Open AccessEconomic nitrogen doses via fertigation for corn cultivation in a semiarid environment
Author(s) -
Ênio Gomes Flôr Souza,
Ellen Abreu da Cruz,
Rafaela Félix da França,
Manoel Galdino dos Santos,
Thieres George Freire da Silva,
Maurício Luiz de Mello Vieira Leite,
Aurélio Paes Barros Júnior,
Francisco Bezerra Neto
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta scientiarum. agronomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.438
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1807-8621
pISSN - 1679-9275
DOI - 10.4025/actasciagron.v43i1.52045
Subject(s) - fertigation , agronomy , irrigation , crop , silage , yield (engineering) , dry season , mathematics , environmental science , biology , ecology , materials science , metallurgy
Producers in the northeastern semiarid region of Brazil have been cultivating irrigated corn. The commercialized product comprises mainly green ears and silage. However, the irrigation of crops for dry grain has been questioned regarding costs and price competitiveness in relation to the same non-irrigated product cultivated in other regions. In recent years, the use of drip tapes and fertigation has spread among corn producers in the region. The aim of this study was to determine the N dose, via fertigation, which provides the maximum economic production of corn for dry grain, in two crop seasons (summer and winter), in the semiarid region of Brazil. The experimental design was performed in randomized blocks, with four replications. In both crops, the treatments consisted of four doses of N (0, 80, 160, and 240 kg ha-1) applied in the form of urea. In the hybrid corn (Bt Feroz), the N content was evaluated in terms of leaves, grain yield, gross and net incomes, the rate of return, and the profitability index. Independent of the crop season, the yield of dry grain (5,441.03 kg ha-1) was highest when the corn was fertigated with a dose of 104.05 kg ha-1 N. The highest net incomes of the dry grain were obtained with 80 kg ha-1 N in summer (R$ 1,190.78 ha-1) and 160 kg ha-1 N in winter (R$ 2,757.54 ha-1). The winter crop was more favorable to the economic production of dry grain.