Corn Agronomic Attributes in Succession of Leguminous Cover Crops and Nitrogen Doses

Laures Francisco Cieslik,Lizete Stumpf,Leandro Alves De Freitas,Jaqueline Pereira Machado De Oliveira,Ana Regina Dahlem Ziech,Paulo Cesar Conceição

doi:10.5296/jas.v9i1.17774

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the dry biomass and nitrogen accumulation, the height and stem diameter of corn crop preceded by different leguminous cover crops, under different nitrogen doses. The study was conducted in the experimental area of Federal Technology University of Paraná, in Dois Vizinhos. The eigth cover crops consisted on: Sunn hemp; Crotalaria spectabilis; Jackbean; Cajanus cajan; Dolichos lablab; Velvet beans; Black velvet beans and Spontaneous species. The two dose nitrogen fertilization included: zero kg N ha-1; 180 kg N ha-1 applied in a single dose, under conditions of adequate humidity, 47 days after corn seeding. Were evaluated the height, dry biomass and basal stem diameter corn and the decomposition and release of N from the cover plants. The use of leguminous before corn crop is a good option for the southwest region of Paraná because it promotes soil protection and can promote increased carbon stock in the environment. The leguminous cover crop should be used like green manure, making them important species in the Brazilian agriculture sustainability context, once there are evidence of reducing or even not using mineral nitrogen fertilization in the subsequent agricultural crops, mainly the Jackbean.

Highlights

Brazil is the third largest corn producer in the world, yielding 82.9 million Ton in the 2017/2018 harvest and covering 16.7 million ha (SEAB/DERAL, 2020)
This study aimed to determine the dry biomass and N accumulation, the height and stem diameter of corn crop preceded by different leguminous cover crops, under different nitrogen doses
In the 2012/2013 harvest, no significant difference was observed in corn dry biomass, height and stem diameter when grown in succession to leguminous cover crops, regardless of absence or addition of nitrogen fertilization

Summary

Introduction

Brazil is the third largest corn producer in the world, yielding 82.9 million Ton in the 2017/2018 harvest and covering 16.7 million ha (SEAB/DERAL, 2020). It is emphasized that most of the corn areas in the state of Paraná, just like in the country, are under no-tillage system (FEBRAPDP, 2014) linked to, in general, high nitrogen (N) doses from synthetic fertilizers (Martin et al, 2011). This reality demonstrates that no-tillage has been a fundamental system for Brazilian soil management, because the permanent maintenance of dry biomass in the surface soil, which promote erosion reduction (Pittelkow et al, 2015), and adding more carbon in agroecosystem ensures more robust soil ecosystem function (Vezzani et al 2018), mainly on tropical soils (Shioga et al, 2016). The corn demand for N is very high (Martin et al, 2011), the use of organisms capable of fixing atmospheric N represents an alternative to supply this nutrient required by plants and reduces the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers usage for its production (Reis et al, 2014; Coombs et al, 2017)

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