Vinasse Dynamics on Soil Solution Under Sugarcane Crop: Inorganic and Organic Ion Analysis

Abstract

Studies on ion movement in soil profiles associated to the application of vinasse are scarce. The objective of this study is to assess the quantity of inorganic and organic ions in the profile of the soil under sugarcane. The study was realized in a commercial sugarcane cultivar in the municipality of Ponta Pora, MS, Brazil in the harvest year of 2010/2011. The soil in the experimental area was classified as Haplorthox clay. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with four repetitions, two depths, and four harvest periods, after application of a 350 m3 h−1 vinasse dosage. Twenty-four soil solution extractors were installed at a distance of 4 × 4 m from each other in the areas under vinasse treatment. Vinasse was chemically characterized by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry method. The extracted solution samples were determined for ionic chromatography. Elevated concentrations of lactic, butyric, citric, tartaric, succinic, formic, and acetic acids were found up to 1 m of depth up to 29 days after application. After 63 days, no traces of those anions were found in the soil. There was a rise in nitrate and a decline in the content of chloride and sulfate.