Technologies for Fertilizers and Management Strategies of N-Fertilization in Coffee Cropping Systems to Reduce Ammonia Losses by Volatilization

Tainah Freitas; Lucas Bartelega; César Santos; Mateus Portes Dutra; Leonardo Fernandes Sarkis; Rubens José Guimarães; Anderson William Dominghetti; Pauliana Cristina Zito; Tales Jesus Fernandes; Douglas Guelfi

doi:10.3390/plants11233323

Technologies for Fertilizers and Management Strategies of N-Fertilization in Coffee Cropping Systems to Reduce Ammonia Losses by Volatilization

Plants (Basel). 2022 Dec 1;11(23):3323. doi: 10.3390/plants11233323.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, Brazil.
² Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, Brazil.
³ Department of Agriculture, Federal Institute of Espírito Santo, Santa Maria de Jetibá 29645-000, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Statistics, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, Brazil.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify NH₃-N losses from conventional, stabilized, slow-release, and controlled-release N fertilizers in a coffee field. The N fertilizers analyzed were prilled urea, prilled urea dissolved in water, ammonium sulfate (AS), ammonium nitrate (AN), urea + Cu + B, urea + adhesive + CaCO₃, and urea + NBPT (all with three split applications), as well as blended N fertilizer, urea + elastic resin, urea-formaldehyde, and urea + polyurethane (all applied only once). NH₃-N losses (mean of two crop seasons) were statistically higher for urea + adhesive + CaCO₃ (27.9% of applied N) in comparison with the other treatments. Loss from prilled urea (23.7%) was less than from urea + adhesive + CaCO₃. Losses from urea + NBPT (14.5%) and urea + Cu + B (13.5%) were similar and lower than those from prilled urea. Urea dissolved in water (4.2%) had even lower losses than those treatments, and the lowest losses were observed for AS (0.6%) and AN (0.5%). For the single application fertilizers, higher losses occurred for urea + elastic resin (5.8%), blended N fertilizer (5.5%), and urea + polyurethane (5.2%); and urea-formaldehyde had a lower loss (0.5%). Except for urea + adhesive + CaCO₃, all N-fertilizer technologies reduced NH₃-N losses compared to prilled urea.

Keywords: Coffea arabica; N-fertilizers; NH3 emission; slow- and controlled-release N-fertilizers; sustainable agriculture; urease inhibitors.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais),and (INCT – Café) Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Café.