st
Fertilizer
1 fertilization
nd
fertilization
rd
3 fertilization
___________________________________
Urea + S + polymer
29.6a (6.2)
(1)
Average
______________________________
% of nitrogen aplied
(2)
(3)
23.6 a (5.4)
39.8 a (4.3)
31.0 a (3.8)
(4)
Urea
28.3 a (6.3)
22.1 a (5.6)
43.2 a (4.7)
31.2 a (4.1)
Urea + 0.15% Cu + 0.4%B
25.4 b (5.8)
17.3 b (5.7)
34.3 b (4.9)
25.6 b (4.9)
8.7 c (6.5)
2.3 c (5.9)
2.6 e (5.4)
4.5 e (4.5)
Urea dissolved in water

Urea + NBPT
3.3 d (5.8)
3.0 c (5.6)
29.5 c (4.7)
11.9c (4.7)
Urea formaldehyde
2.1 d (6.1)
0.6 d (5.5)
0.6 e (4.2)
1.1f (4.1)
Ammonium sulfate
1.5 d (6.2)
0.5 d (5.4)
0.7 e (4.3)
0.9 f (4.2)
Urea + plastic resine
1.4 d (5.8)
3.9 c (5.8)
20.5 d (4.0)
8.6 d (4.1)
Ammonium nitrate
0.7 d (6.3)
0.0 d (5.6)
0.2 e (4.6)
0.3f (4.4)
11.2
8.1
19.0
23.0
23.0
20.0
333.4
274.3
159.6
15.3
20.1
20.4
13.2
Average
Average temperature (C)
(5)
Accumulated precipitation (mm)

Variation coefficient (%)
(5)
Averages followed by the same letters in columns do not differ by Skott-Knott test at 5% probability. pH values before first
fertilization, (2) sixty days after the first fertilization, (3) sixty days after the second fertilization. (4) Average of three fertilizations (5)
Includes the period of sixty days after fertilizations date.
(1)
353
71
PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM ACTIVITY IN THE SOIL SOLUTION

AFFECTED BY THE ADDITION OF HIGH DOSES OF FERTILIZERS
JAQUELINE P. M. DE OLIVEIRA1, PAULO R. ERNANI2, TAS G. GARMUS1, PAULO C. CONCEIO1
1
UTFPR- Estrada para Boa Esperana, Km 04, CxP 157, Dois Vizinhos, 85660-000, BRASIL (jaqpmachado@gmail.com);
(paulocesar@utfpr.edu.br); (taisggarmus@hotmail.com); 2UDESC - Departamento Cincia do solo, Av. Luiz de Cames 2090,
Lages, 88520-000, BRASIL (a2pre@cav.udesc.br)
Introduction

Phosphorus is one macronutrient which
has a lower concentration in the soil. The total concentration is among 0.2 and 5.0 g kg-1, but only a
small fraction is available to plants, ranging from
0.1 to 10 mol L-1 by P in soil solution (Gahoonia
and Nielsen, 2004). Some reactions which occur in
soil, such as specific adsorption and precipitation,
affect this small fraction of P.

The specific ion adsorption is influenced
by the electrical potential of nearby solid surfaces,
where the subsequent addittion of fertilizers in soil
causes an increase of the ion concentration in solution close to the granule areas. Thus, the majority
of the P precipitates are formed by adding phosphate fertilizers in micro regions adjacent to granules, where P concentration is elevated, promoting
supersaturated conditions. Both specific adsorption
and P precipitation are influenced by the pH (Jnior
et al. 2012), the soil mineral composition (Jones,
1981), and the type of phosphate applied (Mantovani et al., 2007).

Therefore, the aim of this study was to
evaluate P and K concentrations and activities in
soil solution through previous fertilizer samples with
high doses of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers.
Methods

The experiment was set up in 2010 in Lages-SC. Standardized samples containing an Inceptisol and Udox, with the following characteristics
in 0-20 cm soil layer: pH(Water): 4.5 e 4.6; P (Mehlich-1): 7.3 e 7.1 mg dm-3; K: 182 and 158 mg dm-3;
CEC(pH7.0) of 30.1 e 20.3 cmolc dm-3; clay: 400 e 790
g kg-1 and MPAC: 831 and 2195 mg dm-3, respectively.

The treatments consisted of granule aplications ( between 0.5 to 2.0 mm) of triple superphosphate (TSP), diammonium phosphate (DAP),
potassium chloride (KCl) and combinations of triple
superphosphate and potassium chloride (TSP+KCl)
and of diammonium phosphate and potassium

chloride (DAP+KCl), equivalent to 1400 kg ha-1 of
P2O5 and K2O on Udox and 2475 kg ha-1 of P2O5
and K2O on Inceptisol, besides a control (C), without nutrient application. All combination treatments
achieved pH 6.0, with or without acidity correction.
Likewise, doses were different between soils due to
the difference in maximum adsorption capacity the
soil of P, and were established in order to simulate
the supersaturation of P and K in the surrounding
granules.

To perform the experiment, 1 kg of dry soil
was weighed adding water until it reached 80% of
field capacity, as well dolomite limestone in those
treatments with acidic soil correctives; afterwards,
it was incubated for 15 days. As a consequence,
fertilizers were applied prior to the samples, which
remained incubated for 30 more days, being sporadically opened for oxygenation. After the drying
process, each sample was extracted from the soil
solution by the centrifugation method, where the pH
solution and quantified P and K ions were determined. The soil solution chemical speciation was
performed with the aid of the Visual Minteq computer program (Gustafsson, 2004), based on total
concentrations (mg L-1) K and P and pH solution.

The experiment was arranged using a randomized design, with four replications. The results
were statistically evaluated using tests of means
and analysis of contrasts.

The activity HPO42- was influenced by the
presence of K on both soils, showing better results
where KCl was not applied KCl (Table 1). This difference was 0.009 mol L-1 in Udox and 0.095 mol
L-1 in Inceptisol. With regard to the sources of P,
DAP concentrations when applied were higher
compared HPO42- application of TSP, in both soils.
The soil treated with DAP-WL stood out in Inceptisol with a concentration of 0.116 mol L-1; whereas
354
Udox undertaking the DAP-NL, reached 2.6410-2

mol L-1 P (Table 2).

The ion H2PO4- was also affected by potassium, and in both soils the highest activities were
found where KCl was applied (Table 1). The estimated differences among them were equal to 0.063
and 0.658 mol L-1 to Udox and Inceptisol, respectively. The activity of H2PO4- was influenced from different sources of phosphate only in CH, where TSP
was higher when compared to the DAP. The activity
of P in the form of H2PO4- treatment was higher in
TSP+KCl-NL at a concentration of 0.394 mol L-1 in
this soil (Table 2).

In addition, P is found in forms of HPO42and H2PO4- in the soil solution. According Raij
(2011) the first one occurs in larger proportions at
pH values above 6.0, while in the second one, it has
the occurrence range in the most important pH for
Brazilian soils, around 5.0 to 6.0. It can be noted,in
both soils, where the pH was below 6.0, the predominant form was H2PO4-, which is opposite for
the ion HPO42-.

In Udox, when DAP-WL was applied, the
effective concentrations of ions HPO42- and H2PO4were nearly identical, with values
of 0.0206 and
0.0205 mol L-1 (Table 2). It occurred because this
treatment had pH in solution equal to 7.2, and according to Ernani (2008), when the medium pH is
7.21, it will reach 50% in each form; achieving a
predomincance over and above of H2PO4- and
HPO42-, respectively.

The estimated difference in K activity between treatments with and without application of
KCl was equal to 0.143 mol L-1 in Udox and 1.004
mol L-1 in Inceptisol (Table 1). It is likely because the
high concentration applied in the treatments of KCl
group had increased the exchangeable values, if
they correlate with the group without KCl. It is clear
that this high concentration of K near regions of KCl
granules, demonstrates that the ionic activity of the
nutrients in the soil solution is very different in these
locations if compared with what happens in the rest
of the soil (Ernani and Barber, 1993). In phosphate
sources, the activity of K presented a statistical difference only in Udox (Table 1), in which the DAP
group had promoted the biggest activity of K, differing only 0.006 mol L-1 to the group with TSP.
Conclusion

The combination between KCl and phosphate fertilizers increases the P availability in soil
solution while decreasing the potassium concentration in this phase, which consequently decreased
its activity. The soil where presents lower clay content has a clearly accentuated decrease in K.

In both soils, the DAP provides the greatest increase in HPO42- activity if compared to TSP
fertilizer, regardless of the presence of limestone.
However, only in Inceptisol did the activity of the
H2PO4- increase with TSP addition when compared
to DAP.
Keywords; Availability of nutrients, sources of phosphorus, potassium chloride.
References
ERNANI, P.R. 2008. Chemistry of soil and availability of nutrients. = Qumica do solo e disponibilidade
de nutrientes. Lages, PR, Brazil (in Portuguese).
ERNANI, P.R.; BARBER S.A. 1993. Composition of
the soil solution and cation leaching as affected by
addition of calcium chloride or calcium sulfate to
an acid soil Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Cincia
do Solo 10:41-46 (in Portuguese, with abstract in
English).
GAHOONIA, T.S.; NIELSEN, N.E. 2004. Root traits
as tools for creating phosphorus efficient crop varieties. Plant Soil 260:47-57.
GUSTAFSSON, J.P. 2004. Visual MINTEQ. Available in: http://www.lwr.kth.se/English/OurSoftware/
Vminteq. [Acessed Dec 15, 2013].
JONES, R.C. 1981. X-ray diffraction line profile
analysis vs. phosphorus sorption by 11 Puerto Rican soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal
45:818-825.
JNIOR,R.F.S.; OLIVEIRA, F.H.T.; SANTOS, H.C.;
FREIRE, J.F.; ARRUDA, A.A. 2012. Inorganic
Phosphorus Fractions and Their Relationship with
Soil Phosphorus Extracted Chemically and by
Maize Plants Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Cincia
do Solo 36:159-169 (in Portuguese, with abstract
in English). MANTOVANI, A.; ERNANI, P. R.; SANGOI, L. 2007. Addition of triple superphosphate an-
355
ticipates nitrogen leaching in soil Brazil. Revista

brasileira de cincia do solo 31:887-895 (in Portuguese, with abstract in English).
RAIJ, B. van. 2011. Soil fertility and nutrient management. = Fertilidade do solo e manejo de nutrientes. IPNI. Piracicaba, SP, Brazil (in Portuguese).
Table 1. Analysis of contrasts and estimated values of the activities HPO42-, H2PO4- and K+ (mol L-1) of the liquid phase
of the soil between different phosphatic fertilizers (triple supersfosfato, TSP, and diammonium phosphate, DAP) and
potassium (potassium chloride, KCl), and a witness, in the presence or absence of limestone, in Udox and Inceptisol.
Mean of four replications
Udox
Contrasts
Estimated
Inceptisol
Probab.
Estimated
Probab.
2-
WL x NL
NK x WK
DAP x TSP (all)
P x Control
CV (%)
- 0,002
0,009
0,084
0,021
29,6
WL x NL
NK x WK
DAP x TSP (all)
P x Control
CV (%)
- 0,004
- 0,063
0,008
0,046
27,0
WL x NL
NK x WK
DAP x TSP (all)
P x Control
CV (%)
- 0,001
0,143
- 0,006
0,023
3,0
--------------------------- HPO4 --------------------------ns

0,4888
0,048
0,0116*
0,0150*
0,095
0,0001*
0,0001*
0,246
0,0001*
0,0001*
0,062
0,0001*
50,3
--------------------------- H2PO4 --------------------------ns
ns
0,5029
- 0,103
0,0759
0,0001*
- 0,658
0,0001*
ns
0,1777
- 0,390
0,0001*
0,0001*
0,374
0,0001*
26,1
+
--------------------------- K --------------------------ns
ns
0,3097
0,025
0,4019
0,0001*
1,004
0,0001*
ns
0,0001*
- 0,017
0,4897
0,0001*
0,096
0,0001*
20,3
-
WL= With limestore; NL= Without limestore; WK=With KCl; NK=Without KCl. * 5% probability; ns = not significant.
Table 2. Activities HPO42-, H2PO4- and K+ in the liquid phase of the soil as a function of phosphate fertilizers (triple
supersfosfato, TSP, and diammonium phosphate, DAP) and potassium (potassium chloride, KCl), control (C) and some
combinations in the presence or absence of limestone, in a Udox and a Inceptisol. Mean of four replications.
Treatments
Udox
pH
2-
HPO4
Inceptisol
-
H2PO4
pH
-1
---------------- mol L -----------------
-18
9,08x10 E 8,72x10 D 6,3 4,52x10 C 3,57x10 F 1,80x10 C
20
9,88x10 E 1,06x10 D 4,9 1,96x10 C 3,90x10 F 1,88x10 C
-5
9,73x10 D
-5
1,39x10 C
-2
2,05x10 B
-2
1,66x10 C
-9
9,97x10 E
C-WL
6,2
9,13x10 C
C-NL
4,1
7,88x10- C
TSP-WL
4,9
4,90x10 C
TSP-NL
4,6
4,41x10 C
DAP-WL
7,2
2,06x10 B
DAP-NL
7,4
2,64x10 A
KCl-WL
5,9
5,02x10 C
-17
-5
-8
-7
-4
-17
-4
-9
-7
-4
-4
-4
-1
-4
-4
-5
-1
-4
-1
-2
-4
-2
-1
-4
-20
-17
-1
-11
-17
-1
-5
-1
-1
-5
-1
-2
-2
-1
-2
-2
-1
-2
-3
4,48x10 D 4,2 1,18x10 C 1,18x10 C 5,00x10 C
-2
5,16x10 D 3,9 6,03x10 C 1,20x10 C 4,61x10 C
-2
5,60x10 D 7,4
-2
6,13x10 D 6,9
-8
2,63x10 A
-10
7,25x10 E
-5
2,75x10 A
-5
3,72x10 A
-2
3,22x10 A
-2
-4
1,16x10 A 7,29x10 E 2,37x10 C
-4
5,47x10 B 1,09x10 D 3,16x10 C
-2
5,2 1,20x10 C 5,99x10 F 3,15x10 A
-7
2,65x10 A
-2
2,48x10 B
-2
2,44x10 B
-2
2,12x10 C 6,4
-2
2,19x10 C 6,6
4,0
4,59x10 C
TSP+KCl-WL 4,6
6,94x10 C
TSP+KCl-NL
4,4
5,92x10 C
DAP+KCl-WL 7,0
2,04x10 B
DAP+KCl-NL
6,7
1,72x10 B
2,71x10 A
30,4
26,8
CV (%)
H2PO4
-1
---------------- mol L -----------------
KCl-NL
HPO4
2-
3,1
-2
3,7 9,25x10 C 4,62x10 F 3,08x10 A
-2
3,6 7,87x10 C 3,12x10 B 1,06x10 B
-2
3,6 9,94x10 C 3,94x10 A 9,38x10 B
-2
3,09x10 B 1,94x10 C 9,44x10 B
-2
4,47x10 B 1,77x10 C 8,92x10 B
51,4
25,7
19,9
WL= With limestore; NL= Without limestore. * Means followed by different capital letters in the same column differ by Scott-Knott
test at 5% probability.
356

72
THE RESPONSE OF SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS OF CHICKPEA

(Cicer arietinum) TO BIOCHAR AND PHOPHOROUS FERTILIZER
PATRICIA J. MACIL1, JOHN B.O OGOLA1, JUDE J. O. ODHIAMBO2, SIPHIWE G. LUSIBA2
1
Department of plant production, University of Venda, Private bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa (macilpatty@gmail.
com - ochanda@univen.ac.za/ochandaogola@yahoo.com); 2 Department of soil science, University of Venda, Private bag X5050,
Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa (odhiambo@univen.ac.za - ciphiwe.gloria@gmail.com)
Introduction

Chickpea is grown primarily for its grain
which is rich in protein, complex carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals and its protein quality
is better than that of other legumes (Gaur et al.,
2010; Singh et al., 2005). Chickpea is fairly drought
tolerant and is well adapted to other environmental stresses such as high temperatures and poor
soils (Liu et al., 2010). Therefore incorporation of
chickpea into existing cropping systems in the dry
environments of Limpopo Province that are characterised by continuous cropping with hardly any
addition of fertilizer and soil amendments may increase their productivity. Also, application of soil
amendments such as biochar is likely to improve
soil physical, biological and chemical properties
and hence improve the soil water relation, nutrient
retention and nutrient supplying ability (Steiner et
al., 2007).

Although a number of studies have looked
at the effect of biochar and phosphorous (P) fertilizer application on soil properties and chickpea productivity, respectively (Madzivhandila et al., 2012;
Steiner et al., 2007), there are hardly any reports in
literature on the interactive effect of P fertilizer and
biochar on some physiological traits of chickpea.
Therefore the objective of this study was to assess
the effect of biochar and P fertilizer application on
net leaf photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and
intercepted radiation of chickpea in one location of
South Africa that is representative of dry environments.
Methods

A field experiment was conducted at the
University of Vendas experimental farm in Thohoyandou (233514.0 S and 301550, 3 E and 595m
asl), Limpopo, South Africa during the summer
2013/2014 cropping season. The treatments consisted of a factorial combination of 2 phosphorous
fertilizer rates (0 and 90kg ha-1) and 4 biochar rates
(0, 5, 10, and 20 tons ha-1) arranged in a randomized

complete block design and replicated 3 times. Biochar was applied 2 weeks before planting. Single
super phosphate fertilizer was band applied during
planting. Sowing was done on 4 December 2013
in rows that were 30 cm apart at seed rates which
provided crop stands denser than the target density. The experiment was thinned to the target plant
density (33 plants m-2) at 14 days after emergence
(DAE). The experiment was rainfed except for irrigation that was applied soon after planting to ensure uniform germination and crop establishment.
The field was maintained weed free throughout the
growing season.

Photosynthesis and stomatal conductance was measured on selected uppermost fully
expanded leaves using a portable photosynthetic
system (LICOR 6400, Lincoln, NE, USA) and the
steady state Leaf Poromoter (Decagon Devices
manufacturers, model version 6), respectively. The
proportion of Intercepted Radiation (IR) by the crop
canopy was measured using AccuPAR, model LP80 ceptometer (Decagon Devices Ltd., Pullman,
USA). All the parameters were measured at flowering stage (40 DAE) between 1100 and 1300 h on a
clear sunny day. All data was subjected to analysis
of variance (ANOVA) using Genstat (version 16).
Significant differences between treatments were
determined at 5% level using the standard error of
differences of means (SED).

Biochar and phosphorus fertilizer application did not affect net photosynthesis (Table 1).
Similarly, the effect of P on stomatal conductance
was not significant. These results do not contradict
previous findings from the same site that P affected
yield and water use efficiency of chickpea in summer but not in winter sowing (Ogola et al., 2013;
Madzivhandila et al., 2012). In Aligarh, India, Tak et
al. (2012) reported an increase in net leaf photosyn-
thetic rate with P application. Stomatal conductance

increased with biochar application except for an
unexpected decline at 5 t ha-1 (Table 1). It is likely
that this increase in stomatal conductance with biochar application was due to the effect of biochar on
soil moisture retention (Steiner et al., 2007). The
non-response of net leaf photosynthesis to biochar
could imply that stomatal factors were not limiting
to photosynthesis in the current study. The values
of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in the
current study are comparable to those reported by
Krouma (2010) under no-water stress conditions.

The interaction between biochar and P fertilizer application affected the proportion of IR at 50%
flowering (Table 1). There was a 48% decrease in
the proportion of IR with P fertilizer application at
zero level of biochar. In contrast, P application increased the proportion of IR by 58% at 20 t ha-1 of
biochar (Fig. 1). The effect of P on canopy size and
shoot biomass at flowering has similarly been reported in other studies (Madzivhandila et al., 2012;
Tak et al., 2012).
Conclusions

Biochar and P fertilizer application did not
have any effect on net leaf photosynthesis but they
affected stomatal conductance and the proportion
of intercepted radiation. However, these parameters were determined only on one occasion and
therefore it is recommended that more studies, with
measurements at different growth stages be conducted before any conclusions can be drawn on the
effect of biochar and P fertilizer application on these
physiological parameters.
Keywords: Chickpea, intercepted radiation, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance
357
References
Gaur, P.M., Tripathi, S., Gowda, C.L.L., Ranga
Rao, G.V., Sharma, H.C., Pande, S. and Sharma,
M. 2010. Chickpea Seed Production Manual. India
International Crops Research Institute for the semiarid tropics: Patancheru, pp. 28.
Krouma, A. 2010. Plant water relations and photosynthetic activity in three Tunisian chickpea (Cicer
arietinum L.) genotypes subjected to drought. Turk
J Agric For. 34: 257-264.
Liu, L.P., Gan, Y.T., Bueckert, R., Van Rees, K. and
Warkentin, T.D. 2010. Fine root distributions in oilseed and pulse crops. Crop Sci. 50:222-226.
Madzivhandila, T, Ogola, J.B.O, and Odhiambo,
J.J.O. 2012. Growth and yield response of four
chickpea cultivars to phosphorus fertilizer rates. J.
Food, Agric. Environ. 10: 451-455.
Ogola, J.B.O., Madzivhandila, T. and Odhiambo,
J.J.O. 2013. Water use of chickpea: response to
genotype and phosphorus fertilizer rates in winter
and summer sowings. J. Food, Agric. Environ. 11:
1341-1347.
Singh, N., Kaur, M. and Sandhu, K.S. 2005. Physiochemical and functional properties of freeze-dried
and oven dried corn gluten meals. Drying Technol.
23: 114.
Steiner, C., Teixeira, W., Lehmann, J., Nehls, T.,
De Macdo, J., Blum, W. and Zech, W. 2007. Long
term effects of manure, charcoal and mineral fertilization on crop production and fertility on a highly
weathered central Amazonian upland soil. Plant
and Soil 291: 275-290.
Tak, H.I., Ahmad, F., Babalola, O.O., and Inam, A.
2012. Growth, photosynthesis and yield of chickpea
as influenced by urban wastewater and different
levels of phosphorus. Int. J. Plant Res. 2: 6-13.
358
Table1. Effect of biochar and phosphorus application on photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and proportion of
intercepted radiation at flowering stage (40 DAE)
(mol CO2 m s )
Stomatal
Conductance
-2 -1
(mmol H2O m s )
Intercepted
Radiation
(%)
32.48
30.90
33.58
32.18
0.922
27.35c
25.15d
30.10b
33.98a
1.872
26.9a
20.3b
19.9b
29.7a
3.00
P rate (kg ha )
0
90
SED
32.83
31.74
0.652
29.58
28.71
24.2
24.2
2.12
F-test probability
Biochar (B)
P rate (P)
BxP
CV (%)
ns
ns
ns
11.6
p<0.01
ns
ns
0.4
p<0.05
ns
p<0.01
13.6
Treatment
Photosynthesis
-2
-1
Biochar (tons ha )
0
5
10
20
SED
-1
-1
Means in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different
Figure 1. The interactive effect of biochar

and P fertilizer rate on proportion of
intercepted radiation (%)
359
73
RESPONSE OF MAIZE TO FERTILIZER AND BIOCHAR APPLICATION

JUDE J.O ODHIAMBO
University of Venda, Department of Soil Science, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950.
Introduction

Soil degradation due to poor soil management practices coupled with the effects of climate
change requires urgent attention towards sustainable concepts for increased food production and mitigation of climate change. The application of biochar
to agricultural land is receiving increasing attention
as an intervention strategy for the sequestration of
carbon, and as a means of improving soil quality
and nutrient cycling (Lehmann, 2007; Powlson et
al., 2011), although recent studies have produced
contrary results in terms of soil quality and yield improvements (Spokas et al. 2012). Although a lot of
studies are being conducted on the effect of biochar additions on soil quality and crop yield, there
is need, however, to have a better understanding of
biochar-nutrient interactions in different soil types
under different climatic conditions. The objective of
this study was to determine whether fertilizer effects
on growth and yield of maize could be improved by
addition of biochar.

Study site

A field experiment was conducted at the
University of Vendas research farm in Thohoyandou (22o3514.0 S and 30o1515.3 E, and 595
m asl), Limpopo province, South Africa during the
2013/14 summer planting season. The site is characterized by highly weathered, deep, well-drained
clay soil (Soil Classification Working Group, 1991),
an annual rainfall of around 500 mm that falls predominantly in summer, and average maximum and
minimum temperature of 31oC and 18oC, respectively.
Experimental design and management

The experiment consisted of the following
treatments: (i) control (No fertilizer or biochar addition) (ii) fertilizer alone (100 kg N ha-1 + 70 kg P
ha-1) (iii) fertilizer (100 kg N ha-1 + 70 kg P ha-1) +
biochar (5 tons ha-1) (iv) fertilizer (100 kg N ha-1 +
70 kg P ha-1) + biochar (10 tons ha-1). The treat-
ments were arranged in a randomized complete

block design, with individual plot sizes measuring
6 m x 5 m, and replicated three times. Biochar was
applied at the specified rates at 2-weeks before
planting by incorporating into the top 20-cm of the
soil. Fertilizer phosphorus (P) was applied according to the treatments at planting as superphosphate
(10.5%P). Nitrogen (N) was split applied as Lime
Ammonium Nitrate (LAN 28% N), with 50 kg N ha-1
applied at planting and 50 kg N ha-1 applied at approximately 6 weeks after planting (WAP). Maize
cultivar ZM521 was planted manually at a spacing of 90 cm x 25 cm giving a plant population of
approximately 44444 plants ha-1. Plots were kept
weed-free throughout the growing season. Dry
matter (DM) was determined at seedling (approximately 6 WAP) and at tasseling stages by sampling
four plants from the inner rows. At harvest maturity,
total shoot dry weight, grain, and cob yield were
determined by sampling ten plants from the inner
rows. The harvest index was also calculated. Using
randomized complete block design model, analysis
of variance was conducted using the general linear
model (GLM) procedure of SAS software version
9.3 (SAS Institute, Inc., 2011). The LSD test was
used to separate the treatment means.

Table 1 shows some selected properties
of the soil and biochar used in the study. The soil
is slightly acidic, has low cation exchange capacity
(CEC) value, as well as low level of available P. The
biochar has a high pH with a high C/N ratio and very
low CEC.

At seedling stage, DM yield ranged from
0.91 t ha-1 (control) to 1.77 t ha-1 (Fertilizer + 10 t
ha-1 biochar) (Table 2). Fertilizer + 10 t ha-1 biochar
produced significantly higher DM yield than all the
other treatments. At tasseling, fertilizer treatment
produced significantly higher DM yield (4.41 t ha-1)
than all the other treatments (Table 2). At harvest
maturity, the fertilizer + 10 t ha-1 treatment produced
higher stover yield (7.61 t ha-1) than all the other
360
treatments, with the control treatment producing the

least stover yield (4.29 t ha-1). There were no differences observed in cob yield among the treatments.
Fertilizer alone treatment produced 29.5% more
yield than the control treatment, but was not different from the fertilizer + 5 t ha-1 biochar and fertilizer
+ 10 t ha-1 biochar treatments (Table 2). Fertilizer
alone had a higher harvest index than Fertilizer +
10t ha-1 biochar but was similar to the control and
fertilizer + 5 t ha-1 biochar treatments. These results
indicate that addition of biochar did not improve
grain yield as compared with fertilizer alone. In fact,
a slight decline, though not significant, in grain yield
of approximately 8.6% was observed with the addition of biochar at the two rates. The high C/N ratio
of the biochar could have led to nitrogen immobilization from the tasseling stage, hence the low DM
yield at tasseling and grain yield for both biochar
treatments as compared to the fertilizer alone treatment.

Recent studies with biochar have produced
contrary results in terms of yield improvements.
Approximately 50% of the compiled studies with
biochar have observed short-term positive yield or
growth impacts, 30 % reported no significant differences, and 20% noted negative yield or growth
impacts (Spokas et al. 2012). Major et al (2010) reported that maize yield did not significantly increase
in the first year of biochar application but increases
over control were 28, 30 and 140% in the subsequent 3 years, respectively, with the application
of 20 t ha-1 biochar. These observed contradicting
results on the effect of biochar on crop yield may
be attributed to the characteristics of the various
biochar used in the studies which depends on the
feedstock used and the pyrolysis conditions, as well
as the soil type.
Conclusions

Addition of either 5 t ha-1 or 10 t ha-1 of biochar in combination with fertilizer N and P did not
have any effect on grain yield after one season. For
a better understanding of the effects of biochar on

crop growth and yield, further studies are necessary with well characterized biochar from different
feedstock sources, possibly with a range of rates of
application over several seasons.
Keywords: Grain yield, dry matter yield, South Africa, clay soil
Acknowledgements
This study was part of a larger study on biochar
funded by a research grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) Thuthuka program. The
authors wish to thank the NRF for providing the
funds.
References
Lehmann, J., 2007. Bioenergy in the black. Front.
Ecol. Environ. 5: 381-387.
Major, J., Rondon, M., Molina, D., Riha, S.J., Lehmann, J. 2010. Maize yield and nutrition during 4
years after biochar application to a Colombian savanna oxisol. Plt. Soil 333:117-128.
Powlson, D.S., Whitmore, A.P., Goulding, K.W.T.,
2011. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate
change: a critical re-examination to identify the true
and false. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 62: 42-55.
SAS Institute Inc. 2011. SAS Software. Release 9.3
Second Edition, SAS Institute, North Carolina, USA.
Soil Classification Working Group 1991. Soil classification: a taxonomic system for South Africa.
Department of Agricultural Development, Pretoria,
South Africa.
Spokas, K.A., Cantrell, K.B., Novak, J.M., Archer,
D.W. Ippolito, J.A., Collins, H.P, Boateng, A.A.,
Lima, I.M., Lamb, M.C., McAloon, A.J., Lentz, R.D
and Nichols, K.A. 2012. Biochar: A synthesis of its
agronomic impact beyond carbon sequestration. J.
Environ. Qual. 41:973-989.
Table 1. Some properties of the soil and Biochar used in the study
Parameter
Soil
pH
Sand (%)
Silt (%)
Clay (%)
Total C (%)
Organic C (%)
-1
P (Bray 1) (mg kg )
-1
K (cmol(+) kg )
-1
Na (cmol(+) kg )
-1
Ca (cmol(+) kg )
-1
Mg (cmol(+) kg )
-1
CEC (cmol(+) kg )
5.72
22
18
60
2.50
2.57
1.63
0.541
0.122
6.824
2.407
22.534
Value
Parameter
pH
EC (mS/m)
Total Solids (%)
-1
Total C (g kg )
-1
Total N (g kg )
C/N Ratio
-1
Organic C (g kg )
-1
CEC (cmol(+) kg )
-1
P (g kg )
-1
K (g kg )
-1
Na (g kg )
-1
Ca (g kg )
-1
Mg (g kg )
Biochar
9.23
40
81.0
588
0.8
776
587
2.08
0.524
3.62
0.573
5.61
0.958
Value
Table 2. Maize dry matter (at 6-WAP and tasseling), stover, cob and grain yield and Harvest Index
Treatment
Control
Fertilizer
Fertilizer + 5
-1
t ha Biochar
Fertilizer +
-1
10 t ha
Biochar
CV (%)
DM at
seedling
DM at
tasseling
Stover
yield
Cob yield
-1
Grain
yield
------------------------------------------- t ha --------------------------------------------
Harvest
Index
0.91c
1.52b
1.53b
3.49d
4.41a
3.72c
4.29c
5.27bc
5.81b
6.51
7.37
7.59
5.52b
7.15a
6.54ab
0.51ab
0.57a
0.49ab
1.77a
3.92b
7.61a
7.64
6.53ab
0.43b
7.4
2.4
10.3
11.7
11.9
14.5
Means followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at P = 0.05 using LSD.
361
362

74
FERTILIZER USE EFFICIENCY BY MAIZE GENOTYPES UNDER HIGH OR

MEDIUM TECHNOLOGICAL INVESTMENT
ALVARO V. RESENDE1, FABIO A. PADILHA2, SILVINO G. MOREIRA3, LAURO J. M. GUIMARES1,
PAULO EVARISTO O. GUIMARES1
1
Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, P.O. box 285, Sete Lagoas MG, 35701-970 , Brazil (alvaro.resende@embrapa.br); 2 So
Francisco and Parnaba Development Company, Montes Claros MG, 39400-292 , Brazil; 3 Federal University of So Joo Del Rei,
P.O. box 56, Sete Lagoas MG, 35701-970 , Brazil
Introduction

Brazilian agriculture has continuously
evolved over the past decades, contributing for a
significant portion of the countrys exports. However, the maintenance of the achieved grain production is largely dependent on the importation of fertilizer required by crops. Thus, it is essential to seek
strategies to maximize the efficient use of nutrients
in agricultural systems.

The maize is characterized by high nutrient
demand and presents genotypic differences for nutrient use efficiency. Plant breeding has generated
cultivars with high productivity and responsiveness
to the improvement of soil fertility. This has been
one of the most important factors for increasing the
use efficiency of fertilizers applied in modern agriculture. But interaction with the environment is expected to occur. Therefore, genotypes can express
different patterns of nutritional efficiency when
grown under varying conditions of nutrient availability and other factors that affect the productivity.

This study aimed to compare maize genotypes regarding their capability in utilization of N,
P2O5 and K2O applied under two levels of technological investment in fertilization and other agronomic management practices.
Methods

The experiment was carried out under
supplementary irrigation in the 2112/2013 season,
at Embrapa Maize and Sorghum, located in Sete
Lagoas - MG, Brazil. The soil is classified as clayey
Oxisol and had been cultivated with crop rotation
under no-tillage in a soybean/maize/soybean sequence in 2009/2010, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012,
respectively. Two environments with different levels of initial soil fertility were established prior to
the study with maize genotypes (Table 1). Subsequently, these environments continued to be managed in order to characterize different conditions of
technological investment, with high (HI) or medium

(MI) inputs. Thus, the sowing and sidedress fertilization, foliar spraying of nutrients, as well as the
seed treatment and the use of chemicals to control diseases were differentiated between environments. This provided contrasting yield potentials.

We evaluated the performance of ten maize
cultivars, being five experimental single cross hybrids and a commercial hybrid from the Embrapas
breeding program, plus four commercial single
cross transgenic hybrids from private companies
(Table 2).

Fertilization at sowing was done with 260
and 500 kg ha-1 of 08-28-16 NPK in the environments of medium and high investment, respectively. The hybrids were sown spaced of 0.5 m between
rows, in density equivalent to 75000 seeds ha-1.
Sidedress fertilization in the MI environment was
done with 90 kg ha-1 of N, while the HI environment
received a total of 200 kg ha-1 of N and 70 kg ha-1 of
K2O, splitted in three sidedress applications.

For each environment, the experimental
design was a randomized complete block with four
replications. Each plot consisted of eight rows six
meters long. Three of the central rows were harvested, leaving a meter in ends as borders. The
use efficiency of N, P2O5 and K2O by the genotypes
was calculated dividing grain yield by total amounts
of the respective nutrients applied in each growing environment. Data were subjected to analysis of
variance and the treatment means were compared
by the Scott-Knott test at 5% probability using the
SISVAR program (Ferreira, 2011).

Grain yield ranged from 10632 to 15187 kg
-1
ha according to the genotype and level of technological investment for maize production (Table 2).
Although some statistical differences among genotypes, the most and least productive groups of hy-
brids were the same at both levels of investment.

This also made the ranking of genotypes for nutrient use efficiency remain the same between the
two contrasting environments.

As productivity gains were not proportional
to the increase in the amounts of fertilizer applied in
the environment of high technological input, the use
efficiency of N, P2O5 or K2O was significantly lower
in that condition.

The fact that the most productive hybrids
were the same, regardless of high or medium investment, demonstrates a great stability of the
modern genotypes compared in this study. In this
case, it can be stated that the choice of the most
productive hybrids will lead to higher use efficiency
of fertilizers. On the average of nutrients and investment levels, the hybrids 1I 873, 8088 AG and P
30F53 were about 20% more efficient than the least
productive genotype. However, the increased grain
yields achieved under higher levels of technological investment normally involve some reduction in
plant efficiency for using the nutrients supplied by
fertilization. The challenge is to identify the level of
technological input that harmonizes the response
363
of genotypes to fertilization with an efficient use of

fertilizers and a greater profitability of grain yield,
in order to better position the cultivars delivered to
farmers.
Conclusions

Differences around 20% in fertilizer use efficiency were found among genotypes.

The more productive and efficient genotypes were the same in both environments with
medium or high technological investment for maize
crop.
Keywords: Nutrient use efficiency, high yield corn,
corn breeding.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Fapemig and CNPq for
the financial support to this research.
References
FERREIRA, D.F. Sisvar: a computer statistical analysis system. Cincia e Agrotecnologia, v.35, n.6,
p.1039-1042, 2011.
Table 1. Soil fertility conditions at the 0-20 cm and 20-40 cm depth layers in the high and medium technological
environments before establishing the experiment in 2012/2013
Soil attribute
High
Technological Input
Medium
High
0-20 cm depth
-1
Medium
20-40 cm depth
Organic matter (dag kg )

pHwater
-3
PMehlich 1 (mg dm )
K
-3
H+Al (cmolc cm )
4,7
6,6
21
147
2,2
4,6
6,6
17
109
2,7
3,8
6,0
8
80
3,2
3,8
6,2
6
71
3,4
Ca
5,6
5,3
4,0
4,1
Mg
1,4
1,2
0,8
0,8
CEC
9,5
9,5
8,2
8,5
77
71
61
60
Cu (mg dm )
0,9
0,8
0,9
0,9
Fe
29
28
29
31
Mn
59
56
37
43
Zn
8,4
5,4
3,7
3,3
Base saturation (%)

-3
364
Table 2. Grain yield (kg ha-1) and use efficiency (kg kg-1) of applied N, P2O5 and K2O by maize genotypes under high
(HI) or medium (MI) technological input.
Grain yield
P2O5
Genotype
HI
MI
HI
Relative
nutrient use
efficiency by
genotypes
MI
(%)*
293 a
114
K2O
MI
HI
MI
HI
1I 862
14100 b 12310 a
59 a
111 a
101 a
169 a
94 a
1I 873
15078 a 12720 a
63 a
115 a
108 a
174 a
101 a
303 a
120
1I 923
13575 b 11253 b
57 a
101 b
97 a
154 b
90 a
268 b
107
1I 931
13823 b 11766 a
58 a
106 a
99 a
161 a
92 a
280 a
110
1I 953
13160 b 11096 b
55 a
100 b
94 a
152 b
88 a
264 b
104
BRS 1055
12777 b 10632 b
53 a
96 b
91 a
146 b
85 a
253 b
100
AG 8088 YH
15125 a 12868 a
63 a
116 a
108 a
176 a
101 a
306 a
120
DKB 390 Pro
13603 b 12089 a
57 a
109 a
97 a
166 a
91 a
288 a
111
P 3646 H
13826 b 12241 a
58 a
110 a
99 a
168 a
92 a
291 a
112
P 30F53 YH
15187 a 12695 a
63 a
114 a
108 a
174 a
101 a
302 a
119
Average
14025 A 11967 B
58 B
108 A
100 B
164 A
94 B
285 A
CV (%)
6.5
7.8
7.6
*Considering the less efficient genotype as 100% on average of the three nutrients.
8.8
365
75
NITROGEN SOURCE AND RATE INFLUENCE ON GRAIN PROTEIN

OF WHEAT CULTIVARS
PEDRO A. V. ESCOSTEGUY1, JULIANA HNEL2, OSVALDO A. P. ROSSO3, CATIA B. KLEIN4
1
Professor, Graduate Program in Agronomy (PPGAgro), University of Passo Fundo (UPF), Caixa Postal 611. CEP 99001-970 Passo
Fundo (RS). BRAZIL (escosteguy@up.br); 2,3 Undergraduate students, School of Agronomy, UPF. Fellow students at Fapergs.
BRAZIL (julianahanel@hotmail.com and (osvaldo.rosso@hotmail.com); 4 Graduate student, PPGAgro, UPF. Fellow student at
Capes. BRAZIL (catiabklein@hotmail.com)
Introduction

Wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.) is the most
important cereal crop in terms of both areas cultivated and amount of grain produced in the Southern Region of Brazil, in the winter season. In this region is located the largest area of wheat production
in the country where oxysoils and no-tillage are the
most typical situation, under subtropical wheater.
Nitrogen (N) is the major nutrient which influences
total protein (TP) content in grains (Godfrey et al.,
2010). Timing, rate, and source of N application can
affects grain yield (GY) as well TP content in wheat
and, consequently, the industrial quality for bread
(Wiethlter, 2011). Nitrogen application early in the
growing season tends to increase GY preferentially
over TP content, while N supply during the grain
formation tends to enhance TP, withou changing
GY (Mundstock, 1999). It occurs when the amount
of available N on soil attends both the vegetative
growth and the crop yield potentials (Halvorson and
Reule, 2007; Wiethlter, 2011), and change with
wheat cultivars (Fowler, 2003) and N fertilizer rates
applied on tillering and stem elongation stages
(CQFS-RS/SC, 2004). However, oxysoils of Southern Brazil have medium organic matter content (25
50 g kg-1) and low N availability during the winter.
Then appropriate use of N fertilizers is one of the
most important factor which can constrains GY and
TP. In Brazil, urea is the preferred source and is
top-dress applied on wheat crop. The efficiency of
this source are mainly the result of environmental
influences, as precipitation or temperature. In no tillage soils of Southern Brazil, N volatilization is the
main factor controlling urea efficiency, which decrease if the fertilizers is stabilized with urease or
nitrification inhibitors.

Among other factors, TP in wheat depends
largely of the soil N supply and the cultivar. In Southern Brazil, the protein content of some cultivars may
increase following application of 20-30 kg N ha-1 at
ear emergence. Since in Southern Brazil the typical

top-dressed application of N is at tillering or split at
equal applications at this stage and at the beginning of elongation growth period, as recommended
for highest N rates (CQFS-RS/SC, 2004), an extra
application of N at ear emergence increases the
production cost and may injury the plants due to
the traffic of machinery, since urea is broadcast applied. In this work we investigated an alternative to
this strategie by applying enhanced-efficiency fertilizers. This kind of N source can be applied together
with urea at tillering or split at this stage and at the
beginning of stem elongation releasing available N
into soil for uptake on the ear period. Although it
could avoid an extra-operation for urea application,
there is a lack of information about TP content and
yield in wheat following such strategie.

The aim of this study was to evaluate TP
content and yield in wheat grain fertilized with stabilized sources of N applied with urea at earlier time
than the ear emergence growth period.
Methods

A field experiment was carried out in the
Experimental Field of University Fundo (281337S
and 52 2335O), in Passo Fundo, in the state of
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on a Red Latosol (Typic
Haplorthox), from June to November 2013. Before
the experiment, the 0-10 cm soil layer had organic
matter content of 27 g kg-1, pH 5.5 (water extract),
high levels of available phosphorus, potassium,
calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, zinc, manganese, iron, and copper, to analysed as Tedesco
et al. (1995). The climate is subtropical wet with
average annual temperature of 17.5 C and average annual rainfall of 1,787.8 mm (Embrapa Trigo,
2009). Wheat plants were not irrigated throughout
their developmental cycle. Soybean (Glycine max
(L.) Merril) was the previous crop which GY was 5.0
Mg ha-1.
366

The treatments were wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.) cultivars (TBio Itaipu, TBio Sinuelo, TBio
Pioneiro, TBio Tibagi, Quartzo, TBio Mestre, and
TBio Alvorada) on main plots and top-dress N application on split-plot (- Control (0 kg N ha-1), - Urea
at tillering (50 kg N ha-1), Split application of urea,
one third at tillering (25 kg N ha-1), one third at beginning of stem elongation (25 kg N ha-1), and one
third at beginning of ear formation (25 kg N ha-1),
- Split-applied urea as the latter treatment but Sulfammo at the beginning of ear formation (25 kg N
ha-1), - Split-applied urea as the latter treatment, but
Energis at the beginning of ear formation (25 kg N
ha-1). The unfertilized-N treatment and urea at tillering were used as the controlt treatments. Sulfammo
has 19 % of N as urea and 7 % of N as amonium
sulfate, besides sulfur (9 %), calcium, magnesium,
and boron (5, 2, and 3 %, respectivelly). Energis
has 29 % of N as urea coated with urease inhibitor,
sulfur (9 %), calcium and magnesium (2 %, respectivelly). Elementar sulfur was applied on the treatments which did not received this nutrient with the
N sources. I all treatments, 30 kg N ha-1 was applied
at planting (below and to the side of seeds). Topdress fertilization was manually applied. The main
plots and split-plots measured 1.87 m in width.
The split-plots measured 3.2 m in length and were
spaced from 0.5 m.

Wheat was sown at 0.17 m between rows
and the plant density was 350 m-2. The grains were
harvested at maturity in a net plot of seven middle
rows in each split-plot, excluding 1 m at each end
of a row, for GY measurement. Total protein content
in grain was evaluated by using a InfratecTMSofia
(Foss) grain analyser. Yield protein was estimated
from TP and GY. The results were expressed at 13
% moisture. A randomized block design with four
replicates was used. Analysis of variance and Tukey test (both at p<0.05) were performed by using
CoStat software (Costa and Castoldi, 2009).

Grain yield and TP content were influenced
by the interaction between N management and cultivars, while TP yield was affected only by the isolated effect os these factors. On all cultivars and N
sources top-dress application increases GY, even
when this nutrient was supplied only on tillering.
However, GY of all cultivars was not affected by

supplying an extra amount of N (25 kg ha-1), except
on Alvorada cultivar where the GY was higher with
Sulfammo (4.3 Mg ha-1) and Energis (4.6 Mg ha-1)
applied on stem elongation than with urea (3.6 Mg
ha-1) applied at ear emergence.

In general, the effect of N fertilization on increasing TP content was more clear when an extra
amount of this nutriente (25 kg ha-1) was applied at
stem elongation (Sulfammo or Energis) or at ear
emergence (urea). The effect of these plus of N on
TP content of all cultivars did not differs among the
N sources, with the exception of Alvorada cultivar,
where the TP content was higher (16.1 %) with
Sulfammo than Urea (14.4 %) or Energis (14.9 %).
Then, the TP content results shows that suppling
25 kg N ha-1 by applying Sulfammo and Energis at
stem elongation gives the same effect by applying
urea at ear emergence.

In the same way, these three treatments
increased the TP yield compared to the controls
(no top-dress application or no extra amount applied after tillering), refleting the increase found in
the TP content and GY, without differ among they
(Table 1). Therefore, the stabilized fertilizers used
in our research had an important contribution for
TP and GY indicating that the tested strategie can
be useful to avoid cost of production and plant
damage resulting from urea top-dress application
at ear emergence.
Conclusion

Stabilized fertilizer is effective at increasing
TP in grain when applied with urea earlier than the
ear emergence growth period of wheat.
Keywords: Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers. Nitrogen
management. Grain quality. Triticum aestivum, L.
Acknowledgements
university of Passo Fundo / PPGAgro and Biotrigo
Gentica.
References
Comisso de Quimica e Fertilidade do Solo. CQFSRS/SC. Manual de adubao e de calagem para os
Estados do Rio Grande do Sul e de Santa Catarina.
Porto Alegre: SBCS, 2004. 400p.
Costa, C. & Castoldi F. L. Costat: um programa

para quem pensa que no gosta de estatstica.
Passo Fundo: Ed. Universidade de Passo Fundo,
2009. 384 p.
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuria
-EMBRAPA TRIGO. Normais climatolgicas (19611990): Passo Fundo -RS. Disponvel em: <http://
www.cnpt.embrapa.br/pesquisa/agromet/app/principal/normais.php>. Acesso em 29 de ago. de 2009
Fowler, D.B. 2003. Crop nitrogen demand and grain
protein concentration of spring and winter wheat.
Agronomy Journal, 95: 260-265.
Godfrey, D., M.J. Hawkesford, S.J. Powers, S. Millar, and P.R. Shewry. 2010. Effects of crop nutrition on wheat grain composition and end use quality. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58:
3012-3021.
367
Mundstock, C. M. Planejamento e manejo integrado da lavoura de trigo. Porto Alegre: Editora do Autor, 1999. 228p.
Tedesco, M.J.; Gianello, C.; Bissani, C.A.; Bohnen,
H.; Volkweiss, S.J. Anlise de solo, planta e outros materiais. 2. ed. Porto Alegre: Departamento de
solo da Faculdade de Agronomia da UFRGS, 1995.
147p.
Wiethlter, S. Fertilidade do solo e a cultura do trigo
no Brasil. In: Pires, J. L. F; Vargas, L.; Cunha, G. R.
Trigo no Brasil: bases para produo competitiva
e sustentvel. Passo Fundo, RS: Embrapa Trigo,
2011. 488 p.
Table 1. Total protein yield of wheat cultivars as a function of time, source and rate of top-dress applied nitrogen (N)(1)
Tillering
(2)
Stem elongation
(2)
Ear emergence
(2)
Average
-1
Nitrogen source and rate (kg N ha )

-
318.34 c
Urea (50)
560.05 b
Urea (25)
Urea (25)
Urea (25)
614.84 a
Urea (25)
Urea (25) + Sulfammo (25)
651.09 a
Urea (25)
Urea (25) + Energis (25)
625.50 a
Average
553.98
C.V. (%)
10.59
30 kg N ha-1 as urea applied in all treatments at planting (below and to the side of seeds). (2) At the beginning of the stage.
Means followed by the same letter, capitalized in the line and lowercase in the column, does not differ by Tukey test (p < 0.05). C.V.
Coefficient of variation.
(1)
368

76
MAIZE AND BRACHIARIA INTERCROPPING SYSTEM EFFICIENCY IN THE

USE OF SOIL PHOSPHORUS RESERVES1
ANTNIO MARCOS COELHO2
1
Project: MP1-FertBrazil Network, financed by Embrapa; 2 Embrapa Maize and Sorghum Research Institute, 151, Sete Lagoas, MG,
35701-970, Brazil. antoniomarcos.coelho@embrapa.br
Introduction

During the early stages of agricultural de-
velopment in the Cerrado Region of Brazil, it was

recognized that the major limiting factors to crop
production were soil acidity and the very low P status of the soils (GOEDERT and LOBATO, 1984).
This led to a major research effort to find cost-effective ways of correcting soil acidity and P deficiency (GOEDERT, 1983). This research included
investigation of the extent to which acidity had to
be corrected and evaluation of the most appropriate form of P fertilizer, its rate and frequency of application, as well as the method of placement, and
residual effects of the added P fertilizer (SOUZA
and LOBATO, 2004). Thus, in this region of P-deficient soils, since the 1970s, farmers have been
applied P fertilizer in excess of crop requirements
to build soil P concentration. It is now obvious that
the soil P levels have been rising generally in commercial farming areas in the Brazil, mainly in the
Cerrado Region as a result of accumulated fertilizer residues. In this condition, yield responses to
applied P have become quite infrequent, indicating
that these accumulated reserves are supplying P to
the crops. In this context, the objective of this study
is to contribute to a more systematic assessment
of the residual effect of soil phosphorus. If the recovery of added P is of interest not only in the year
of application but in subsequent years as well, this
raises the following questions: (a) over what time
scale should recovery be measured?, (b) can the
residual P produce yields that are economically viable for the farmer?, and (c) what is the effect of the
crop system, braquiaria intercropping with corn, in
to optimize the use of residual phosphorus?

The experiments were conducted at the
Embrapa-Maize and Sorghum Research Center in
Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil (19 28 S, 44 15 W and
732 m above sea level) in a P phenotyping site.
The soil is clayey red oxisol under savanna veg-
etation (cerrado). Soil analyses of samples taking

from 0 to 0.20 m and 0.20 to 0.40 m depth in 2003,
presented the following results: pH- water 5.98 and
5.52, OM 33.5 and 27.5 g dm-3, P (Melich1) 5.3 and
3.2 mg dm-3, K 46.6 and 21.1 mg dm-3, respectively.
In 2003, three levels of soil P were established by
broadcasting 0, 218 and 436 kg P ha-1, corresponding to 500 and 1,000 kg.ha-1 of P2O5 (triple superphosphate 45 % P2O5), and incorporating it into the
top 0.10-0.15 m of soil, with a rototiller (COELHO
et al., 2004). After that, the experiments started its
residual phase with no further applications of P fertilizers and under zero tillage soil management.

The experiments were conducted in autumn/winter seasons of 2008 and 2009 in the system corn after soybean (2 corn crop, also called
later season). The treatments consisted of three
level of P, two crops systems and four corn hybrids.
The experiments were in random blocks, using a
split-split plot design consisting of three treatment
factors, with four replications. The main plots were
levels of P (0, 218 and 436 kg P ha-1) applied in
2003, and classified as low, medium and high; the
split-plot factor consisted of the crop system (corn
and corn intercropping with brachiaria) and the splitsplit plot factor consisted of the corn hybrids, three
single hybrids, BRS1010, DKB 390 (DKB350 in
2009), P30F35, and one double hybrid BRS 3060.
Maize hybrids were sowed at 0.70 m between rows
with 4 seeds per meter (plant density 55,000 ha-1).
The brachiaria brizantha, cv. Xaraes, was sowed
intra and inter-row of maize at a rate of 10 kg of
seeds ha-1, and it was used as cover crop. In 2008,
fertilizers at planting time consisted of 100 kg.ha-1 of
gypsum (13% S) plus 100 kg.ha-1 of KCl (60 % K2O)
plus 100 kg.ha-1 of urea (45% N) and no N fertilizer
was applied side-dress. In 2009 no fertilizers were
applied at sowing time. Thirty days after planting,
67.5 kg.ha-1 of N was applied as urea. In both years,
irrigation was provided as needed to complete a total of 400 mm of water during the crop development
and growth, simulating the precipitations conditions
that occur in the center west region of Brazil.

Corn biomass and grain yields were determined by hand harvesting four adjacent 4-m long
rows (appropriately bordered). Grain yield was adjusted to standard 130 g.kg-1 grain moisture. Samples of stover and grain were dried to a constant
weight in a forced-air oven at 65C and (grain and
stover) dry matter contend was determined. The dry
samples of grain and stover were ground in a Willey mill to pass a 1-mm screen. The dry and ground
samples were analyzed for total nutrients (NPK)
concentrations at the Embrapa Maize and Sorghum
Foliar Analysis Laboratory.

The top 0.20 m of soil was sampled each
year (2003, 2008 and 2009) after corn crops establishment. Soil samples were taken between the
planted rows collecting single 20 cores (2.25 cm
diameter) from each subplot of the cropping system corn and corn intercropping with brachiaria.
Composted soil samples from 20 single cores, were
mixed, air dried and crushed to pass a 2-mm sieve
and analyzed for soil fertility indicators.

All data were analyzed by conventional
analysis of variance procedures for split-split plot
design, using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS
Inst., Cary, NC). Tukeys Studentized Range (HSD)
test was used for mean separation within each
treatment. Statistical significance was assessed at
the 0.05 level.

Soil Phosphorus Availability

Several soil test laboratories (Research Institutes, University and Private) within the Cerrado
region have adopted the Mehlich-1 soil test based
on correlations with previous soil test methods and
with very limited field calibration research conducted on local soils, mainly under zero tillage soil management. Although cerrado soils are often high in
total P many of them are characteristically low in
plant available P. For example, data of analysis of
a soil profile used for these experiments indicated:
total phosphorus (0.10 %) 1,000 mg P dm-3, horizon
Aep (0 0.13 m) and (0.096 %) 960 mg dm-3, horizon AB (0.13 0.28 m). The available P (Mehlich1)
was 8.1 and 5.5 mg dm-3 respectively. Previous
studies carried on this soil, show that, due to the
higher soil capacity of P adsorption, the application
369
of higher rates of P was necessary to reach 20 and

40 mg of P dm-3 of soil, extracted by Mehlich1 (Table 1). The original P status in this soil is 5 mg of
P dm-3. The application of 218 kg P ha-1 maintain
the extractable P (Mehlich1) level above or at the
critical level (8 to 10 mg P dm-3 soil) throughout five
harvests of corn and two of soybean and resulted
in 80 to 85% of maximum yield (Table 1). According
to result of research conducted by Coelho & Frana
(2004) in this soil, the critic level of P (Mehlich1) to
achieve 90% maximum corn grain yield (7.03 t ha-1)
was between 8 and 10 mg dm-3 of soil.
Corn Grain Yields

In the Table 2, are presenting the average
grain yield obtained in the seasons of 2008 to 2009
relative to corn cultivated in a soil with different level
of P. The corn grain yield range from 4.41 to 7.25 t
ha-1 with average of 6.23 t ha-1. The residual value
of P was determined by measuring the increase in
crop yield in the years following the initial application of P, compared with the yield obtained on soil
that had not received this nutrient (control). With
the residual effect of P applied was possible to get
gains in the corn grain yield in more than 30 % as
compared to control (Table 2). The yields of corn
were not affected by intercropping with brachiaria.
In average, the yield dry matter of brachiaria (data
not showed) was around of 3.30 t. ha-1 and it was
not affected by the P levels.
Conclusions

For corn cultivated after soybean, as second crop, it is possible to obtain economic grain
yields, using the effect residual of P accumulated in
the soil. However, the availability of P in the soils
has to be above the critic level (> 8 mg P-M1 dm-3
soil). Thus, the long-term recovery of P added in
fertilizers should be considered as part of the efficiency of P use from these sources, and this has
not been recognized adequately, mainly under zero
tillage soil management. In this research there is
no evidence that the use of brachiaria intercropping
with corn can to optimize the use of residual phosphorus. The research still on going, using the crop
system corn intercropping with brachiaria cultivated
after soybean, under zero tillage soil management.
Keywords: Cerrado region, water-soluble P fertiliz-
370
ers, P residual, corn hybrids, zero tillage, crop-livestock integration.
das. Relatrio Tcnico Anual do Centro Nacional

de Pesquisa de Milho e Sorgo 1992-1993.
Sete Lagoas: EMBRAPA/CNPMS. v. 6, 1994. p. 40-42.
References
GOEDERT, W.J. Management of Cerrado Soils of

Brazil: a review. Journal of Soil Science, 34: 405
- 428, 1983.
COELHO, A.M.; PARENTONI, S. N.; GAMA, E. E.

G. E.; SCHAFFERT, R. E. Planning of test areas
based on soil spatial variability to evaluate abiotic
stresses in crops. In: From Partnership to Community: The Arc of Change in the CCRP, 2004, Valls,
The Netherlands. The McNight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program, 2004.
GOEDERT, W.J., LOBATO, E. Avaliao agronmica de fosfatos em solo de Cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, 8(1): 97-102, 1984.
SOUSA, D.M.G. de; LOBATO, E. (Ed.). Cerrado:
correo do solo e adubao. 2.ed. Braslia, DF:
Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica; Planaltina, DF:
Embrapa Cerrados, 2004. 416 p.
COELHO, A.M.; FRANA, G.E. de. Adubao fosfatada na cultura do milho sob condies irrigaTable 1. Soil P analyzes (0.20 m depth)
P levels
P- Mehlich1
Crop System
2003*
-1
2008
2009
-3
------ kg ha ------
----------------------------- mg dm ----------------------------
0 (Low)
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
5.33 0.85
7.25 2.22
6.25 1.89
6.97 2.36
6.05 1.03
218 (Medium)
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
20.50 7.87
9.25 4.50
12.00 6.78
10.10 2.22
10.53 4.07
436 (High)
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
39.70 14.98
31.50 14.48
24.25 14.17
15.08
61
23.86 5.30
23.43 7.37
13.50
42
Average
CV %
31.84
20
*P initial in 2003 determined in soil samples taken four months after triple superphosphate has been applied.
Table 2. Corn grain yield adjusted to standard moisture.

P levels
kg ha
Means
Hybrids
Average
CV %
Corn Grain yields
Hybrids
-1
0
(Low)
218
(Medium)
436
(High)
0 (low)
218 (medium)
436 (high)
Means
Crop System
(1)
Crop
system
2008
t ha
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
Means P levels
Corn
Corn + brachiaria
BRS1010
P30F35
DKB390/350
BRS3060
-1
6.21
4.41
6.57
5.88
6.99
6.69
5.31a
6.23a
6.84a
6.59a
5.66b
5.09b
6.98a
6.90a
5.55b
6.13
23
2009
%
(1)
100
100
106
133
113
152
100
117
129
100
86
83
114
113
91
100
t ha
-1
4.87
5.68
6.72
6.97
6.57
7.13
5.28b
6.85a
6.85a
6.06a
6.60a
5.81b
7.25a
6.16b
6.07b
6.33
18
Values in percent are related to the treatment control and for hybrids the average values.
(1)
100
100
138
123
135
126
100
130
130
100
109
92
115
97
96
100
371
77
SOURCES AND LEVELS OF POTASSIUM IN NUTRITION AND

INITIAL GROWTH OF MAHOGANY
JOS ZILTON LOPES SANTOS1; MATHEUS DA SILVA FERREIRA2; TAINAH MANUELA BENLOLO
BARBOSA3; JAISSON MIYOSI OKA4; ARNON AFONSO CARDOSO5
Professor of Department of Agricultural Engineering and Soils, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, zip code: 69077-000,
Amazonas, Brazil, (ziltonlopes@ufam.edu.br); 2 Scientific Initiation in agronomic engineering Federal University of Amazonas,
Manaus, zip code: 69077-000 Amazonas, Brazil, (matheus3ferreira@gmail.com); 3 PhD student in College of Agricultural Sciences,
Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, zip code: 69077-000 Amazonas, Brazil (tainahbenlolo@hotmail.com; jaisson.m.ok@
hotmail.com); 5 Marters student in soil science Luiz de Queiroz college of Agriculture (arnon.asc@gmail.com)
1,4
Introduction

Most Brazilian soils have low levels of potassium (K), especially Oxisols and Ultisols (VINICIUS et al., 2010) and the fertilization with K is
essential practice that is increasing every day. Because the potassium plays important roles in plant
such as activation of various enzymes (MATHUIS,
2009).Nevertheless there is need to optimize the
factors that affecting the agronomic effectiveness
of the sources of this nutrient to maximize the economic return.

Although there is a diversity of K sources
for use in agriculture / forestry, potassium chloride
(KCl) is the main source used in Brazil (95%) and
world (VINICIUS et al., 2010).This source has 47%
of chlorine (Cl) in composition. Although Cl is an essential nutrient, the use of routine dose (160 kg ha-1
K2O) as potassium chloride provides the equivalent
to 132.41 kg ha-1Cl to plants. But meta-analysis
studies with Cl in wheat (RUIZ DIAZ et al., 2012),
show that show that doses higher than 68 kg of Cl
ha-1 cause is luxury consumed and decrease the
production of plants, especially those sensitive to
this element or that evolved under low salt content in soil. Furthermore, according to Marschner
(1997), high salinity of fertilizers as KCl compromise the growth and distribution of the plants roots
as well as the absorption of nutrients and water by
plants.

Regarding forest species as MAHOGANY, tree species belongs to family Meliaceae with
high economic importance due to the high quality
of wood (LIMA JNIOR & GALVO, 2005) little is
known about tolerance and sensitivity to Cl, suggesting the need of studies.This study aimed to
compare the effect of different sources and levels
of K in nutritional status and initial growth of mahogany in greenhouse conditions.

The studywas conducted under greenhouse conditions at Manaus, AM, Brazil. Soil samples at 20 - 40 cm layer of a clayey Typic Hapludox
collected were collected 03 06 11 S; 59 58 32
W, 56 m a.sl. This soil showed 60.7 g kg-1 of kaolinite; 12.2 g kg-1 of gibbsite; 2.32 g kg-1 of goethite; 30
% of sand; 30% of silt; 40% of clay ; 30 mg remaining P L-1; 1,5 mg P kg-1; pH in water 4.3; 12 g kg-1 of
soil organic matter; 8 mg K kg-1; 0.1 cmolcCa kg-1,
0.1 cmolc Mg kg-1 extracted by NH4Cl 1M solution;
1.4 cmolc Al kg-1; 8.0 cmolc kg-1 of potential acidity
(H + Al); 0.1 mg Zn kg-1; 220.3 mg Fe kg-1; 0.2 mg
Mn kg-1; 0.2 mg Cu kg-1; 0.2 mg B kg-1 and 59 mg S
kg-1(EMBRAPA, 2009).

randomized in a 2 x 6 factorial design, with four
replicates. Treatments were represented by two K
sources (potassium chloride and potassium sulfate)
and six levels of K (0, 50, 100, 200, 400 e 600 mg
dm-3). Before the treatment application the soil received limed at equivalent rate of 4.1 tons ha-1 of a
mixture of CaCO3 and MgCO3 7H2O pure for analysis (p.a) in stoichiometric ratio Ca:Mg of 4:1, aiming
to increase the bases saturation to 60%. Limed soil
was incubated during 30 days, with soil moisture
kept at 60% of total volume of pores.

After incubation soil was fertilized at following rates: 100 mg of N; 200 mg of P; 40 mg of S; 5
mg of Zn; 1.5 mg of Cu; 3.6 mg of Mn; 0.8 mg of B;
0.15 mg of Mo per kg-1. The sources were pure for
analysis (p.a) and posteriorly the fertilized soil was
incubated during 30 days.

Swietenia macrophyllas seedlings with two
pairs of leaves were transplanted to 4 dm3polyethylene pots without drainage pores filled with the treated soils. Rates of 50 mg N kg-1 were applied on soil
at 25; 50; 75 and 100 days after transplanting.
372

At 120 days after transplanting were evaluated shoot length (SL), stem diameter (SD), shoot
dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), quality
index Dickson (IQD) and nutrient accumulation on
shoots. The dependent variables were: SL, SD,
SDW, RDW, IQD and nutrient accumulation. Data
normality was tested using Shapiro-Walk test (P>
0.05) prior to statistical analysis of dependent variables. Then, the Tukey test (P< 0.05) was used to
compare the effect of different K sources and and
regression to compare the effect of different K levels, using SAEG program.
Results
Nutrients accumulation on leaves tissue

No significant effect of interaction between
potassium sources and levels as well as isolated

potassium sources and levels factors on shoot N,
P and Fe accumulation of Swietenia macrophyllas
seedlings were observed (data not shown).

Significant interaction was observed only to
shoot Zn accumulation, however only in KCl source
the Zn accumulation fitted to a quadratic regression
model (Figure 1e). To K and Mn accumulation only
dose factor effect of data showed a curvilinear relationship (Figure 1a and d). On the other hand, the
calcium accumulation reduced linearly with increasing soil potassium content. (Figure 1b) and finally
the shoot Mg accumulation fitted to a unconventional cubic regression model (figure 1c).
Plants growth

The interaction between potassium sources and levels and isoladed potassium sources and
levels factors did not have any effect on growth
variables SL, SD, SDW, RDW and IQD (data not
shown).
Discussion
Nutrients accumulation on leaves tissue

In spite of K status soil in soil influence K
uptake by plant roots and accumulation in shoots
(Figure 1a), do not observed a high response to
uptake of N, P e Fe. Positive effects (ZHOU et al.
2003), no effects (SHEHU et al. 2010) and negative effects on absorption N by supplying of K, has
been observed in previous studies.In current study,
the low absorption of these elements in function of
supply of K is possibly related the little demand of

species in the seedling stage.

On the other hand, the greater availability
of K in soil provided agreater absorption of the K
and Mn (Figure 1a and d), however, the positive
effect was only observed until the dose of 400
mg dm-3 of K soil. Similar results have been observed in previous studies (Shehu et al 2010.).Is
important to note that the greater absorption of
manganese was more significant at source KCl,
possibly due to increase in transport of Mn by
ion-pair MnCl2.

Although the Mg fitted to the unconventional
cubic regression model (Figure 1c), in lower doses
of K the behaved was similar to Ca, showing that
the largest K levels result in depression of Shoot Ca
and Mg content. This Behavior also was observed
by Farhat et al. (2013) in safflowers plants and
Brataevec et al., 2013 in grapes, probably due to
the antagonistic effect between elements.

In general mineral analyzes showed that
major cation in nutrition was no disturbed by KCl,
suggesting that despite the species occur in highly
drained soil is not sensitive to Cl possibly due to low
absorption by plants.
Plants growth

Despite the greater accumulation of K in
the shoots, no growth variable differed significantly in function of treatments. This low growth of the
species in the presence of high concentration in
the shoot mahogany confirms a luxury consumption
of this nutrient. Little influence of different K sources
and levels in biometric parameters of forest species has been reported in the literature (Silva et al.
1997).

This low requirement must be related to the
fact that it belongs to climax successional group,
characterized by low growth and nutritional requirement.This Behavior was confirmed by Vigas et
al. (2012) however other research (Wallauet et al.
2008) observed that K was secund nutrient that
more limited the production of total dry matter of
mahogany seedlings. Despite the low response of
the species to the supply of K, the better understanding of nutrient interactions will be useful in the
nutritional management of the species in the initial
growth phase.
Conclusions
VIGAS, I. de J. M.; LOBATO, A. K. da S.; RODRIGUES, M. F. da S.; CUNHA, R. L. M. da; FRAZO,

D. A. C.; OLIVEIRA NETO, C. F. de; CONCEIO,
H. E. O. da; GUEDES, E. M. S.; ALVES, G. A. R.;
SILVA, S. P. da. Visual
symptoms and growth parameters linked to deficiency of macronutrients in

young Swietenia macrophylla plants. Journal of
Food, Agriculture & Environment (2012) Vol.10
(1): 937-940.

Sources and levels of potassium influence
the nutritional status but do not affect the initial
growth of mahogany.
Keywords: Sulfate, nutrient absorption, forest species
References
MATHUIS, F.J.M.Physiological functions of mineral
macronutrients. Current Opinion in Plant Biology
(2009), 12:250258.
WALLAU, R. L. R. de; BORGES, A. R.; ALMEIDA,

D. R. de; CAMARGOS, S. L. Sintomas de deficincias nutricionais em mudas de mogno cultivadas
em soluo nutritiva. Cerne (2008). Lavras, v. 14,
n. 4,p. 304 310.
RUIZ DIAZ, D.A.; MENGEL, D.B.; LAMOND,

R.E.;DUNCAN, S.R.;WHITNEY, D.A.;MAXWELL,
T.M.Meta-analysis of Winter Wheat Response to
Chloride Fertilization in Kansas. Communications
(2012) 43:2437-2447.
20
18
18
16
16
14
14
CCa (g kg-1)
CK (g kg-1)
20
12
10
8
6
12
10
8
6
Y = 9,118 + 0,038x - 0,4*10-4X2
R2 = 0,76
3,5
Y = 17, 177 - 0,004x
3,0
2,5
2,5
2,0
1,5
R2 = 0,56
3,5
3,0
CMn (mg kg-1)
CMg (g kg-1)
373
2,0
1,5
1,0
1,0
0,5
0,5
Y = 2,876 + 0,003X - 0,2*10-3 X2 + 0,000X3
Y = 1,737 + 0,007X - 0,9*10-5 X2
R2 = 0,69
R2 = 0,70
0,0
0,0
100
200
300
400
500
600
K (mg Kg-1)
CZn (mg kg-1)
KCl - 4,082 - 0,011X + 0,18*10-4X2
R2 = 0,72
K2SO4 - without adjustment model
0
0
100
200
300
K (mg Kg-1)
400
500
600
Figure 1. Shoot K content (CK) (a),

Shoot Ca content (CCa) (b), Shoot Mg
content (CMg) (c), Shoot Mn content
(CMn) (d), Shoot Zn content (CZn) (e)
of Swietenia macrophyllain response to
potassium sources and levels, after 120
days in a greenhouse condition
374

78
N AND CHOROPHYLL CONTENT IN Swietenia macrophylla IN FUNCTION

OF NITROGEN SOURCES AND LEVELS
TAINAH MANUELA BENLOLO BARBOSA1, JOS ZILTON LOPES SANTOS2, MATHEUS DA SILVA
FERREIRA3, JAISSON MIYOSI OKA4, ARNON AFONSO DE SOUZA CARDOSO5
1,4
PhD studentin College of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, zip code: 69077-000, Amazonas,
Brazil (tainahbenlolo@hotmail.com; jaisson.m.ok@hotmail.com); 2 Professor of Department of Agricultural Engineering and Soils,
Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, zip code: 69077-000, Amazonas, Brazil (ziltonlopes@ufam.edu.br); 3 Scientific Initiation
in agronomic engineering Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, zip code: 69077-000, Amazonas, Brazil, (matheus3ferreira@
gmail.com); 5 Masters Student in soil science - Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (arnon.asc@gmail.com).
Introduction

Nitrogen (N) is one important element in
plant nutrition because it is used in the synthesis

of chlorophyll, which participates in photosynthesis.
Plant species have different preferences regarding the requirement N forms. In general the plants
can be classified into four groups: plants with preference to N-NH4 +; plants with a preference to
N-NO3-; same preference to N-NH4+ and N-NO3and combined use of the two forms Li et al. (2013).

According Zhou et al. (2011) is necessary to
know both amount and the source to be provided to
a given species, due to their effects on growth, photosynthesis and preferred forms by species nitrate
(N-NO3-) and / or ammonium (N-NH4+). Regarding
Amazonian forest species, the mahogany its wood
have high quality and value in international market,
nevertheless the knowledge about the nutritional
management of N fertilization is insipient. Thus, this
research with N sources and levels can contribute
to increase the yield and wood quality this species. This work investigated the effects of different
N sources and levels on the N and chlorophyll content using the destructive method and SPAD-502
readings in mognos shoots under greenhouse conditions.

The study was conducted under greenhouse conditions at Manaus, AM, Brazil. Soil samples at 20 - 40 cm layer of a clayey Typic Hapludox
collected were collected 03 06 11 S; 59 58 32
W, 56 m a.sl. This soil showed 60.7 g kg-1 of kaolinite; 12.2 g kg-1 of gibbsite; 2.32 g kg-1 of goethite; 30
% of sand; 30% of silt; 40% of clay ; 30 mg remaining P L-1; 1,5 mg P kg-1; pH in water 4.3; 12 g kg-1 of
soil organic matter; 8 mg K kg-1; 0.1 cmolc Ca kg-1,
0.1 cmolc Mg kg-1 extracted by NH4Cl 1M solution;
1.4 cmolc Al kg-1; 8.0 cmolc kg-1 of potential acidity
(H + Al); 0.1 mg Zn kg-1; 220.3 mg Fe kg-1; 0.2 mg

Mn kg-1; 0.2 mg Cu kg-1; 0.2 mg B kg-1 and 59 mg S
kg-1 (EMBRAPA, 2009).

randomized in a 2 x 6 factorial design, with four
replicates. Treatments were represented by two N
sources (calcium nitrate and ammonium sulfate) an
six levels of N (0; 50; 100;150; 200 and 400 mg dm3
). Before the treatment application the soil received
limed at equivalent rate of 4.1 tons ha-1 of a mixture
of CaCO3 and MgCO3 7H2O pure for analysis (p.a)
in stoichiometric ratio Ca:Mg of 4:1, aiming to increase the bases saturation to 60%. Limed soil was
incubated during 30 days, with soil moisture kept at
60% of total volume of pores. After incubation soil
was fertilized at following rates: 100 mg of K; 455
mg of P; 40 mg of S; 5 mg of Zn; 1.5 mg of Cu; 3.6
mg of Mn; 0.8 mg of B; 0.15 mg of Mo per kg-1. The
sources were pure for analysis (p.a) and posteriorly
the fertilized soil was incubated during 30 days.

Swietenia macrophyllas seedlings with two
pairs of leaves were transplanted to 4 dm3 polyethylene pots without drainage pores filled with the
treated soils. Rates of 100 mg K kg-1 were applied
on soil at 30 and 60 days after transplanting. At 180
days after transplanting were evaluated chlorophyll
content in leaf (Chl) by destructive method, reading
of chlorophyll content with minolta chlorophyll brand
(model spad-502) (SPAD) and N content (N) in the
leaf.

The dependent variables were: Chl, SPAD
and N. Data normality was
tested
using Shapiro-Wilk test (P > 0.05) prior to statistical analysis of
dependent variables. Then, the Tukey test (P <
0.05) was used to compare the effect of different
N sources, regression analyzes to compare the
effect of different N levels and Pearson correlation
analysis between the characteristics evaluated, using SAEG program version 9.1.
Results

Effect of N sources and levels on N content, chlorophyll content and SPAD reading

There was interaction between nitrogen
sources and levels only to N content (Figure 1)
but here was isolated effect of nitrogen sources
on chlorophyll content (Table 1) and and levels on
chlorophyll and SPAD reading (Figure 1). In relation to N content the calcium nitrate source fitted
to a quadratic regression model the and there was
a positive effect only until approximately to 300 mg
of N kg-1 soil following by depression of N content
in the higher level. On the other hand the N content increased linearly in Ammonium sulfate source
(Figure 1). Higher chorophyll by destructive method
in mohogany leaves was observed in ammonium
sulfate source whereas the SPAD reading there
wasnt affected by nitrogen sources (Table 1).

Regarding the effect of N levels the results
showed a curvilinear relationship between chlorophyll content and SPAD reading in function of soil N
concentration (Figure 1b and c). Showing a positive effect only until approximately to 300 mg of N
kg-1 soil following by depression of N content in the
higher level . Behavior identical to observed for the
effect of n levels on n content leaf in source nitrate
calcium (Figure 1a).
Relationships between N content, chlorophyll content an SPAD readings

In both N sources the variables evaluated
showed high correlation coefficient among them
selves (Table 2). In general the ammonium sulfate presented higher correlation coefficients when
compared to calcium nitrate source (Table 2).
375
1) indicate that this species prefer N-NH4 to N-NO3.

this behavior may be related to adapted of mahogany to acid soils conditions, where N-NH4 is the
predominant form (bartelheimer & poschlod, 2014).
Marques et al. (2006) testing different sources of nitrogen (NH4NO3, (NH4) 2SO4] and Ca (NO3) 2) in
Dalbergia nigra found better answers to ammonium
sulfate source.
Relationships between N content, chlorophyll content an SPAD readings

The positive correlation between N content and chlorophyll content by destructive method
(Table 2) can be attributed mainly to the fact that
50-70% of the total N of the plants leaves is an
integral part of enzymes that are associated with
chloroplasts (ARGENTA et al., 2001). On the other
hand the correlation observed between SPAD readings and chlorophyll by destructive method show
that chlorophyll meter can be used to estimates
the chlorofill content and nutritional status of N in
plants. Higher SPAD readings in leaves of Amazonian forest species that had a higher N content in
the leaves, was observed by Mendes & Marenco
(2013).
Conclusion

Sources and levels of N affect N and chlorophyll content, whilte the SPAD readings is influenced only by N levels. The ammonium sulfate
source should be preferred in the initial cultivation
of mahogany and the chlorophyll meter SPAD is
reliable to estimate the chorophill content in mahogany leaves.
Keywords: nitrate, ammonium, SPAD-502 readings
Discussion
Effect of n sources and levels on n content, chlorophyll content and spad reading

The higher n content found mahogany
leaves in ammonium sulfate can be explained by
the fact that the nutrient in this source demand less
energy to absorption processes, transport, reduction and assimilation of n (ZHOU et al., 2011), result that confirms the relation in n status in plant
and chlorophyll content (Table 2). furthermore the
higher higher of chlorophyll content obtained in ammonium sulfate compared to calcium nitrate (Table
References
ARGENTA, G.; SILVA, P. R. F. da; BORTOLINI, C.
G. Clorofila na folha como indicador do nvel de
nitrognio em cereais. Cincia Rural, Santa Maria,
v.31, n.4, p.715-722, 2001.
EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE PESQUISA AGROPECURIA. Manual de anlises qumicas de
solos, plantas e fertilizantes. 2ed, rev. e ampl.
Braslia: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2009.
627p.
376
LI, S.X.; WANG, Z.H.; STEWART, B.A. Responses

of Crop Plants to Ammonium and Nitrate N. Advances in Agronomy, 118:205-397, 2013.
MARQUES, Vanderleia Braga et al. Efeito de fontes
e doses de nitrognio sobre o crescimento inicial e
qualidade de mudas de jacarand-da-bahia (Dalbergia nigra (Vell.) Fr. All. ex Benth.). Rev. rvore.
2006, vol.30, n.5, pp. 725-735.
MENDES, K. R.; MARENCO, R. A. & MAGALHAES,

N. dos S. Crescimento e eficincia fotossinttica de
uso do nitrognio e fsforo em espcies florestais
da Amaznia na fase juvenil. rvore. 2013, vol.37,
n.4, pp. 707-716.
ZHOU, Y.; ZHANG, Y.; WANG, X.; CUI, J.; XIA, X.;
SHI, K.; YU, J. Effects of nitrogen form on growth,
CO2 assimilation, chlorophyll fluorescence, and photosynthetic elctron allocation in cucumber and rice
plants. Biomed & Biotechnol. 2011 12(2):126-134.
Table 1. Chlorophyll content and SPAD reading in mahogany leaves in response to nitrogen sources and levels, after
180 days in a greenhouse condition.
Chl
-1
mol plant
292,38 a
N sources
Ammonium sulfate
Calcium nitrate
CV (%)
SPAD
27,38
259,20 b
27,09
21,63
15,07
C.V.: coefficient of variation. Different letters on columns mean significant difference at P < 0.05 according
to the Tukey test.
Table 2. Correlation coefficients among N content, chlorophyll content and SPAD reading in mahogany leaves in
function to nitrogen sources and levels, after 180 days in a greenhouse condition.
Nitrogen sources
-------- Ammonium sulfate -------N content
---------- Calcium nitrate ----------
N conten
Chl
SPAD
N content
Chl
SPAD
---
0,91*
1,00*
---
0,85*
0,90*
0,86*
0,85*
Chl
0,91*
SPAD
0,86*
0,86*
*: significant difference P < 0.05 (Tukey test).
0,90*
0,83*
0,83*
15
10
5
-4
NC - Y = 6,009 + 0,063X - 0,95*10 X

SA - Y = 7,475 + 0,274X
500
R = 0,95
Clorophyll (mol plant-1)
N content (g plant-1)
20
400
300
200
100
Y = 66,183 + 2, 372X - 0,373*10
R = 0,93
377
-2
X2
R = 0,99
0
0
100
200
300
400
N (mg Kg-1)
SPAD Reading (mol plant-1)
40
30
20
10
Y = 12,332 + 0,174X - 0,285*10-3 X2 R2 = 0,96

0
0
100
200
300
400
N (mg Kg-1)
Figure 1. N content (a), chlorophyll content (b) and SPAD reading(c) in mahogany leaves in response to nitrogen sources and levels,
after 180 days in a greenhouse condition
378

79
PHOSPHORUS UTILIZATION EFFICIENCY IN MAIZE FERTILIZED WITH

POLYMER-COATED PHOSPHATE OR CONVENTIONAL PHOSPHATE
ADILSON PEL1, ROGRIO NUNES GONALVES1, FABER DE SOUZA PEREIRA1, SIHLIO JLIO
SILVA CRUZ1
1
Universidade Estadual de Gois - Unidade Universitria de Ipameri. Ipameri-GO. Post Code: 75780-000. BRAZIL.
(adilson.pela@ueg.br, rogerionunes_mvp@yahoo.com.br, faberfla@hotmail.com, sihelio@agronomo.eng.br)
Introduction

One of the determining variables in obtaining high yields in maize (Zea mays L.) is the supply
of nutrients, among which stands out the phosphorus (P). The plant P is essential for photosynthesis, respiration and energy transfer (MALAVOLTA,
2006). In general, the soils of tropical regions are
characterized by high degree of weathering and the
low levels of P in the form available to plants (NOVAIS & SMYTH, 1999).

To improve the efficiency of fertilization
practice, it becomes necessary to use sources
which may provide more slowly P, minimizing fixation procedures and favoring their absorption by
plants (NOVAIS & SMYTH, 1999) and finds among
them is the encapsulation polymer gradual release.
With the adoption of this technology seeks to reduce
losses by adsorption, surface runoff and leaching
through the gradual release of the element, causing the applied nutrient becomes more available to
plants (SHAVIV, 2001).

This study was carried out to evaluate the
effect of sources of Monoammonium Phosphate
with polymer-coated (MAP-P) or conventional Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP-C), on phosphorus
utilization efficiency in maize plants at 30 days after
emergence.
Methods

The experiment was carried out under
greenhouse conditions in Universidade Estadual
de Gois (UEG) - Ipameri, State of Gois, Brazil.
For maize cultivation, a portion of soil was taken
from a 0-20 cm layer of a Red - Yellow Oxisol
with 300 g kg1, 60 g kg1and 640 g kg1of clay,
silt and sand, respectively. The chemical analysis showed: pH (CaCl2) = 4.4; base saturation =
28%; CTC (pH 7.0) = 5.8; organic matter = 17.0 g
dm-3; P (Mel.) = 1.5 mg dm-3; S = 2,8 mg dm-3;
K, Ca e Mg de: 0.22, 0.8 e 0.6 cmolc dm-3. Dol-
omitic lime (CaO: 26%, MgO: 14%; ECC: 92%)

was applied to raise base saturation up to 60%.
After liming, the soil remained for 30 days inside
plastic bags with moisture content close to the
field capacity. The experimental design was the
completely randomized, analyzed as a factorial 2
5, with three replications. Treatments consisted of Monoammonium Phosphate with polymercoated (MAP-P) or conventional Monoammonium
Phosphate (MAP-C) combined with 0, 50, 100,
150 and 200 mg dm3of P2O5, applied at sowing. Each pot received a fertilization with 120, fertilized with 120 mg dm3of K (KCl) and 120 mg
dm3 of N (urea), complementing the N supplied
with the MAP.

Six maize seeds were sown in each 5-L pot.
Soil water content was kept close to 60% of field
capacity. Seven days after emergence, seedlings
were thinned down to three per pot. The experiment was harvested 30 days after plant emergence
(DAE). The plants of each plot were separated into
above-ground parts and roots. The above-ground
parts were cut at ground level and the soil was separated from the roots using a 2-mm mesh sieve and
washed to remove soil that still remained adhered
to them. The above-ground parts and roots plants
were dried in a forced air circulation oven at 65C
for 48 h before weighing.

The analysis of the amount of P in the dry
matter of the plant was carried out according to
the methodology described by EMBRAPA (2009).
The utilization efficiency of P was determined by
the efficiency of nutrient use (EUP) index, given by
the ratio between the production of dry matter and
nutrient content accumulated in the tissues (g MS
mg-1 P).

The data obtained were submitted to analysis of variance (F test), regression analysis and the
treatment means differences were evaluated by the
Tukey Range Test (p = 0.05)
379
Conclusion

The phosphorus content in plants were significantly influenced by both doses as the sources
used. For both sources of P, we observed linear adjustments positive on P amount in dry matter, with
increasing doses applied to the soil (Figure 1a). Until rate of 100 mg P dm-3 of soil, the two sources of
P promoted equal increments the contents of phosphorus in plant. From the dose of 150 mg P dm-3 of
soil, the conventional MAP was more efficient.

In a study on the dynamics of P in soil texture sandy, clayey and silty, MACHADO & SOUZA
(2012) found that the lowest level of available P to
plants is observed at 30 days after the incorporation of fertilizer polymer-coated MAP. Thereafter the
authors observed increases in the availability of P.

The fertilization with polymer-coated MAP
reduced the absorption of P and dry matter production of maize and did not improve the efficiency of
use of P.
This could explain the smaller P uptake by maize

plants observed in this study, when using polymerscoated MAP (Figure 1a).

The dry matter produced by maize until 30
DAE varied with the source of P, where the conventional source MAP was more efficient than the polymer-coated MAP. The data were adjusted linearly
indicating that the doses tested in the two sources
were not sufficient to meet the demand of the plants
(Figure 1b).

No differences were observed in the efficiency of P utilization between the sources and
rates of P applied to the soil (Figure 2). No differences were observed in the efficiency of P utilization between the sources and rates of P applied to
the soil. However, there was reduction in EUP with
increasing doses. These results agree with those
obtained by GILL et al. (1992) and CIARELLI et al.
(1998) observed that reduction in corn P utilization
efficiency with increasing dose.

According to MACHADO et al. (2001), the
efficiency of fertilizer depends not only on the sources or doses to be applied. Other factors should be
considered, as an example, the cultivar that a variation in the efficiency indices of P utilization for both
trials conducted in nutrient solution as for tests conducted in the field.
Keywords: Zea mays L., Monoammonium Phosphate, P - fixation
References
BARRETO, A,C; FERNANDES, M.F. Yield and
phosphorus uptake by corn plants as affected by
rates and methods of application of phosphate fertilizer in a coastal plain soil (1). Brazilian Journal of
Soil Science, v. 26, p.151-156, 2002.
CRUZ, S.J.S; OLIVEIRA, S.S.C; CRUZ, S.C.S;
MACHADO, C.G; PEREIRA, R.G. Phosphate fertilizer for cultivation of sorghum. Caatinga Journal,
v.22, n.1, p.91-97, 2009.
NOVAIS, R.F.; SMYTH, T.J. Phosphorus in soil and
plant in tropical conditions. Universidade Federal
de Viosa, Viosa, MG. 1999. 399p.
MACHADO, V.J; SOUZA, C.H.E. Phosphorus availability in soils with different textures after applying
increasing doses of monoammonium phosphate
slow release. Bioscience Journal, v. 28, supplement
1, p. 1-7, 2012.
MACHADO, C.T.T; FURLANI, A.M.C; MACHADO,
A.T. Efficiency rates of local and improved varieties of maize to phosphorus (1). Bragantia Journal,
n.60, v. 3, p.225-238, 2001.
MALAVOLTA, E. Manual of plant mineral nutrition.
Piracicaba: Editora Ceres, 2006. 631p.
SHAVIV, A. Advances in controlled-release fertilizers. Advances in Agronomy, v.71, p.1-49, 2001.
SILVA, C da. Manual of chemical analysis of soils,
plants and fertilizers. 2 ed. Extended review, Braslia, DF: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica, 2009.
380
a)
b)
Conventional MAP
30
Conventional MAP
Polymer-coated MAP
R2 = 0,77
R2 = 0,88
25
20
15
10
5
Polyner-coated MAP
y = 0,0595x + 0,356
R2 = 0,87
16
y = 0,0527x + 0,19
y = 0,1309x - 0,434
Dry matter, g per plant
P amount, mg per plant
35
14
y = 0,0244x + 0,386
R2 = 0,77
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
0
50
100
150
200
50
100
150
200
P Rate, mg dm-3
P Rate, mg dm-3
Figure 1. P Contents (a) and dry matter (b) by maize plants at 30 days after emergence fertilized with polymer-coated MAP or
conventional MAP.
Conventional MAP
y = -0,0014x + 0,714
EUP, g D.M. mg P
-1
Polymer-coated MAP
y = -0,0018x + 0,774
R2 = 0,78
0,8
R2 = 0,59
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
0
50
100
150
-3
P ratio, mg dm
200
Figure 2. Phosphorus utilization efficiency (EUP) by maize

plants at 30 days after emergence fertilized with polymer-coated
MAP or conventional MAP.
381
80
AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF FERTILIZATION WITH POLYMER-COATED

PHOSPHATE ON IRRIGATED CAMMOM BEAN
GLUCIA DE MELLO PEL1, RENAN CESAR DIAS DA SILVA1, ADILSON PEL1, MARCO ANTNIO
MOREIRA PEREIRA1, LINCON RAFAEL DA SILVA1
1
Universidade Estadual de Gois - Unidade Universitria de Ipameri. Ipameri-GO. Post Code: 75780-000. BRAZIL.
(glauciapela@gmail.com - tasdcr@hotmail.com adilson.pela@ueg.br - marcopereira@agronomo.eng.br)
Introduction
Methods

Brazil is today the largest producer and
consumer of beans. But the average Brazilian is
far below the crop yield potential. Insufficient fertilizer and often with low efficiency are considered
the main barriers to achieving higher levels of productivity.

Phosphorus is critical for plant growth, and
a nutrient that most contribute to the productivity of
bean. Its used in several metabolic processes such
as photosynthesis, respiration, ionic absorption, cell
division, and biosynthesis. Its also a component of
structural phospholipids, nucleic acids, coenzymes,
and phosphoproteins (KIMANI & DERERA, 2009).
The adequate supply of P is essential from the early
stages of plant growth. Its influence on bean is an
increased production of dry matter of shoots, increasing the number of pods and grain yield, these
being the main determinants of productivity (FAGERIA et al., 2003).

Tropical soils such as those in Brazil have
low phosphorus availability due to high fixation potential by oxides of iron and aluminum, especially
under acidic conditions (RAIJ, 1991). This strong
interaction with the soil is why P is applied at the
highest rates to crops in tropical areas.

The experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of Universidade Estadual de Gois
(UEG) Ipameri, Gois State, Brazil (174320S and
480944W). The soil of the area was classified
as dystrophic Oxisol, with pH (H2O) = 5.8; organic
matter = 46 g kg-1, Ca = 1.9 cmolcdm-3, Mg = 0.5
cmolcdm-3, P (Mehlich-1) = 5.53 mg dm-3, K = 130
mg dm-3, 300, 100 and 600 g kg-1 clay, silt and sand
respectively. The soil preparation was done with
disk plowing and twice levelling harrow.

This field experiment was conducted with a
randomized complete block design of six treatments
and three replicates. Five doses of polymer-coated
phosphate (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1 P2O5), plus
a control corresponding the 90 kg ha-1 P2O5 with
a conventional source (totally acidified phosphate)
based on the analysis soil and recommendations
for the technological level NT3 described in Chagas
et al. (1999). The planting fertilization with N and
K was calculated on soil analysis, using urea and
chloride potassium, totaling 100 kg ha-1 N and 100
kg ha-1 K2O. Each plot was 3.0 x 3.0 m in size with
six rows spaced at 0.5 m. On each side was eliminated 0.5 m to avoid edge effects.

The control of pests and diseases was per-

An alternative to increasing the efficiency
of phosphate fertilizer is the use of slow release
fertilizers, which imply a gradual availability of phosphorus. In slow-release fertilizers, nutrients are encapsulated by resin and released slowly providing
continuous availability of these elements to plants.
This coating reduces loss P-fixation, which increases the uptake of this component, thus increasing
the yield. However, these fertilizers have a higher
cost, and the feasibility of its use is restricted to its
efficiency relative to conventional fertilizers.

The objective of this research study was to
evaluate the grain yield and the relative agronomic
efficiency of fertilizer with phosphorus polymerized
in irrigated common bean.
formed according to the conventional recommendations. The control of weeds was performed manuallly using hoes. A sprinkler irrigation system with
a water depth of 12 mm each 48 hors was used to
irrigate the plants.

At harvest the following parameters were
evaluated: number of legumes per plant; number
of grains per legume; weight of hundred grains;
grain yield, with moisture corrected to 13%.
Agronomic Efficiency Index (AEI), that corresponds
to the production difference (%) with polymercoated phosphate of compared to conventional
phosphate fertilizer, was obtained by the following
equation, adapted RAIJ (1991): AEI= (Y2 Y0)/(Y1Y0)x100, where: Y0 = production obtained without
382
phosphorus, Y1 = production in control (conventional phosphate fertilizer), Y2 = estimated production with the same dose of control, with the polymer-coated phosphate. The data were subjected
to analysis of variance (p< 0.05)., and regression
analysis using statistical software SISVAR.

The number of legume per plant increased
significantly with doses of polymer-coated phosphate with significant linear fit (p 0.05). The number of legumes per plant was 8.6 at the highest
dose, and only 5.14 without P fertilization (Figure
1a). This represents an increase of 67% and with
potential response to higher dose of P. According
FAGERIA et al. (2003), P participates in various
physiological and biochemical processes in plants,
influencing the number of pods per plant. The number of grains per legume showed a significant linear
fit (p 0.05). With dose of 120 kg ha-1 of polymercoated phosphate provided the maximum number
of 5.8 grains per legume (Figure 1b) . The control
treatment produced 5.14 grains per legume.

The weight of hundred grains of beans
showed significant quadratic fit to (p 0.05). The
maximum value obtained with this variable was
32.1 g, with the estimated of 86 kg ha-1 P2O5 using polymer-coated phosphate (Figure 2a). This
value was slightly higher dry weight of 100 grains
obtained on control 31.29 g.

The grain yield of beans showed significant
quadratic fit (p 0.05). The estimated maximum
yield was 2897 kg ha-1 at the rate of 118 kg ha-1
P2O5, 31% higher than that obtained in the control
treatment (Figure 2b). According fertilizer recommendations described in CHAGAS et al. (1999), to
bean cultivated with the technological level (NT3),
the expected grain yield is 1800-2500 kg ha-1. In
the control treatment, the yield was 2517 kg ha-1, as
expected for the (NT3). This is due to the fact that
for the (NT4) are higher rate of fertilizers required, it
was done with phosphorus. The AEI was 117.4, indicating that the use of polymer-coated phosphate
match the increase in productivity relative at fertilization without phosphorus was 17.4% higher than
the conventional phosphate fertilizer.

According to BASTOS et al. (2010), the rate
of phosphorus in the soil is increased, there is an in-
crease of the diffusion coefficient of the element due

to progressive saturation of the adsorption surface,
resulting in a greater concentration of P in shoots, reflecting better supply of nutrients for plants and better response to fertilization. This element is directly
related to the growth of roots, fruit ripening, formation
of grains, fruits and fiber and plant vigor, it may reflect
the productivity (VITTI et al., 2004).
Conclusion

The highest grain yield was obtained with
the estimated rate of 118 kg ha-1 P2O5 using polymer-coated phosphate.

The agronomic efficiency of polymer-coated phosphate used in fertilization of bean was higher than the conventional phosphate fertilizer.
Keywords: Phaseolus vulgaris, slow release fertilizers, phosphorus fixation, agronomic efficiency.
References
BASTOS, A.L., JOS P.V. da Costa.; IVANDRO de
F. da Silva; ROBERTO, W.C.; RAPOSO, FRANCISCO, de A. Oliveira; ABEL, W. de Albuquerque.
Resposta do milho a doses de fsforo. Revista
Brasileira de Engenharia Agrcola e Ambiental,
Campina Grande, v.14, n.5, 2010. p.485-491.
CHAGAS, J.M.; BRAGAS, J.M.; VIEIRA,C.;
SALGADO,L.T.; NETO,A.J.; ARAUJO,G.A.A.; ANDRADE, M.J.B.; QUINTO LANA, R.N.; RIBEIRO,
A.C. Feijo. In: RIBEIRO, A.C.; GUIMARES,P.T.G.;
ALVAREZ V.,V.H. Recomendaes para uso de
corretivos e fertilizantes em Minas Gerais. CFSEEMG, Viosa 1999. p. 306-307.
FAGERIA, N.K.; BARBOSA FILHO, M.P.; STONE,
L.F. Resposta do feijoeiro a adubao fosfatada.
In: POTAFS. Simpsio destaca a essencialidade
do fsforo na agricultura brasileira. Informaes
Agronmicas, Piracicaba, n.102, 2003. p.1-9.
KIMANI, J.M.; DERERA, J. Combining ability analysis across environments for some traits in dry bean
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under low and high soil
phosphorus conditions. Euphytica, v.166, 2009.
p.1-13.
RAIJ, B.van. Fertilidade do solo e adubao. So
Paulo: Ceres, 1991, 344p.
383
VITTI, G.C.; WIT, A.; FERNADES, B.E.P. Eficincia agronmica dos termofosfatos e fosfatos reativos naturais. In: SIMPSIO SOBRE FSFORO
NA AGRICULTURA BRSASILEIRA, Piracicaba.
Anais...POTAFS, 2004, p. 690-694.
a)
b)
8,0
8,0
Grains per legume
Legume per plant
10,0
6,0
4,0
= 0,0289x + 5,1572
R2 = 0,94*
2,0
0,0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
6,0
4,0
y = 0,0135x + 4,34
R2 = 0,96*
2,0
0,0
140
Rate, kg ha-1 de P2O5
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Figure 1. Model adjusted for: a) number of legume per plant; b) number of grains per legume of bean fertilized with polymer-coated
phosphate
a)
b)
3000,0
32,0
Grains yield , kg ha-1
weight of hundred grains, g
34,0
30,0
28,0
y = -0,0014x2 + 0,2404x + 21,781
26,0
R2 = 0,99*
24,0
22,0
20,0
18,0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
2500,0
2000,0
y = -0,0014x2 + 0,2404x + 21,781
1500,0
R2 = 0,99*
1000,0
500,0
0,0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
-1
Rate, kg ha de P2O5
Figure 2. Model adjusted for: a) weight of hundred grains; b) grains yield bean fertilized with polymer-coated phosphate
140
384

81
ECTOMYCORRHIZAL FUNGI SELECTION IN EUCALYPTS ROOTED

CUTTINGS NURSERY
GOMES, .L.F.1, GRAZZIOTTI, D.C.F.S.2, GRAZZIOTTI, P.H.3, AVELAR, D.C.S.4, ANTUNES, L.A.5;
COSTA, S.S.D.6
Departamento de Engenharia Florestal Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri - UFVJM, Rodovia MGT 367
- Km 583, n 5000 - Alto da Jacuba, Diamantina, MG, 39.100-000, Brasil. (grazziot@yahoo.com.br); 2Instituto de Desenvolvimento
do Norte e Nordeste de Minas Gerais IDENE., Diamantina, MG, 39.100-000, Brasil. (daniagronomia@yahoo.com.br); 3Programa
de Ps Graduao em Produo Vegetal da UFVJM. Rodovia MGT 367 - Km 583, n 5000 - Alto da Jacuba, Diamantina, MG,
39.100-000, Brasil. (alfgomes492@gmail.com); 4 Programa de Ps Graduao em Produo Vegetal da UFVJM. Rodovia MGT
367 - Km 583, n 5000 - Alto da Jacuba, Diamantina, MG, 39.100-000, Brasil. (deborasantosavelar@gmail.com); 5Departamento de
Agronomia UFVJM, Rodovia MGT 367 - Km 583, n 5000 - Alto da Jacuba, Diamantina, MG, 39.100-000, Brasil. (lidia_antunes@
hotmail.com);6 Departamento de Agronomia UFVJM, Rodovia MGT 367 - Km 583, n 5000 - Alto da Jacuba, Diamantina, MG,
39.100-000, Brasil. (sarahdiamantina@yahoo.com.br).
1
Introduction

The ectomycorrhizal fungi inoculation in
eucalypts commercial nursery is a promising biotechnology for commercial eucalypts production in
Brazil, which is usually accomplished in low fertility soils. This study aimed to select Pisolithus sp.
isolates that colonize eucalypts rooted cuttings in a
commercial nursery and that enable rooted cuttings
survival and growth.
Methods
mass of rooted cuttings inoculated with the D216

tended to be 52% greater than that of Control and
1.38 times greater than that of Commercial rooted
cuttings. The highest percentages of colonized root
tips were observed in the rooted cuttings inoculated
with D5 (19.5%), D10 (11.7%) and D216 (10.5%)
isolates for PT3335 and with D63 (10%), D118
(15.3%), D206 (11.7%) and D216 (11.1%) isolates
for PT3336 (Figure 2).
Conclusion

randomized in a 2 x 20 factorial design, as follows:
PT3335 and PT3336 clones, naturals hybrids of
Eucalyptus urophylla (PLANTAR S.A.), inoculated
with 18 Pisolithus sp. isolates and grown in a substrate with reduced phosphate fertilization, and
non-inoculated controls with (Control) and without
(Commercial) reduced phosphate fertilization in the
substrate, with five replications.

D5, D63, D118 and D216 are the most
promising isolates in inoculation programs, because, in addition to the increased colonization,
they also contributed to higher survival rates, height
and shoot dry mass of rooted cuttings.
The UFVJM and PLANTAR S.A. for the infrastructure needed, FAPEMIG for financial support and the
CNPq for granting a scholarships.

The survival of rooted cuttings from both
clones was higher in rooted cuttings inoculated with
D5, D29, D62, D63, D85, D88, D118 and D216. The
survival of PT3335 rooted cuttings inoculated with
D63 was 1.2 times higher than Commercial rooted
cuttings and 1.1 times higher than the Control ones
(Table 1). Inoculation with D5, D15, D16, D62, D63,
D85, D88, D95, D118, D170, D184, D198 and D206
promoted greater rooted cutting height compared
with those of Commercial and Control rooted cuttings (Table 1). Inoculation with most of the isolates
resulted in an shoot dry mass equal to Control rooted cuttings and higher than the Commercial ones
(Figure 1). For the PT3335 clone, the shoot dry
Keywords: mycorrhiza, Eucalyptus, seedling production, Pisolithus.
Acknowledgements
References
ALVES, J.R.; SOUZA, O.; PODLECH, P.A.S.; GIACHINI, A.J.; OLIVEIRA, V.L. Efeito de inoculante
ectomicorrzico produzido por fermentao semislida no crescimento de Eucalyptus dunnii Maiden. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, Braslia,
v.36, n.2, p.307-313, 2001.
BRUNDRETT, M.; BOUGHER, N.L.; DELL, B.;
GROVE, T.; MALAJCZUK, N. Working with mycorrhizas in forestry and agriculture. Canberra:
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Re-
search, 1996. 374p.

CHEN, Y.L.; KANG L.H.; DELL, B. Inoculation of
Eucalyptus urophylla with spores of Scleroderma in
a nursery in south China: comparison of field soil
and potting mix. Forests Ecology and Management, Oxford, n.222, p.439-449, 2006.
FONSECA, A.J. Seleo de isolados de Pisolithus para mudas clonais de eucalipto em
viveiro comercial. Diamantina, 2013. Dissertao
(Mestrado em Produo Vegetal) Faculdade de
Cincias Agrrias, Universidade Federal dos Vales
do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, 2013
385
GARBAYE, J. Utilization des mycorhizes en sylviculture. In: STRULLU, D.G. Les mycorhizes des
arbres et plantes cultives. Paris: Lavoisier,
p.197-250, 1990.
MARX, D.H. The influence of ectotrophic mycorrhyzal fungi on the resistence of pine roost to pathogenic infections I. Antagonismof mycorrhizal to root
pathogenic fungi and soil bacteria. Phytopatology,
Saint Paul, v.59, p.153-163, 1969.
SOUZA, L.A. B.; SILVA FILHO, G.N.; OLIVEIRA,
V.L. Eficincia de fungos ectomicorrzicos na absoro de fsforo e na promoo do crescimento
de eucalipto. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira,
Braslia, v.39, p.349-355, 2004.
Table 1. Survival and height, at 90 days, of rooted cuttings of PT3335 and PT3336, Eucalyptus urophylla natural
clones, inoculated with Pisolithus sp. isolates and non-inoculated with (Control) and without (Commercial) reduction of
phosphate fertilization in the rooted cutiings production substrate from commercial nursery
Isolates
Comnercial
Control
D5
D10
D15
D16
D29
D58
D62
D63
D85
D88
D95
D106
D118
D170
D184
D198
D206
D216
Mean
Survivor (%)
PT3335
PT3336
43.3
66.7
46.7
56.7
73.3
76.7
73.3
56.7
70.0
60.0
66.7
63.3
93.3
76.7
80.0
56.7
86.7
66.7
96.7
66.7
80.0
60.0
70.0
70.0
73.3
53.3
73.3
50.0
83.3
63.3
76.7
50.0
56.7
63.3
66.7
56.7
73.3
60.0
90.0
63.3
73.7 A
61.8 B
Mean
55.0 b
51.7 b
75.0 a
65.0 b
65.0 b
65.0 b
85.0 a
68.3 b
76.7 a
81.7 a
70.0 a
70.0 a
63.3 b
61.7 b
73.3 a
63.3 b
60.0 b
61.7 b
66.7 b
76.7 a
67.8
PT3335
24.8
29.0
29.9
29.6
31.5
32.3
28.1
29.9
31.0
30.3
31.0
30.8
32.0
30.9
30.9
30.1
32.8
31.9
32.2
31.8
30.5 A
Height (cm)
PT3336
23.3
26.6
27.1
26.0
28.0
25.8
25.9
25.8
26.7
27.4
28.1
26.6
27.0
24.1
28.1
27.9
29.3
28.9
25.9
23.5
26.6 B
Mean
1
24.1 c
27.8 b
28.5 a
27.8 b
29.7 a
29.0 a
27.0 b
27.9 b
28.9 a
28.9 a
29.5 a
28.7 a
29.5 a
27.5 b
29.5 a
29.0 a
31.0 a
30.4 a
29.1 a
27.7 b
28.6
Means followed by the same letter in the column do not differ from each other by Scott-Knott test at 5% probability and means
followed by the same capital letter in the line do not differ from each other by t test at 5% significance level.
1/
Dry mass of the aerial part, mg
a
a
a a
a a a a a
a a a a a
a a a
a a
a a a a
a a a a a
a a
a
b b
b
b
1
D
21
6
D
85
D
6
D 3
11
8
D
58
D
D 5
10
6
D
1
D 0
19
D 8
18
4
D
15
D
62
D
20
6
D
9
D 5
17
0
D
16
C D2
on 9
tr
C
ol
om
m D88
er
ci
al
D
6
D 3
21
6
D
15
D
88
C D8
on 5
tr
D ol
19
8
D
95
D
29
D
58
D
62
D
D 5
1
C
om D 70
m 206
er
ci
a
D l
1
D 0
18
D 4
10
D 6
11
8
D
16
PT3335
PT3336
Figure 1. Shoot dry mass, at 90 days, of rooted cuttings of PT3335 and PT3336, Eucalyptus urophylla
natural clones, inoculated with Pisolithus sp. isolates and non-inoculated with (Control) and without
(Commercial) reduction of phosphate fertilization in the rooted cutiings production substrate from
commercial nursery
20
Colonized root tips, %
15
10
b
b
b b b b
b b
c c
c c
c c c
c
b
c c c c
c
c c c
c c
c d
d
d d
D
D5
D 10
21
D6
6
D3
1
D6
2
D9
8
D5
D 15
19
D 8
20
D6
D 88
1
D 84
1
D 06
1
D 70
11
D8
5
C D98
on 5
C
om tro
m D6 l
er 2
ci
al
D
11
D 8
2
D 06
21
D6
D 63
19
D8
D 88
10
D6
2
D9
D 95
1
D 84
17
D0
6
D2
5
D8
16
D
D5
10
C
om D85
D
m 1
e
C rci 5
on al
tr
ol
386
PT3335
PT3336
Figure 2. Colonized root tips of rooted cuttings of PT3335 and PT3336, Eucalyptus urophylla natural clones,
inoculated with Pisolithus sp. isolates and non-inoculated with (Control) and without (Commercial) reduction
of phosphate fertilization in the rooted cutiings production substrate from commercial nursery
387
82
PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF COFFEE CROPS UNDER DIFFERENT

DOSES OF NITROGEN WITH A SPAD METER AND LEAF NITROGEN
VIVIANE A.A. VILELA1, ADEMIR RODRIGO F. V. B. DE L. AMARO1, IGOR MARTINS MORASI1, MARINA
K. MURRER1, PETRA F.G. DE ABREU1, RAFAELA C.R.M. DUARTE1, WALDEMORE MORICONI1, JOS
R.P. GONALVEZ1, LIDIANE C. F. DA SILVA1, ANA PAULA PACKER1*
1
Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Rodovia SP 340, km 127,5, Jaguarina, 13820-000, BRAZIL *(paula.packer@embrapa.br)
Introduction

Agriculture is under pressure to produce
more to feed rising global demands, yet pollute
less. Intensification of agriculture through the use
of high-yielding crop varieties, fertilization, irrigation
and crop protection remain the most likely options
to combat these challenges. The nitrogen (N) is a
nutrient required in greatest quantity, often supplied
so unsatisfactory by soil in agricultural systems, being one of the most limiting nutrients to achieve high
productivity. Brazilian agriculture has increased in
the last years the use of fertilizers, between 2003
and 2013, fertilizer consumption increased from
22.8 million tons to 31.1 million, which set a 35%
growth in the period (ANDA, 2014).

Efficient nitrogen fertilization is important in
both aspects: economic and environmental. This is
the same as minimizing nutrient losses to the environment, while obtain optimal crop yields. However,
the agronomic efficiency in the use of N fertilization
approaches 50 % of the total applied (Bouwman,
1998). Part of the N not used by the plant is not
necessarily lost and can remain in the soil, probably
immobilized in roots and soil organic matter (Alves
et al., 2006).

Nitrogen (N) uptake by the plant can varie
with the fertilizer used, soil type and climate conditions. The objective of this study was to establish
correlations among the total N and the SPAD readings in Coffea arabica leaves. This study is part of
a project that aims to evaluate the agronomic and
environmental efficiency of nitrate-based fertilizers
compared to conventional nitrogen fertilizers used
in the cultivation of coffee.
Methods

The three years agronomic and environmental evaluation of the coffee crops will be conducted in three commercial areas located in the cities of Campinas (two areas - Area 1 and Area 2)
and Espirito Santo do Pinhal (one area - Area 3), in
So Paulo state. In the 2013 harvest, Area 1 had an

overproduction and was several pruned at the end
of the year. This part of the study was carried out
during the 2013/2014 season, when coffee plants
(Coffea arabica) were 6 years old. Area 1 and 2
had been planted in a spacing of 3.2 x 0.8m, with
the Variety Catuai Vermelho and Catuai Amarelo,
with a population of approximately 3906 plants per
hectare. Catuia Amarelo was also planted in Area 3
in a spacing 3.20 x 0.70 m, with a population of approximately 4464 plants per hectare.

The experimental design was a complete
randomized in four block, with eight treatments and
plots with eight plants. The treatment consists of
3 doses of calcium nitrate (50, 100 and 200 kg N
ha-1), 3 doses of urea (50, 100 and 200 kg N ha1
), 1 treatment with parceled calcium nitrate + NPK
application, and a control. The other nutrients are
applied at recommended for culture according to
the analysis of soil and crop productivity expectation doses. The fertilizer forms were applied in soil
surface in plant projection, in an annual procedure.

After N fertilizer application, leaf analyses
were occurred in February and June to macro and
micro nutrients determination. Total N concentration
was determined by dry combustion in an elementary analyzer (LECO Tru-Spec CN analyzer). An
average of 30 leaves from the portable chlorophyll
meter (SPAD-502, Minolta, Japan) was obtained
under field conditions, in February, May, June and
July.

Data were subjected to analysis of variance
(ANOVA) to identify significant differences between
the treatments according to the design described
above. The means were compared using the Tukey
test at 5% probability.

Leaves with high N content have a greater
maximum rate of net photosynthesis and greater total chlorophyll in bright light, than those deficient in
388
N (Evans 1983). Contents of N and SPAD readings

were closely correlated during fruit development
from January through June) with treatment.

Nitrogen concentration in leaves increased
after the fertilization, comparing the February and
June measurements, as presented in Table 1. The
February measurements of Areas 1 and 2, the treatments are not significantly different. For the other
results, a difference can be observed between the
control and the others treatments, without following
a pattern. Coffee plants have the biannual habit of
production, a year of high yield is followed by one of
low production, due to the exhaustion of reserves
of assimilates and nutrients, particularly N and K,
which are used for the new growth (Reis et al.,
2009). This year, in 2013 all the commercial crops
from the region had a high yield. Consequently,
2014 had a low production, aggravated by the lack
of rain in the Southeast region of Brazil during rainy
season.

Nitrogen plays its role in yield formation
through the participation in many compounds such
as amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and pigments.
SPAD reading is a rapidly indicator of change in N
nutrition correlated to chlorophyll. The results presented in Figure 1 (A and B) shown a difference
between the measurement of February and the
last two. For Area 3 (C), the results from the first
and second measurement data are equal and differ
from the last two.

A correlation between N concentration
and SPAD measurement was only found in Area 3
(0.8642). The results for Area 1 and Area 2 had no
correlation, probably because of the lack of rain and
the higher temperatures compared to Area 3.
Conclusion

SPAD readings are an important tool to indicate changes in N nutrition, considered suitable
for rapid diagnosis and decision making.

Improvements should be made in the next
two or three seasons for this trial with a more constant monitoring of the correlation between N concentration and SPAD measurement.
Keywords:Total nitrogen concentration, SPAD reading, coffee crop
Acknowledgments
YARA Fertilizers and Embrapa for the financial support.
References
ALVES, B.J.R.; ZOTARELLI, L.; FERNANDES,
F.M.; HECKLER, J.C.; MACEDO, R.A. T.de; BODDEY, R.M.; URQUIAGA, S. Fixao biolgica de
nitrognio e fertilizantes nitrogenados no balano
de nitrognio em soja, milho e algodo. Pesquisa
Agropecuria Brasileira, v. 41, p. 449-456, 2006.
ANDA, Associao Nacional para Difuso de Adubos (http://www.anda.org.br/).
BOUWMAN, A.F. Nitrogen oxides and tropical agriculture. Nature, 392, 866-867, 1998.
EVANS, J. R. Photosynthesis and nitrogen relationships in leaves of C3 plants. Oecologia, 78, 919,
1989.
REIS, A.R.; FAVARIN, J.L.; MALAVOLTA, E.;
LAVRES JNIOR, J.; MORAES, M.F. Photosynthesis, Chlorophylls, and SPAD Readings in Coffee
Leaves in Relation to Nitrogen Supply. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. 40, 15121528, 2009.
389
Table 1. Coffee leaf nitrogen concentration measured in two periods during the 2013/2014 season
T1
T2
Total Nitrogen Concentration (N)

T3
T4
T5
T6
-1
T7
T8
----------------------------------------------------- g kg ------------------------------------------------------------------
rea 1
February
32,0 1,1
32,2 2,2
June
35,3 0,5 ab
February
June
31,1 0,5
31,6 1,8
33,2 1,0
32,9 1,0
32,4 0,7
31,7 1,3
35,6 1,4 ab 35,2 0,8 ab 35,8 0,8 a
35,8 0,4 a
35,6 0,9 a
36,2 0,6 a
33,4 0,7 b
32,3 1,7
31,9 2,4
32,2 2,9
31,1 1,3
32,5 2,6
32,9 2,0
31,8 1,6
31,7 1,2
33,9 1,7 a
34,6 1,1 a
34,7 1,4 a
34,6 1,0 a
34,6 1,2 a
33,1 0,7 ab 35,5 1,3 ac 30,8 1,4 bd
February
25,9 1,5 a
28,5 2,7 a
28,0 0,9 a
24,7 0,9 ab 24,2 1,5 a
June
36,4 1,1 a
37,3 0,7 a
38,7 0,6 ab 33,5 1,2 ac 36,0 0,9 a
rea 2
rea 3
26,7 0,1 ab 27,5 0,1 a
36,6 1,3 a
Mean values followed by the same lowercase letter in rows do not differ by Tukey test (5% probability).
Figure 1. SPAD measurement made in subsequently data at Area 1 (A), Area 2 (B) and Area (3)
21,9 0,5 b
39,5 2,2 ab 27,9 1,4 dc
390

83
POTENCIAL OF NITRICATION INHIBITORS DERIVED FROM ROOTS

EXUDATES OF Bracchiaria humidicola AND Saccharum spontaneum
ASSOCIATED TO SUGARCANE PERFORMANCE
ORIEL TIAGO KLLN1, HENRIQUE C. JUNQUEIRA FRANCO1, SAULO DE CASTRO2, VITOR P.
VARGAS3, HEITOR CANTARELLA3, PAULO C. O. TRIVELIN4
1
Laboratrio Nacional de Cincia e Tecnologia do Bioetanol CTBE/CNPEM, Rua Giuseppe Mximo Scolfaro, 10.000 Guar
Campinas/SP, Brasil (oriel.kolln@bioetanol.org.br); 2 Escola Superior de Agricultura - Esalq/USP Piaracicaba/SP, Brasil
3
Instituto Agrnomico de Campinas - IAC , Campinas/SP, Brasil; 4 Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura CENA/USP
Piracicaba/SP, Brasil
Introduction
to increased emissions of N2O emission (CERRI et

al., 2012). Another factor to consider is that studies
have shown that the sugarcane shows preference
for NH4+ uptake over than NO3- (ROBINSON et al.
2011).

The aim of this work was to evaluate the
potencial of nitrication inhibitors derived from roots
exudates of Bracchiaria humidicola (weed) and
Saccharum spontaneum (parental of sugarcane)
associated to sugarcane performance.
Bioethanol CTBE/CNPEM - Campinas SP, Brazil

(22 48 09 S, 47 03 11 W), under greenhouse
condition, using sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) as plant
test. The experiment had duration about 90 days. The
beginning was the planting of the sugarcane buds
on 29/01/2014 in trials filled to vermiculita. At the
same time samples of sandy soil, collected in sugarcane field where sugarcane has been growing for 30
years, were conditioned in pots of 6 kg capacity, which
was the experimental unit. After 30 days of sprouting, one seedling of sugarcane (RB855156 genotype)
was transplanted to each pot. The experiment was
conducted in a completely randomized design with 4
treatments in 4 replications: SA) ammonium sulfate (control); SA + DCD) ammonium sulfate associated
with the application of dicyandiamide; SA + BCH) ammonium sulphate associated to the application of root
exsudates of Brachiaria humidicola; SA + SCS) ammonium sulfate associated to the application of root
exsudates Saccharum spontaneum. The N rate used
was 300 mg kg-1.

All pots received nutrient solution which
was splited in 3 application. The total of nutrients
applied was: 50 mg kg-1 of P and 68 mg kg-1 of K
(H2KPO4); 3 mg kg-1 of Zn (ZnSO4), 1 mg kg-1 of
B (H3BO3), 0.5 mg kg-1 of Cu (CuSO4), 5 mg kg-1
of Fe (EDTA), 4 mg kg-1 of Mn (MnSO4) e 0.3 mg
kg-1 of Mo [(NH4)6Mo7O24]. During crop growth were
performed measurements of biomass production
and N-NH4 and N-NO3 content in soil. This evaluation were done at 07, 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after
N aplication (DAN), when the experiment finished
(06/05/2014). The data were analysed by ANOVA
test and the treatments were compared by Tukey
test at 5% of probability.
Methods

The experiment was carried out at the National Laboratory of Science and Technology of

There were significant differences among
treatments for biomass production in aboveground

Regardless of nitrogen N rate applied in
sugargane, the effectiveness of N used by plant is
almost always less than 50%, which is lower than
that observed in most other crops, data among 50
and 70% (CANTARELLA et al., 2007). This variation and the low N utilization may be related losses
of N in agroecosystem, originated for instance in
process as ammonia volatilization and denitrification of nitrate (TRIVELIN et al., 2002). Furthermore,
inadequate management of nitrogen fertilizers increased risks of N losses from the soil-plant system, and can impact heavily on energy balance,
due to emission of N2O (CERRI et al., 2012).

The N as NH4+ derived from urea or ammonium nitrate fertilizers under aerobic conditions can
be rapidly nitrified and transformed to nitrite (NO2-),
by biochemical action of bacteria (Nitrosomonas).
In sequence, the oxidation of NO2- to nitrate (NO3-)
which is mediated by bacterias of Nitrobacter genus (MOREIRA e SIQUEIRA, 2006). The NO3- is
subject to losses by as well as by denitrification process under anaerobioses conditions (PIERZYNSKI
et al., 2000), causing environmental impacts due
part at 45 and 60 DAN and in roots at 15 and 60

DAN (Table 1). The treatment had the highest root
yield at 15 DAN was the SA+BCH being superior
to the SA and SA+DCD and at at 60 DAC superior
to SA+DCD, but similar to SA and SA + SCS. For
the aboveground at 45 DAN the highest production
was obtained by SA+BCH treatment. At 60 DAN the
SA+SCS was superior to SA + DCD but equal to SA
and SA + BCH (Table 1).

The N-NO3 soil content in treatment
SA+DCD remained stable while in the control (SA
treatment) took place an increase of N-NO3 content
untill 30 DAN. For the other treatments (SA+BCH
and SA+SCS) those increament was until 45 DAN.
After this time, in all treatments the N-NO3 content
decreased indicating a possible by plants due to
the pots had the bottom closed avoinding losses of
nitrate by leaching (Figure 1A). This results show
that roots exsudates were not able to inhibit nitrification, although the values of N-NO3 obtained in
those treatments were sharply lower than control
at 45 DAN. At the end of experiment the N-NO3
were 8.09, 8.23, 7.64 and 4.15 mg kg-1 respectively for SA, SA+DCD, SA+BCH and SA+SCS. Gopalakrishnan et al. (2009) found a decrease of 29%
in nitrification with the application of 182 mg kg-1 of
N-(NH4)SO4 associated to roots exudates of Brachiaria humidicola in comparison to treatment without exsudates application. Otherwise, in our work
we still are still waiting the results from exsudates
composition to guaratee the application of natural
nitrification inbitors.

Before to apply the treatments the N-NH4
content in soil was too low. However, just seven
days before the N application, the content increased
sustancially until to 250 mg kg-1(Figure 1B). After
this time there was a linear decline in those content. At the end of the experiment the treatment with
DCD application (SA+DCD) presented the highest
content of N-NH4 (47.5 mg kg-1) whereas the others treatments with root exudates application were
significantly lowers (SA+BCH and SA+SCS). These
low values of N-NH4 in those treatments shall be
analysed carefully because it is possible to be relatet do to N content in plant, which not was yet
analysed.
391
Conclusions

The N fertilizer aplication associated to
roots exsudates from Brachiaria humidicola and
Saccharum spontaneum promote the highest biomass production fo sugarcane, however without
proeminent effects on nitrification process. The
DCD application decrease the NO3- soil content indicating a reduction fo nitrification process.
Keywords: Nitrate, ammonium, Saccharum spp.,
dicyandiamide
References
CANTARELLA, H.; TRIVELIN, P.C.O. & VITTI, A.C.;
Nitrognio e enxofre na cultura da cana-de-acar. In: YAMADA, T.; ABDALLA, S.R.S. & VITTI,
G.C. (Ed.) Nitrognio e enxofre na agricultura brasileira. 1.ed. Piracicaba: IPNI Brasil, 2007. p.407464.
CERRI, C.C.; GALDOS, M.V.; MAIA, S.M.F.; BERNOUX, M.; FEIGL, B.J.; POWLSON, D.; CERRI,
C.E.P. Effect of sugarcane harvesting systems on
soil carbon stocks in Brazil: an examination of existing data. European Journal of Soil Science, v. 62,
p.23-28. 2011.
FRANCO, H.C.J.; OTTO, R.; FARONI, C.E.; VITTI,
A.C.; ALMEIDA DE OLIVEIRA, E.C. & TRIVELIN,
P.C.O. Nitrogen in sugarcane derived from fertilizer
under Brazilian field conditions. Field Crop Research, v.121, p. 29-41, 2011.
GOPALAKRISHNAN, S.G.; WATANABE, T.;
PEARSE, S. J.; ITO, O.; HOSSAIN, Z. A.K.M.;
SUBBARAO, G.V. Biological nitricati on inhibition
by Brachiaria humidicola roots varies with soil type
and inhibits nitrifyi ng bacteria, but not other major
soil microorganisms. Soil Science and Plant nutrition, v. 55, p. 725-733.
MOREIRA, F. M. S.; SIQUEIRA, J. O. Fixao biolgica de nitrognio atmosfrico. In: MOREIRA, F.
M. S.; SIQUEIRA, J. O Microbiologia e Bioqumica do Solo. Lavras: Editora UFLA, 2006. p. 449542.
PIERZYNSKI, G.M.; THOMAS, S
.; VANCE,
G.F. Soils and environmental quality. 2.ed. Boca
Raton: CRC Press LLC, 2000. 459p.
392
PRASERTSAK, P.; FRENEY, J.R.; DENMEAD,

O.T.; SAFFIGNA, P.G.; PROVE, B.G. & REGHENZANI, J.R. Effects of fertilizer placement on nitrogen loss from sugarcane in tropical Queensland.
Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, v. 62, p.
229-239, 2002.
RENNENBERG, H.; LAKSHMANAN, P.; SCHMIDT,

S.(2011). Nitrate paradigm does not hold up for
sugarcane, PloS One, 6(4): e19045.
TRIVELIN, P.C.O.; OLIVEIRA, M.W.; VITTI, A.C.;
GAVA, G.J.C. & BENDASSOLLI, J.A. Perdas de nitrognio da uria no sistema solo-planta em dois
ciclos de cana-de-acar. Pesquisa Agropecuria
Brasileira, v.37, p.193-201, 2002.
ROBINSON, N.; BRACKIN, R; SOPER, K.V.F.;

GAMAGE, J.H.H.; PAUNGFOO-LONHIENNE, C.;
Table 1. Biomass accumulation in above ground and roots related the application of ammonium sulfate with or without
the application of nitrification inhibitors
Evaluation periods (days)

7
TREAT
AG
15
Roots
AG
30
Roots
45
AG
Roots
AG
60
Roots
AG
Roots
-1
------------------------------------- g vaso -------------------------------------------------AS
0,77
0,08
2,24
0,21 b
5,71
1,20
16,20 b
3,80
29,90 ab 4,58 b
AS+DCD
1,05
0,11
2,03
0,22 b
7,58
1,50
16,42 b
3,56
24,87 b
AS+ BCH
0,98
0,14
2,78
0,55 a
7,83
1,62
22,62 a
5,63
38,38 ab 8,31 a
AS+SCS
1,10
0,12
2,20
0,34 ab
9,81
1,94
20,93 a
5,22
41,28 a
8,76 a
CV (%)
24,9
40,9
25,5
40,6
31
48,1
13,9
38,1
26,1
36,3
LSD
0,37
0,07
0,91
0,26
3,7
1,1
4,0
2,6
13,2
3,4
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
ns
p>0,05
3,02 b
AS: Ammonium Sulfate; DCD: dicyandiamide; BCH: roots extract of Braquiria humidicola; SCS: roots extract of Saccharum
spontaneum. AG: aboveground; LSD: least significant difference; p>0,05: significant 5% of probability test T; CV: coefficient of
variation;
AS
AS+DCD
AS+BCH
AS+SCS
80
70
60
250
200
50
40
150
30
100
20
10
0
AS
AS+DCD
AS+BCH
AS+SCS
300
N - NH4+ (mg kg soil-1)
N - NO3- (mg kg soil-1)
10
20
30
40
50
60
Days after treatments application (DATA)
50
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Days after treatments application (DATA)
Figure 1. Availability of N NO3- mg kg soil-1 (A) and N NH4+ mg kg soil-1 (B) during the 60 days of conducting the experiment. AS:
Ammonium Sulfate; DCD: dicyandiamide; BCH: roots extract of Braquiria humidicola; SCS: roots extract of Saccharum spontaneum.
393
84
RELEASE OF NITROGEN FROM UREA WITH DIFFERENT COATINGS

ODIRLEY RODRIGUES CAMPOS1, EDSON MARCIO MATTIELLO1, REINALDO BERTOLA
CANTARUTTI1, GENELICIO CRUSSO ROCHA1, LEONARDUS VERGUTZ1
1
Soil Department, Universidade Federal de Viosa , Peter Henri Rolfs Av., Viosa, 36570-900, Brazil (camposagro@yahoo.com.br)
Introduction

Urea is the most important nitrogen fertilizer worldwide. However, N volatilization of NH3(g) and
leaching of NO3- might drop its agronomical efficiency to very low levels, compromising its use. In order
to minimize these losses, new fertilizer technologies, including: urea mixed with inhibitors of urease
or of nitrification and urea coated with polymers to
control the fertilizer dissolution. In this sense, testing of the efficiency of these coating ureas are often
done in pure water. However, the condition of this
evaluation set up is completely different from the
soil solution. Therefore, the objective of this work
was to evaluate the effectiveness of urea polymer
coatings on the release of N in soil samples.

Samples of 180 g of one Oxisol from sandy
loam texture, 17 dag.kg-1 of water retention, (cation
exchange capacity) CECpH 7 4.8 cmolc dm-3 e pHH2O
4.8, were placed in incubation chambers adapted
to a collecting system of soil solution by centrifugation (Miranda et. al, 2006). Additionally, to evaluate
losses by volatilization of NH3(g)-N, the incubation
chambers were maintained inside the static collector of NH3, adapted from Lara Cabezas et. al
(1999). Then, 2 g kg-1 of urea-N were applied from
the sources: U (45 %), UNBPT (45 % of N + urease
inhibitor), UP1 (37 % of N + coating with polymer
1), USP2 (34 % of N + coating with 24 % of S and
polymer 2), USP3 (39 % of N + coating with 16 % of
S and polymer 3), USP4 ( 39 % of N + coating with
13 % de S and polymer 4) e USP5 ( 37 % of N +
coating with 11 % of S and polymer 5). The relative
centrifugal force used was 2500 g.

In the collected soil solution (SS), pH was
measured, and a solution with urease inhibitor
(PMA) was added to reduce the urea hydrolysis.
Concentrations of total-N and NH4+-N were determined by Tedesco et al. (1995) and N-ureia by
Douglas & Bremmer (1970). For the soil, the concentrations of total-N, NH4+-N and ureia-N, were
also determined. The percentage of recovered N,

named as N released from the fertilizer, was calculated by the following equation:
NReleased = {[( NTreatment) ( NControl)] / NApplied} 100
where N, is the summing of total-N from the soil
solution + total-N remaining in the soil + NH3(g)-N;
and NApplied is the amount of N added as fertilizer.

The percentage of N in the different forms
(where X-N, is urea-N, or NH4+-N, or NH3(g)-N) was
calculated by the following expression:
X-N = [(X-N) SSVolume / NApplied] 100

Treatments were arranged in a factorial design (7 + 1) x 9 with four replications, corresponding to seven fertilizers, a control without N application, and nine incubation times that ranged from 1
to 1296 h. The incubation time was adjusted accordingly to the N release from the fertilizers, being shorter for faster N releasing fertilizers. Nonlinear models were adjusted, allowing to estimate the
maximum percentages of N released (NReleased) and
volatilization (NVol). The results of the X-N forms are
shown in the graphs, showing the dynamic behavior
of the N forms in the soil solution.

Nitrogen release

The fertilizers presented patterns of N release that allowed to distinguish them in three
groups. Group 1 (G1), composed by U, UNBPT,
and UP1, showed the fastest N release; group 2
(G2), composed by the USP2 and USP3, with intermediary N release; and group 3 (G3), composed by
USP4 and USP5, showing the slowest releasing of
N. The maximum percentage of N released and the
amount of time needed for this to occur are shown
in Table 1. Given the lack of physical protection (no
polymer) in UNBPT, this fertilizer was expected
to show the fastest N release. However, for UP1,
which has a polymer coating, it was not expected.
This polymer is clearly not working properly, with no
394
influence on urea dissolution. Flaws in the coating

such as cracks can affect the quality of the coating
and may be the reason for the quick release of N
from this fertilizer.
Volatilization of NH3(g)

Regarding losses of NH3(g), the fertilizers
could be classified in the same way as for N release
(G1, G2 and G3 Figure 1). For G1, on average,
24 % of the N applied was volatilized within 739 h.
The presence of urease inhibitor in UNBPT reduced
Nvol in 3 % when compared to the regular urea (U).
However, the estimated time to reach the maximum
Nvol was increased by 62 h when compared to U
(691 h). Fertilizers from G2 (USP2 and USP3) presented N losses 54 and 15 % lower than U, respectively. Values of maximum NVol corresponded
to about 20 and 11 % the amount of urea-N applied,
respectively. Also, the time needed to reach maximum NVol for both USP2 and USP3 increased about
312 h compared to U. G3 showed the lowest NH3(g)
losses, with an average of 3 % of the applied N. It
means a reduction of 88 % in comparison to G1.
Soil solution characteristics

The concentrations of urea-N and and pH
of the soil solution are shown for one fertilizer of
each group in Figure 2. Urea-N and NH4+-N in the
soil solution showed higher activity up to 92 and 120
h of incubation, respectively, for the representative
of G1. For intermediate-release fertilizers (G2), we
observed a gradual increase in urea-N release and
for G3 the variation of urea-N in the soil solution
was similar to the control.

The maximum amount of N recovered from
the soil solution did not exceed 22 % of the N applied. The hydrolysis of urea is clear for fertilizers
from G1, for which there was an increase in the
percentage of NH4+-N and the pH of the soil solution (pH 8.6 ), in agreement with results of Longo
and Melo (2005). For this group, the higher pH and
the high NH4+-N concentration favored the loss of
NH3(g). For G2 the increase in the pH of the soil solution was gradual, following the gradual release of
N, leading to a lower loss of NH3(g) for this group.
Conclusions

The fertilizers shown nitrogen release capacity in the following order: U UNBPT UP1
> USP2 USP3 > USP4 USP5. The faster releasing of N improves the urea hydrolysis followed
by the increase of the soil solution pH, resulting in
higher NH3(g)-N losses.
Keywords: Slow release fertilizers, hydrolysis, soil
solution, volatilization.
Aknowledgements
To CNPq for financial suport.
References
CABEZAS, W. A. R.; TRIVELIN, P. C. O.; BENDASSOLLI, J. A.; SANTANA, D. G. & GASCHO, G. J.
1999. Calibration of a semi-open static collector for
determination of ammonia volatilization from nitrogen fertilizers. Comm. Soil Sci. Plant Anal., 30:389406.
DOUGLAS, L. A.; BREMNER, J. M; 1970. 1982.
Extraction and colorimetric determination of urea in
soils. In: Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical
and microbiological properties. 2.ed. Madison, Wisconsin, USA. p.702-703.
LONGO, R. M. & MELO, W. J. 2005. Urea hydrolysis in oxisols: effects of substrate concentration,
temperature, pH, incubation time and storage conditions. Rev. Bras. Ci. Solo, 29:651-657. (in Portuguese, with abstract in English)
MIRANDA, J.; LIOVANDO, M.C.; RUIZ, H.A. & EINLOFT, R. 2006.
Chemical composition of soil solution under different land cover and soluble organic
carbon in water from small creeks. Rev. Bras. Ci.
Solo, 30:633-647. (in Portuguese, with abstract in
English)
TEDESCO, M. J.; GIANELLO, C.; BISSANI, C. A.;
BOHNEN, H. & VOLKWEISS, S. J. 1995. Soil analysis, Plants and Other Materials = Anlises de solo,
Plantas e Outros materiais. Porto Alegre, Departamento de Solos, UFRGS, 174 p. (in Portuguese)
395
Table 1. Percentage of N released after application of different urea sources and the time taken for maximum N release
Group 1
Fertilizers
Group 2
Time
N released
(h)
(%)
UNBPT
67
100
UP1
62
93
64
89
Averages
64
94
40
Group 1
Time
N released
(h)
(%)
USP2
411
55
USP3
354
52
383
54
Group 2
U
UP1
UNBPT
30
NH3(g) (%)
Fertilizers
Group 3
Fertilizers
Time
N released
(h)
(%)
USP4
972
35
USP5
587
30
780
33
Group 3
USP2
USP3
USP5
USP4
20
10
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Incubation time (h)
30
Urea
USP2
25
pH= 8.6
pH
Urea-N
NH4+-N
15
after
14
USP4
12
10
pH= 7.8
N (%)
N (%)
20
Figure 1. NH3(g)-N
volatilization
application of different urea fertilizers
pH= 5.9
10
2
0
0
0
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Incumbation time (h)
Figure 2. Soil solution characteristics after application of different urea fertilizers
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
pH
396

85
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOIL AND LEAF CONTENTS OF

MANGANESE AND COOPER IN ORANGE TREES
LAFAYETTE FRANCO SOBRAL1, TIAGO ARAUJO MUNIZ2,ROBINSON CRUZ FONTES JUNIOR3,

ADEILVA RODRIGUES VALENA3, JOEZIO LUIZ DOS ANJOS1
1
Pesquisador da Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Avenida Beira Mar, 3250, CEP 49025-040 Aracaju, Sergipe Lafayette.Sobral@
embrapa.br, Joezio.Anjos@embrapa.br; 2 Assistente da Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Campo Experimental de Umbaba, Rodovia
Umbaba Itabaianinha,s/n. tiago.muniz@embrpa.br; 3 Analistas da Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, Avenida Beira Mar, 3250, CEP
49025-040 Aracaju, Sergipe, Adeilva.Rodrigues@embrapa.br , Robinson.Fontes@embrapa.br
Introduction

Orange trees are an important agricultural activitie in the Coastal Tablelands of the North
East of Brazil. Ochards are planted in Oxisols and
Ultisols, wich are low in organic matter and clay
contents in the surface horizons. Manganese and
cooper deficiency symptoms in orange trees have
been observed according to symptoms reported by
Mattos Junior et al. (2005). Information on manganese and cooper soil and leaf relationships are vey
scarce and improvements are necessary for a better understanding of them. The objective of these
experiments is to obtain reliable relationships between soil and leaf contents of, manganese and
cooper in orange trees.

Field experiments were established in an
Ultisol of the Coastal Tablelands of Brazil. Pera orange Citrus sinensis, Osbeck, on Rangpure lime
Citrus limonia Osbeck, was planted in 2009. Soil
and leaf samples were collected in 2012. Experiments were set up in a complete randomized block
experimental design with four replications and five
treatments including a test plot. Measurements
were made in four trees per treatment. Doses of
manganese as manganese sulfate and cooper as
cooper sulfate were diluted in water and applied underneath the orange tree canopy, where soil samples were collected at 0,2 m depth. Leaf samples
were collected at brunches with four month old
fruits. Soil manganese and cooper were extracted
by using the Mehlich-1 solution. Leaves were wet
digested and manganese and cooper determined
by atomic absorption (Silva, 1999). All plants in
the experiments were soil fertilized with nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium according to Sobral et
al (2007). Plants also were sprayed with zinc in the
manganese experiment and with both in the cooper
experiment, according to Sobral et al (2007). Variance and linear regression analysis were carried
out by using the SAS stastical software. Chemical
soil analysis in soil samples collected at 0-0,20m
from the experiments sites were accomplished, according to (Silva, 1999) and results are shown on
Table 1.

Manganese soil content beyond 4,2 mg
dm-3 decreased manganese leaf content beyond
de 20,8 mg kg-1 (Figure 1). These results indicate
that interpretations of soil and leaf analysis are misleading because interpretations are made based on
an adequate soil manganese range of 6-12 mg dm-3
and adequate leaf manganese range of 25-50 mg
kg-1. Soil cooper content of 1,58 mg dm-3 considered adequate did not increase cooper leaf content
beyond 8,01 mg kg-1 which is lower than 10 mg dm-3
that has been used as an adequate value.
Conclusion

Preliminary results on relationships between soil and leaf contents of manganese and
cooper in orange trees have shown that, actual
ranges of soil and leaf analsis interpretation need to
be improved.
Keywords: soil fertility; micronutrients; citrus, fertilization
References
MATTOS
JUNIOR,
D.de;
BATAGLIA,O.C.;
QUAGGIO;J.A. Nutrio dos citros. In: MATTOS
JUNIOR, D.de; De NEGRI, J.D; PIO, R.M.;POMPEU
JUNIOR,J. Citros. Campinas , So Paulo, Instituto
Agronmico de Campinas, 2005, p.198-219.
SILVA, F. C. da. (Org). Manual de anlises qumicas de solos, plantas e fertilizantes. Braslia, DF,
397
Embrapa Comunicao para Transferncia de Tecnologia.,1999, 370 p.

SOBRAL, L. F. ; VIGAS, P. R. A. ; SIQUEIRA, O. J.
W. ; ANJOS, J. L. ; BARRETO, M. C. V. ; GOMES,
J. B. V. . Recomendaes para o uso de corretivos
e fertilizantes no Estado de Sergipe. 1. ed. Aracaju:
Embrapa Tabuleiros Costeiros, 2007. v. 1.
Table1. Chemical analysis of samples collected at 0-0,2m.
Experiment
M.O
pH
Ca
-1
Mg
H+Al
Al
-3
g.kg
------------------ mmolc.dm ------------------
Na
-3
--------- mg.dm -------
Mn
17,5
5,2
11,3
3,3
24,9
1,2
52,1
87,2
7,7
Cu
18,7
5,4
13,5
5,4
26,6
2,4
56,3
82,0
8,4
B
22
9
-1
18
Leaf Cu mg kg
Leaf Mn mg kg
-1
20
y = -3,608x2 + 30,182x - 42,289
16
R2 = 0,7092*
14
12
8
7
y = -1,5177x 2 + 4,7935x + 4,2268
R2 = 0,9439**
6
5
10
2,5
3,5
M1 Mn mg dm-3
4,5
0,5
1,5
M1 Cu mg kg -1
Figure 1. Relationship between Mehlich-1 manganese (a) and leaf manganese and Mehlich-1 cooper (b) and leaf cooper in orange
trees.
398

86
VOLATILIZATION OF AMMONIA IN FUNCTION OF THE USE OF COATING

UREA WITH HUMIC ACID AND UREASE INHIBITORS
PINHEIRO, R. B.1, RIBEIRO, I. B.1, SANTOS, D. S.1
1
Departament of Precision Technology, Terrena Agribusiness Company Ltda., Av. Rodrigo Castilho de Avellar, 1500, Patos de
Minas, MG, 38.706-706, Brazil. ronaldo.pinheiro@terrenaagro.com.br
Introduction

The loss of nitrogen (N) volatilization of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere is themain reason
for the low efficiency of urea applied to the soil surface (Raun & Johson, 1999). Studies show that in
tillage after application of urea on the surface, losses can reach values of 78% of total N applied (Lara
Cabezas et al., 1997). It is evident that the use of
urea without adopting good management practices,
can lead to undesirable economic and environmental consequences (Bolan et al., 2004). And good
practice in the use of urea, has been given emphasis in studies and research components and products aimed at improving the efficiency of use of N
from urea (Trenkel, 1997; Gioacchini et al, 2002;
Nascimento, 2012 ). Among these products, there
is the coating of urea urease inhibitors (Cantarella
et al., 2008) and, more recently, with humic substances (Guimares, 2011). Given the large number of coatings that prove increased utilization by
plants of urea N, one sees the need to quantify and
qualify the use of technology. Quantification of total
NH3 volatilized soil can be achieved through direct
and indirect methods. The Agronomic Institute of
Paran developed a collecting chamber of NH3-N,
practical and cheap, consisting of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottle type, and has been
used for in situ measurements (Guedes, 2005). This
technique consists of the direct quantification using
static semi-open chamber. It is important to mention
that the camera influences the aeration, temperature and soil moisture and the air inside and those
things can have an effect on NH3 volatilization compared to what occurs under natural conditions (Lara
Cabezas & Trivelin, 1990). Arajo et al. (2009) in a
study of the proposed calibration technique above,
estimated the correction factor of 1.74 should be
multiplied to the amount of NH3 volatilized captured
by the camera to reflect the actual rate of volatilization.
The aim of this study was to determine the amount
of volatilized NH3 from urea coated with products
based on urease inhibitors and humic acids, by using the proposed technique and calibrated by Arajo et al. (2009).
Methods

This research was performed at Research
and Technological fields of Terrena Agribusiness
Company Ltda, located in Patos de Minas - MG. We
used a Randomized block design, which evaluated
four technologies covering Urea (humic acids and
three inhibitors of urease (nbpt1: 1 supplier; nbpt2:
2 supplier; nbpt3: supplier 3), and also used ammonium nitrate and urea, both uncoated, with four
replication, in other words, [(4 +2) x4]. The amount
of product coating versus tonnes of urea was 5 L /
t and 4 L / t for humic acid (peat) and inhibitors urease (NBPT), respectively, according to instructions
of the suppliers. Each block was placed in trays (0.6
x 0.6 m) containing the same soil (Table 1) which
has been passed through a sieve of 2 mm.The
capture procedures and quantification of volatilized
NH3, was calibrated according to the methodology
followed by Arajo et al. (2009). Before adding, in
surface, 125 g of N in each chamber, three mm of
water was applied to increase the process of volatilization. The chambers remained installed for 84
h, proceeding next to the removal of the foams for
determination of N volatilized. In parallel, was done
to determine the pH of the dissolution of fertilizers
used in the treatment of this essay. To do that, 200
mg was dissolved in 25 mL of water. The experimental data were subjected to analysis of variance
and Tukey test at 5% probability by using the SISVAR software.

According to the results of Table 2, it is not
observed, within the conditions evaluated and the
time of capture of NH3 (84h) significant differences
between losses of NH3 from urea, urea and humic
acids with urea nbpt2. However, the absolute values, it appears that the potential for reducing am-
monia volatilization in relation to urea was 22% for

nbpt2. We notice that the potential for loss of N from
urea reached levels of 42.22% of the N applied in
the treatment where urea overlaid with 5 L / t of
humic acid (peat), and 6% higher than that found
when used pure urea. By analyzing the pH of dissolution is possible to infer that the largest amount of
hydroxyls surrounding the urea molecule provides
greater potential for volatilization of NH3 (Tasca et
al., 2011). Having as standard of low volatilization
the ammonium nitrate, treatments with nbpt1 and
nbpt3 showed reduction effectiveness of the process, being statistically equivalent to losses of N
from the ammonium nitrate. Also attention to the
values of losses for nbpt2 in relation to others. It is
important to mention that the only factor of variation
among them was the supplier inhibitor urease.
Conclusions

Within the experimental conditions, it can
be seen that the use of humic acids in the coating of urea gave greater potential for loss of N-NH3
comparing with pure urea. It is observed that the
pH of the dissolution of fertilizers, greatly affects the
potential for volatilization. After 84 hours, the loss of
NH3 of Urea receiving coating with urease inhibitors
were statistically equivalent to the loss of N from
ammonium nitrate. Significant differences between
existing urease inhibitors on the market can be
seen on this results.
Keywords: Volatilization; Humic acids; Urease inhibitors; NBPT
Acknowledgements
Terrena Agronegcios Ltda.; Jos Carlos Polidoro
(EMBRAPA); Artur Alberto Simes Marra.
References
ARAJO, E. S.; MARSOLA, T.; MIYAZAWA, M.;
SOARES, L. H. B.; URQUIAGA, S.; BODDEY, R.
M.; ALVES, B. R. Calibrao de cmara semiaberta
esttica para quantificao de amnia volatilizada
do solo. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, Braslia,
v. 44, n. 7, p.769-776, 2009.
BOLLAN, N. S.; SAGGAR, S.; LUO, J. F.; BHANDRAL, R.; SINGH, J. Gaseous emission of nitrogen
from grazed pastures: processes, measurements
399
and modelling, environmental implications, and mitigation. Advances in Agronomy, v. 84, p. 37-120,
2004.
CANTARELLA, H.; TRIVELIN, P. C. O.; COTIM, T.
L. M.; DIAS, F. L. F.; ROSSETTO, R.; MARCELINO,
R.; COIMBRA, R. B; QUAGGIO, J. A. Ammonia
volatilization from urease inhibitor-treated urea applied to sugarcane trash blankets. Sci. Agric., v. 65,
p. 397-401, 2008.
GIOACCHINI, P.; NASTRI, A.; MARZADORI, C.;
ANTISARI, L.V.; GESSA, C. Influence of Urease
and Nitrification Inhibitors no N Losses From Soils
Fertilized With Urea. Biology and Fertility of Soils,
36:129-135, 2002.
GUEDES, C. A. B. Volatilizao de N e alteraes
qumicas do solo sob cultivo de cana-de-acar
com aplicao de vinhaa e diferentes formas de
colheita. Dissertao de Mestrado. Universidade
Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Seropdica, 78
p., 2005.
GUIMARES, G. G. F. Substancias hmicas como
aditivos para o controle da volatilizao de amnia
provenente da uria. Dissertao de Mestrado. Universidade Federal de Viosa. Viosa, 26 p, 2011.
LARA CABEZAS, W. A. R.; KORNDORFER, G. H.;
MOTTA, S. A. Volatilizao de N-NH3 na cultura do
milho. II. Avaliao de fontes slidas e flidas em
sistemas de plantio direto e convencional. Revista
Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v. 21, p.489496, 1997.
LARA CABEZAS, W. A. R.; TRIVELIN, P. C. O. Eficincia de um coletor semiaberto esttico na quantificao de N-NH3 volatilizado da uria aplicada ao
solo. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa,
v. 14, p.345-352, 1990.
NASCIMENTO, C. A. C. Uria recoberta com S0,
Cu e B em soca de cana-de-acar colhida sem
queima. Dissertao de Mestrado. Escola Superior
de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz. Piracicaba, 71 p,
2012.
RAUN, W.R.; JOHNSON, G. V. Improving nitrogen use efficiency for cereal production. Agronomy
Journal, Madison, v. 91, p. 357-363, 1999.
400
TASCA, F. A.; ERNANI, P. R.; ROGERI, D. A.;

GATIBONI, L. C.; CASSOL, P. C. Volatilizao de
amnia do solo aps a aplicao de uria convencional ou com inibidor de urease. Revista Brasileira
de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v. 35, p.493-502, 2011.
TRENKEL, M.E. Improving fertilizer use efficiency.

Controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers in agriculture. International Fertilizer Industry Association,
Paris, 1997.
Table 1. Chemical analysis of soil (Oxisol) used as substrate.
pHwater
6,06
P-rem
OM
mg/L
dag/kg
____
____
9,08
2,17
42,83
mg/dm
Ca
Mg
______________
256
3,16
Al
cmolc/dm
1,1
H+Al
______________
0,04
2,93
m
____
V
%
0,81
____
62,66
P-REM: Phosphorus remaining, P concentration of the equilibrium solution after stirring for 1h at TFSA with CaCl2 10 mmol / L,
containing 60 mg / L of P in 1:10 ratio; Org. Matt: Rust with Na2Cr2O7 4 N + 10 N H2SO4; P, K: Mehlich I; Ca, Mg, Al: KCl extractor 1
mol / L; H + Al: Puller SMP.
Table 2. Amount of volatilized NH3 (NH3-N mg) per chamber, 84 h after application of 125 mg of N, N potential loss (%)
and pH of the dissolution of the fertilizer.
N source and coatings

Urea (45-00-00)
NH4NO3 (33-00-00)
Urea + Humic Acid (45-00-00)
N-NH3 losses
mg N
% of N applied
49,81 a
0,35
52,78 a
Urea + NBPT1 (45-00-00)
3,35
Urea + NBPT2 (45-00-00)
38,91 a
Urea + NBPT3 (45-00-00)
2,78
7,09
39,84 a
b
0,28
2,68
6,24 a
6,52 b
7,01
7,03
31,13 a
b
2,23
42,22 a
b
pH
dissolution
9,04
401
87
VOLATILIZATION OF AMMONIA IN FUNCTION OF THE TIME

OF CONTACT OF THE COATED UREA WITH POLYMER
MARRA, M. P.1, PINHEIRO, R. B.1, MOURA, G. G. G.1
1
Departament of Precision Technology, Terrena Agribusiness Company Ltda., Av. Rodrigo Castilho de Avellar, 1500, Patos de
Minas, MG, 38.706-706, Brazil. ronaldo.pinheiro@terrenaagro.com.br
Introduction

The loss of nitrogen (N) volatilization of ammonia (NH3) to the atmosphere is the main reason
for the low efficiency of urea applied to the soil surface (Raun & Johson, 1999). Studies show that in
tillage after application of urea on the surface, losses can reach values of 78% of total N applied (Lara
Cabezas et al., 1997). It is evident that the use of
urea without adopting good management practices,
can lead to undesirable economic and environmental consequences (Bolan et al., 2004). And good
practice in the use of urea, has been given emphasis in studies and research components and products aimed at improving the efficiency of use of N
from urea (Trenkel, 1997; Gioacchini et al, 2002;
Nascimento, 2012 ). Among these products, there
is the coating of urea urease inhibitors (Cantarella
et al., 2008) and, more recently, with humic substances (Guimares, 2011). Given the large number of coatings that prove increased utilization by
plants of urea N, one sees the need to quantify and
qualify the use of technology. Quantification of total
NH3 volatilized soil can be achieved through direct
and indirect methods. The Agronomic Institute of
Paran developed a collecting chamber of NH3-N,
practical and cheap, consisting of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottle type, and has been
used for in situ measurements (Guedes, 2005). This
technique consists of the direct quantification using
static semi-open chamber. It is important to mention
that the camera influences the aeration, temperature and soil moisture and the air inside and those
things can have an effect on NH3 volatilization compared to what occurs under natural conditions (Lara
Cabezas & Trivelin, 1990). Arajo et al. (2009) in a
study of the proposed calibration technique above,
estimated the correction factor of 1.74 should be
multiplied to the amount of NH3 volatilized captured
by the camera to reflect the actual rate of volatilization.
The aim of this study was to determine the amount
of NH3 volatilized from urea coated with polymer

products, and also to evaluate the effect of time of
storage on the ability to reduce the potential for volatilization of ammonia, by using the proposed technique and calibrated by Arajo et al. (2009).
Methods

This research was performed at Research
and Technological fields of Terrena Agribusiness
Company Ltda, located in Patos de Minas - MG. We
used a Randomized block design, which were tested three times of contact with the polymeric coating
urea (12 months, 6 months and 0 months), in addition to the standard ammonium nitrate and urea uncoated, with four replicates, in other words, [(3 +2)
x4]. The amount of product coating versus tonne of
urea was 44 kg per tonne of urea as orientation of
supplier. Each block was placed in trays (0.6 x 0.6
m) containing the same soil (Table 1) which has
been passed through a sieve of 2 mm. Capture procedures and quantification of volatilized NH3 was
calibrated according to the methodology followed
by Arajo et al. (2009). Before adding it to the
surface, 125 g of N in each chamber, three mm
of water was applied to increases the process of
volatilization. The chambers remained installed
for 48 h, proceeding to the removal of foams for
determination of N volatilized. The experimental
data were subjected to analysis of variance and
Tukey test at 5% probability by using the SISVAR
software.

According to the results of Table 2, it is observed that coating urea with polymers significantly affects the dynamics of N, decreasing by up to
43.67% ammonia losses when compared to urea.
It should be noted also that there is an effect on
the contact time of the polymer with urea, and the
higher the greater contact time effect in reducing
the potential for ammonia volatilization. Compared
402
to losses of N from ammonium nitrate, none of the

treatment were statistically equivalent to the same.
Conclusions

Within experimental conditions, it can be
seen that the greater the contact time of treatment
with polymers with urea, the greater the efficiency in
reducing the potential for volatilization ammonia. All
the treatments with urea coated with polymers were
statistically different from pure urea, demonstrating
the potential for reducing losses by volatilization of
technology. The maximum potential loss reduction
of NH3-N was 43.67% when urea was coated with
polymer and stored for 12 months compared with
pure urea.
Keywords: Volatilization; Polymer; Storage
Acknowledgements
Terrena Agronegcios Ltda.; Jos Carlos Polidoro
(Embrapa); Artur Alberto Simes Marra.
References
ARAJO, E. S.; MARSOLA, T.; MIYAZAWA, M.;
SOARES, L. H. B.; URQUIAGA, S.; BODDEY, R.
M.; ALVES, B. R. Calibrao de cmara semiaberta
esttica para quantificao de amnia volatilizada
do solo. Pesquisa Agropecuria Brasileira, Braslia,
v. 44, n. 7, p.769-776, 2009.
BOLLAN, N. S.; SAGGAR, S.; LUO, J. F.; BHANDRAL, R.; SINGH, J. Gaseous emission of nitrogen
from grazed pastures: processes, measurements and
modelling, environmental implications, and mitigation.
Advances in Agronomy, v. 84, p. 37-120, 2004.
CANTARELLA, H.; TRIVELIN, P. C. O.; COTIM, T.
L. M.; DIAS, F. L. F.; ROSSETTO, R.; MARCELINO,
R.; COIMBRA, R. B; QUAGGIO, J. A. Ammonia volatilization from urease inhibitor-treated urea applied
to sugarcane trash blankets. Sci. Agric., v. 65, p.
397-401, 2008.
GIOACCHINI, P.; NASTRI, A.; MARZADORI, C.;
ANTISARI, L.V.; GESSA, C. Influence of Urease
and Nitrification Inhibitors no N Losses From Soils
Fertilized With Urea. Biology and Fertility of Soils,
36:129-135, 2002.
GUEDES, C. A. B. Volatilizao de N e alteraes

qumicas do solo sob cultivo de cana-de-acar
com aplicao de vinhaa e diferentes formas de
colheita. Dissertao de Mestrado. Universidade
Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. Seropdica, 78
p., 2005.
LARA CABEZAS, W. A. R.; KORNDORFER, G. H.;
MOTTA, S. A. Volatilizao de N-NH3 na cultura do
milho. II. Avaliao de fontes slidas e flidas em
sistemas de plantio direto e convencional. Revista
Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa, v. 21, p.489496, 1997.
LARA CABEZAS, W. A. R.; TRIVELIN, P. C. O. Eficincia de um coletor semi-aberto esttico na quantificao de N-NH3 volatilizado da uria aplicada ao
solo. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo, Viosa,
v. 14, p.345-352, 1990.
NASCIMENTO, C. A. C. Uria recoberta com S0,
Cu e B em soca de cana-de-acar colhida sem
queima. Dissertao de Mestrado. Escola Superior
de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz. Piracicaba, 71 p,
2012.
RAUN, W.R.; JOHNSON, G. V. Improving nitrogen use efficiency for cereal production. Agronomy
Journal, Madison, v. 91, p. 357-363, 1999.
SOARES, J. R.; CANTARELLA, H. Factors affecting
the effectiveness of nbpt in Brazillian soils . Third
International Conference on slow and controlled relesed and stabilized fertilizer, Rio de Janeiro, 2013.
SOUZA, J. R.; CASTRO, G. S. A.; RIBEIRO, B,. N.;
ROLIM, M. V.; KANEKO. F.
H. Manejo de nitrognio revestido com polmeros na cultura do algodo.

Acta Iguazu., v. 2, n.1, p. 43-49, 2013
TRENKEL, M.E. Improving fertilizer use efficiency.
Controlled-release and stabilized fertilizers in agriculture. International Fertilizer Industry Association,
Paris, 1997.
403
Table 1. Chemical analysis of soil (Oxisol) used as substrate
pHwater
6,06
P-rem
OM
mg/L
dag/kg
____
____
9,08
2,17
42,83
mg/dm
256
Ca
Mg
______________
3,16
Al
cmolc/dm
1,1
H+Al
______________
0,04
m
____
2,93
0,81
V
%
____
62,66
P-REM: Phosphorus remaining, P concentration of the equilibrium solution after stirring for 1h at TFSA with CaCl2 10 mmol / L,
containing 60 mg / L of P in 1:10 ratio; Org Matt: Rust with Na2Cr2O7 4 N + 10 N H2SO4; P, K: Mehlich-1; Ca, Mg, Al: KCl extractor 1
mol / L; H + Al: Puller SMP.
Table 2. Amount of volatilized NH3 (NH3-N mg) per chamber, 84 h after application of 125 mg of N, N potential loss (%)
and pH of the dissolution of the fertilizer.
N sources and coatings

Urea (45-00-00)
NH4NO3(33-00-00)
N-NH3 losses
mg N
% of N applied
31,67
25,34
3,00 a
2,40
Urea + polymer (12 months) 44-00-00
17,84 b
14,27
Urea + polymer (06 months) - 44-00-00
18,58 b c
14,86
Urea + polymer (00 months) - 44-00-00
21,79
17,43
404

88
COATED AND COMMON UREA AS AFFECTING UPLAND

RICE PRODUCTION
ADRIANO STEPHAN NASCENTE1, NAND KUMAR FAGERIA1*, LUIS FERNANDO STONE
1
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), National Rice and Bean Research Center, GO-462 Road, km 12, P.O.
Box 179, 75375-000, Santo Antnio de Gois, State of Gois, Brazil (adriano.nascente@embrapa.br; luis.stone@embrapa.br )
* in memorian
Introduction

Nitrogen is one of the most yield limiting
nutrients in rice production and it is responsible for
increasing straw yield and yield components which
are positively related to grain yield (Fageria et al.,
2011a). It is also responsible for improving leaf area
index (LAI) and photosynthesis in crop plants (Fageria and Baligar, 2005). The recovery efficiency of
N is low in crop production around the world. It is
reported to be less than 50% in most agroecological conditions by cereals, including rice (Raun and
Johnson, 1999). Galloway et al. (2002) reported
that even in well-managed cereal crops, about 40 to
60% N is lost. One factor contributing to the low efficiency of N fertilizers is the highly dynamic nature of
the soil N cycle. The main paths of N losses or low
recovery efficiency of N is related to its loss by soil
erosion, volatilization, leaching and denitrification
(Fageria and Baligar 2005; Fageria 2009). If urea is
applied as topdressing it converted to ammonia, N
is lost through volatilization. Frame et al. (2012) reported that N loss through volatilization may be as
great as 70% of the applied fertilizer. Frame et al.
(2012) also reported that urea hydrolysis raises soil
pH adjacent to urea granules, inhibiting nitrification,
resulting in excess NH3 and conditions favoring NH3
volatilization.

Urea is the most common N source in rice
production worldwide (Fageria, 2009). Tisdale et
al. (1993) also reported that the most cost effective
granular form of N is urea [(CO(NH2)2], which is
widely used as a N source because it has a high
N concentration (45%) and lower relative manufacturing, handling, storage, and transportation cost.
Once applied to the soil, urea is hydrolyzed by the
enzyme urease to ammonia-N (NH3-), which temporarily creates a high concentration of NH3-, and
then converts to ammonium N (NH4+). The conversion from NH3- to NH4+ can be delayed by dry soil
conditions or coarse-textured soils, which increase
the potential for volatilization in wet, windy condi-
tions, or phytotoxicity to seeds and plants when

seed placed (Tisdale et al., 1993).

Polymer coated urea has been reported
to minimize N loss under many cropping systems
(Noellsch et al. 2009). Surface applications of PCU
also have been found to reduce ammonia volatilization loss by 60% compared to non-coated urea
(Rochette et al. 2009). Beres et al. (2012) called
polymer coated urea as environmentally smart nitrogen (ESN) source that provides controlled release, allowing highest safe rates of urea fertilizer.
Data related to comparison of PCU and common
urea in upland rice grown on Brazilian Oxisols are
limited. The objectives of this study were to evaluate performance of polymer coated and common
urea in upland rice growth, yield and yield components.
Methods

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted at the National Rice and Bean Research
Center of EMBRAPA, Brazil to evaluate two sources of nitrogen in upland rice production. The soil
used in the experiment was classified as Oxisol
(Red Latossol according to Brazilian Soil classification system). Soil chemical and physical properties
determined before the application of N treatments
were: pH (H2O) 5.3, Ca 0.2 cmolc kg-1, Mg 0.2 cmolc
kg-1, Al 0.1 cmolc kg-1, P 0.3 mg kg-1, K 33 mg kg-1,
Cu 1.4 mg kg-1, Zn 0.7 mg kg-1, Fe 3 mg kg-1, Mn 5
mg kg-1 and organic matter 13,6 g kg-1.Soil textural
analysis was clay 694 g kg-1, silt 94 g kg-1 and sand
212 g kg-1. The properties were determined according to methods described in EMBRAPA (1997).
The field capacity of the unstructured soil portion
(sieved) in free drainage was determined at -0.03
MPa in a Richards extractor device, and the value
obtained was 180 g kg-1.

Each pot received 2.5 g lime per kg soil
and incubated five weeks before sowing the rice.
Two N sources used in the experiment were poly-
mer coated urea (PCU) and common urea (CU).

The N rates used were 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg
kg-1 soil. Nitrogen was broadcast on the soil surface
one day after rice sowing. Experimental design was
a complete randomized block with four replications.
Basic fertilizer levels used were P 200 mg kg-1 and
K 200 mg kg-1. Phosphorus was added with triple
superphosphate and K with potassium chloride. Experiments were conducted in plastic pots with 7 kg
of soil. Cultivar used was BRS Sertaneja of upland
rice recommended for central part of Brazil. Four
plants were maintained in each pot after germination. Soil moisture was monitored daily during the
experiment by weighing the pots, and water was replaced when transpiration reached 85% of the soil
water holding capacity.

At harvest (105 days after sowing) plant
height (the distance between the soil surface and
the top end of the highest panicle) was measured
and panicle density or number of panicles was
counted in each pot. Shoot and grain were harvested separately from each pot. Plant materials
(shoot and grain) were dried in a forced-draft oven
at about 70 0C to a constant weight.

Analysis of variance was used to data analysis and quadratic regression model was used to
describe yield and yield components responses to
N fertilizer for each source of N. These analyses
were performed using SAS statistical software.

Plant height, straw yield, grain yield and
panicle density were significantly influenced by the
addition of N by both the sources of N (polymer
coated urea and common urea) (Table 1). The increase in plant height, straw yield, grain yield and
panicle density was quadratic in nature by the application of N by both the sources (Table 2). Fageria et
al. (2011b) also reported increases in these characteristics in upland rice with the addition of common
urea and ammonium sulfate as N sources, which
provided a quadratic fashion when N was applied
in the range of 0 to 400 mg kg-1. Similar results with
increasing values of plant height, straw yield, grain
yield and panicle density with addition of N rates
were also achived by Fageria et al. (2010) and Fageria et al. (2011b).
405
Conclusions

Both the sources of N were equally effective in upland rice production in Brazilian Oxisol.
Keywords: Oryza sativa, nitrogen, yield components, grain yield
References
Beres, B. L., R. H. McKenzie, R. E. Dowbenko, C.
V. Badea, and D. M. Spaner. 2012. Does handling
physically alter the coating integrity of ESN urea
fertilizers? Agronomy Journal 104:1149-1159.
EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria). 1997. Manual for methods of soil analysis, 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: National Service
for Soil Survey and Soil Conservation.
Fageria, N. K. 2009. The Use of Nutrients in Crop
Plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Fageria, N. K., and V. C. Baligar. 2005. Enhancing
nitrogen use efciency in crop plants. Advances in
Agronomy 88:97185.
Fageria, N. K., V. C. Baligar, and C. A. Jones.
2011a. Growth and mineral nutrition of field crops.
3.ed. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Fageria, N. K., O. P. Morais, A. B. Santos. 2010.
Nitrogen use efficiency in upland rice genotypes.
Journal of Plant Nutrition 33:1696-1711.
Fageria, N. K., A. Moreira, and A. M. Coelho. 2011b
Yield and yield components of upland rice as influenced by nitrogen sources. Journal of Plant Nutrition 34:361-370.
Frame, W. H., M. M. Alley, G. B. Whitehurst, B. M.
Whitehurst, and R. Campbell. 2012. In vitro evaluation of coatings to control ammonium volatilization from surface applied urea. Agronomy Journal
104:1201-1207.
Galloway, J. N., E. B. Cowling, S. P. Seitzinger, and
R. H. Socolow. 2002. Reactive nitrogen: Too much
of a good thing? Ambio 31:60-63.
Noellsch, A. J., P. P. Motavalli, K. A. Nelson, and N.
R. Kitchen. 2009. Corn response to conventional
and slow-release nitrogen fertilizers across a claypan landscape. Agronomy Journal 101:607-614.
406
Raun, W., and G. V. Johnson. 1999. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in cereal production. Agronomy Journal 91:357-363.
Tisdale, S. L. W. L. Nelson, J. D. Beaton, and J. L.

Havlin. 1993. Soil fertility and fertilizers. 5.ed. New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Rochette, P. J. D. MacDonald, D. A. Angers, M. H.

Chantigny, M. Gasser, and N. Betrand. 2009. Banding of urea increased ammonia volatilization in a
dry acidic soil. Journal of Environmental Quality
38:1383-1390.
Table 1. Plant height, straw yield, panicle density and grain yield of upland rice as influenced by polymer coated urea
(PCU) and common urea (CU)
N rate
mg kg
-1
Plant height
PCU
Straw yield
CU
PCU
CU
-1
------ cm ------
------ g plant ------
Panicle density
PCU
CU
Grain yield
PCU
-1
------ n plant ------
CU
-1
------ g plant ------
108.5
104.0
3.08
3.38
1.00
1.00
2.18
2.06
50
121.5
128.2
4.84
5.36
1.56
1.25
4.05
3.61
100
123.0
131.7
5.41
5.31
1.87
1.93
4.52
4.47
200
123.5
137.7
6.76
7.29
1.75
2.18
4.46
4.24
400
124.5
124.0
6.53
5.90
1.56
2.00
2.28
3.79
F-test
**
**
**
**
**
**
CV (%)
7.27
5.51
6.67
6.54
22.23
13.07
15.49
17.37
, Significant at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively
* **
Table 2. Relationship between N rate of two sources, polymer coated (PCU) and common urea (CU), and plant height
(PH), straw yield (SY), panicle density (PD) and grain yield (GY) of upland rice. NRMV = N rate (mg kg-1) for maximum
value
Variable
PCU vs PH
CU vs PH
PCU vs SY
CU vs SY
PCU vs PD
CU vs PD
PCU vs GY
CU vs GY
Regression equation
NRMV
Y = 111.91 + 0.12X 0.00022X
0.22*
273
Y = 108.65 + 0.29X 0.00063X
**
230
**
313
**
254
**
233
**
278
**
167
**
238
Y = 3.25 + 0.03X 0.000048X
Y = 3.51 + 0.03X 0.000059X
Y = 1.14 + 0.007X 0.000015X

Y = 0.95 + 0.01X 0.000018X
Y = 2.57 +.02X 0.000061X
Y = 2.45 + 0.02X 0.000042X
, Significant at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels, respectively
* **
0.69
0.94
0.86
0.38
0.81
0.76
0.56
407
89
LEVELS OF N AS COATED UREA AS AFFECTING

UPLAND RICE PRODUCTION
MARIA DA CONCEIO SANTANA CARVALHO 1, ADRIANO STEPHAN NASCENTE1
1
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), National Rice and Bean Research Center, GO-462 Road, km 12, P.O. Box
179, 75375-000, Santo Antnio de Gois, State of Gois, Brazil (maria.carvalho@embrapa.br; adriano.nascente@embrapa.br)
Introduction
Methods

Nitrogen fertilization can improve upland
rice grain yield. Urea is the most used N fertilizer for
upland rice. However, this fertilizer has a great percentage of N loss. Galloway et al. (2002) reported
that even in well-managed cereal crops, about 40 to
60% N is lost. Urea is the most common N source in
rice production worldwide (Fageria, 2009). Tisdale
et al. (1993) also reported that the most cost effective granular form of N is urea [(CO(NH2)2], which
is widely used as a N source because it has a high
N concentration (45%) and lower relative manufacturing, handling, storage, and transportation cost.
The use of products that provide reduction of N loss
from urea fertilizer can contribute to increase N use
efficiency in rice crops. As examples of products to
be used to reduce N loss in the agricultural systems
we have polymer-coated urea (PCU), which provide
reasonable/good control over the rate of N release
(Trenkel, 2010). The N-(n-Butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) is one of the most thoroughly studied urease inhibitor (Kiss and Simihaian, 2002).
The organo-phosphorus compounds are structural
analogues of urea and are some of the most effective inhibitors of urease activity, blocking the active
site of the enzyme (Trenkel, 2010). Another product
is urea coated with boric acid and copper sulfate,
which provide positive effects in reducing N volatilization losses (Fansuri et al., 2008). The acidifying
effect, the similar structural characteristics of boric
acid with urea and the defensive effect of B and Cu
from the soil microorganisms may deviate part of
the urease activity towards boric acid, and consequently decrease N volatilization losses (Faria et
al., 2013).

Data related to comparison of PCU and
common urea in upland rice grown on Brazilian Oxisols are limited. The objective of this field research
was to determine the effect of N rates applied in the
form of coated urea in the grain yield of upland rice.

The field experiments were conducted for
two growing seasons (2010/2011 and 2011/2012) at
Capivara Farm, located in the city of Santo Antonio
de Goias, GO, Brazil. The geographical coordinates
of the site are 16 28 00 S, 49 17 00 West. The
altitude of the site is 823 m. The climate is tropical
savanna, considered Aw according to the Kppen
classification. There are two well-defined seasons:
usually, the dry season extends from May to September (autumn / winter) and the rainy season from
October to April (spring / summer). The historic average annual rainfall ranges from 1500 to 1700 mm.
The historic average annual temperature is 22.7 C,
ranging annually from 14.2 C to 34.8 C.

The soil was classified as a clay loam (kaolinitic, thermic Typic Haplorthox) acidic soil. Prior to
the experiment chemical characteristics of the soil
were determined at depth of 0-0.20 m to characterize the soil in the experimental area. In the area pH
was 5.9 (CaCl2), organic matter 22 mg dm-3, Ca 4.3
cmolc dm-3, Mg 1.4 cmolc dm-3, Al 0.0 cmolc dm-3,
H + Al 2.4 cmolc dm-3, K 169 mg dm-3, P 7 mg dm-3,
S-SO4 3 mg dm-3, B 0.2 mg dm-3, Cu 1.3 mg dm-3,
Fe 35 mg dm-3, Mn 62 mg dm-3, and Zn 3.6 mg dm-3.
The soil analysis was performed according to Embrapa (1997).

The experimental area has been cultivated
in a crop-livestock no-tillage system (NTS) for seven consecutive years, which consists of following
the crop rotation program with soybean (summer),
followed by upland rice (summer) and the common bean (winter), followed by corn and Brachiaria
(summer), followed by two years of grazing pasture.
The installation of the experiments was conducted
in plots wherein the upland rice was the crop to be
grown following the program of crop rotation.

complete blocks layout arranged in a 4x4 factorial
design with four replications. The treatments con-
408
sisted of four source of N fertilizer [1. traditional

urea, 2. Polymer coated urea for slow release of
N (PCU), 3. urea with the urease inhibitor N-(nButyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and 4. urea
coated with copper sulfate and boric acid as urease
inhibitors (UCCB)] with four fertilization rates (0, 30,
60 and 90 kg ha-1 of N). The plots consisted of 10
eight-meter-long rows, spaced 0.35 m apart. The
useful area of each plot was formed by the six central meters of the six central rows.

The sowing was performed mechanically,
using 80 kg of rice seeds per hectare from a mutant line 07SEQCL441 CL, which is derived from
a Primavera variety and is resistant to Imazapyr +
Imazapic herbicide. The seed was sowed on December 4th, 2010 and November 17th, 2011 in the
for quantitative data (fertilizer levels). These analyses were performed using SAS statistical software.
first and second growing seasons, respectively. The

base fertilization, to be applied in the sowing furrows, was calculated according to the soils chemical characteristics and the recommendations of
Sousa and Lobato (2004). The fertilizer consisted
of 17.50 kg ha-1 of N (urea), 105 kg ha-1 of P2O5
(triple superphosphate) and 52.5 kg ha-1 of K2O (potassium chloride) and was applied together with at
sowing. Nitrongen application was split and 50 % of
N rate was applied right after upland rice seedling
emergence (on December 10th, 2010 and November 23th, 2011 in the first and second growing seasons, respectively) and 50 % at full tillering stage
(on January 7th, 2011 and December 22th, 2011 in
the first and second growing seasons, respectively). The fertilizer was applied in strip by hand 0.10 m
far from rice rows.

Plots were evaluated with regard to: number of panicles, which was determined by counting
the number of panicles in 1.0 m2 in the useful area
of each plot; percentage of full grain, which was
evaluated randomly, collecting and counting number of full grain and dividing by the total number
of grains and multiplying by 100 in two samples of
100 grains from each plot; and grain yield, which
was determined by weighing the harvested grain
of each plot, corrected to 13% of water content and
converted to kg ha-1.

An analysis of variance and F test were
performed for all variables. A comparison of means
was performed with a Tukey test (p 0.05) for
source of fertilizer. A regression analysis was used
sible for increasing straw yield and yield components which are positively related to grain yield.

Shoot dry mass, number of panicle m-2,
percentage of full grain and grain yield was not affected by the source of N fertilizer (Table 1). On the
other hand, shoot dry mass, number of panicle m-2,
and grain yield were significantly influenced by the
addition of N by the sources of N (Figure 1). Fageria et al. (2010) and Fageria et al. (2011 a, b) also
reported increases in these characteristics with the
addition of common urea and ammonium sulfate as
N sources in a quadratic fashion. According to Fageria et al. (2011b), nitrogen is one of the most yield
limiting nutrients in rice production and it is respon-
Conclusions

Sources of N were equally effective in upland rice production in Brazilian Oxisol; Nitrogen
addition by the four sources improved upland rice
production.
Keywords: Oryza sativa, nitrogen, yield components, grain yield
References
EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria). 1997. Manual for methods of soil analysis, 2nd ed. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: National Service
for Soil Survey and Soil Conservation.
Fageria, N. K. 2009. The Use of Nutrients in Crop
Plants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Fageria, N. K., V. C. Baligar, and C. A. Jones.
2011a. Growth and mineral nutrition of field crops.
3.ed. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Fageria, N. K., O. P. Morais, A. B. Santos. 2010.
Nitrogen use efficiency in upland rice genotypes.
Journal of Plant Nutrition 33:1696-1711.
Fageria, N. K., A. Moreira, and A. M. Coelho. 2011b
Yield and yield components of upland rice as influenced by nitrogen sources. Journal of Plant Nutrition 34:361-370.
Fansuri, H., D. Pritchard, D. Zhang. 2008. Manu-
409
facture of Low-grade zeolites from fly ash for fertilizer applications. Curtin University of Technology,
Australia, Cooperative Research Center for Coal in
Sustainable Development, 2008. (Research Report
Australia)
Faria, L. A., C. A. C. Nascimento, G. C. Vitti, P. H.
C. Luz, E. M. S. Guedes. 2013. Loss of ammonia
from nitrogen fertilizers applied to maize and soybean straw. Revista Brasileira de Cincia do Solo,
37:969-975.
Galloway, J. N., E. B. Cowling, S. P. Seitzinger, and
R. H. Socolow. 2002. Reactive nitrogen: Too much
of a good thing? Ambio 31:60-63.
Kiss, S., M. Simihaian, M. 2002. Improving efficiency of urea fertilizers by inhibition of soil urease activity. Norwell:Kluwer Academic.
Sousa, D.M.G., E. Lobato. 2004. Cerrado: correo
do solo e adubao. 2. ed. Braslia: Embrapa Informao Tecnolgica.
Tisdale, S. L. W. L. Nelson, J. D. Beaton, and J. L.
Havlin. 1993. Soil fertility and fertilizers. 5.ed. New
York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Trenkel, M.E. 2010. Slow and controlled-release
and stabilized fertilizers: An option for enhancing
nutrient use efficiency in agriculture. Paris, International Fertilizer Industry Association.
Table 1. Shoot dry mass (SDM), number of panicle m-2 (PAN), percentage of full grain (%GRAIN), and grain yield (GY)
of upland rice in relation to source of N fertilizer and dose. Average of two growing seasons 2010/11 and 2011/12.
Factors
SDM
-1
PAN
%GRAIN
GY
number
kg ha
-1
Source of N fertilizer
kg ha
Urea
5645 a
230 a
75 a
4056 a
Urea polymer
5573 a
244 a
73 a
4022 a
Urea NBPT
5674 a
251 a
72 a
3941 a
Urea CuB
5285 a
229 a
76 a
3768 a
Means followed by the same letter do not differ by the Tukey test for p<0.05.
Figure 1. Shoot dry mass (A), panicle m-2 (B) and grain yield (C) of upland rice as a function of N rates. Average of two growing
seasons

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International Scientific Centre of Fertilizers (CIEC)

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION FOR A

Electronic editing: Vanessa Fuzinatto DallAgnol

All rights reserved.

World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC (16. : 2014 : Rio de Janeiro, RJ)

631.8 CDD (21.ed.)

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa Soils/Brazil

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa Soils/Brazil

Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa Soils/Brazil

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation - Embrapa Soils/Brazil

School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz / University of So Paulo/Brazil

Fabio Vale - Adubai Agronomic Consultancy/Brazil

Thiago A. Moura - School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz /University of So

Edson Mattiello - Federal University of Viosa/Brazil

Luiz Roberto Guimares Guilherme - Federal University of Lavras/Brazil

Francesco Montemurro - Council for Agriculture Research and Experimentation/Italy

Milton Fereira de Moraes - Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil

Ronaldo Pereira de Oliveira - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

Paulo Sergio Pavinato - School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz/University of So

Milton Fereira de Moraes - Federal University of Mato Grosso/Brazil

Aurlio Martins Favarin - Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation

R. Baird, R. Coqui da Silva....................................................................................................................................................... 20

Fertilizers in integrated plant nutrient management | Mark Alley...........................................................21

ORAL PRESENTATION PAPERS.............................................................................77

Poltoradnev M., Andreev A., Grebennikova.............................................................................................................................. 81

Eco-efficiency of nitrogen based fertilizers | Paula Prezotto, Jan Schoeneboom.......................................141

POSTER PRESENTATION PAPERS.......................................................................145

Antoine Allanore....................................................................................................................................................................... 147

2. Celtonita, natural mineral product obtained by clinoptilolite to increase the efficiency of

Section 5 | Fertilizers and environmental impacts.......................................................................192

Section 6 | Methodologies for fertilizer characterization.............................................................213

Section 10 | Premium fertilizer.......................................................................................................287

65. Forms of phosphorus application on different arrangements of planting soybeans:

66. Evaluation of organo-mineral granular fertilizers enriched with potassium solubilizing

79. Phosphorus utilization efficiency in maize fertilized with polymer-coated phosphate or

TOMORROWS CHALLENGES FOR FERTILIZERS AND FERTILIZATION

Prescription for nitrogen Fertilizers

drinking water quality and eutrophication. One of

16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC

of huge fines, after exposing previous attempts of

Phosphorus fertilizers: 100%/zero

to soils. Uranium (U) concentrations for instance

Mineral fertilizers with < 5% P2O5 shall be banned

Fertilization in Precision Agriculture twilighth of the Gods of technology

umented. This for instance is a key to solve the

which again presses heavily on salaries. If the

DEPA, Danish Environmental Protection Agency

Haneklaus, S. and Schnug, E. (2006). Site specific

16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC

NEW FERTILIZER TECHNOLOGIES AND THEIR

New product evaluation

FERTILIZERS IN INTEGRATED PLANT NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT

in the case of N, fixed from the atmosphere and

Plant Available Soil Nutrient Supplies

16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC

Fertilizer--An Entry Point for Integrated

Fertilizer Use in Sustaining Soil Fertility

potential environmental problems associated with

Integrated Plant Nutrient Management

International Fertilizer Industry Association.

Marschners Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants, 3rd

16th World Fertilizer Congress of CIEC

THE USE OF CLAY MINERALS TO IMPROVE NITROGEN