Evaluation of a 15N plot design for estimating plant recovery of fertilizer nitrogen applied to sugar cane

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Abstract
Two experiments were conducted on commercial sugar cane fields cropped with the variety SP70-1143, with the objective of evaluating a single row microplot design to determine plant recovery of 15N fertilizer nitrogen. One of them used 15N-aqua ammonia and 15N-urea applied to two linear meter microplots of a ratoon crop (four replicates). The second used one linear meter microplots (three replicates) which received 15N-aqua ammonia only. The fertilizers were applied on 15cm deep furrows, located 25cm from both sides of the cane row. One linear meter of ratoon cane, inside and outside of the microplot, and on the same and adjacent rows were harvested twelve months after fertilization. The results indicate the feasibility of using single row segments of ratoon cane with 15N-fertilizer. The main advantage of this microplot design, when compared to the classical 3 contiguous row segments, is that only one third of the labeled fertilizer is needed. In a single row, in order to separate the nitrogen taken up by plants from the fertilizer applied to the row (Nr dff r), from that applied to adjacent rows (Nr dff r+1, and Nr dff r-1), the following should be considered: (a) a border segment of 0.5 to 1.0m inside the plot, so that Ndff results from plants harvested in the center of the microplot represent the actual value of fertilizer nitrogen taken up from that applied to the same row, and (b) harvest of plants from adjacent rows at equivalent positions to those sampled inside the microplot, to quantify the 15N-fertilizer uptake by outside plants (Nr+1dff r and Nr-1dff r), which is assumed to be the same as non labeled fertilizer applied to adjacent rows (Nr dff r+l and Nr dff r-1) taken up by inside plants. The Ndff total values should be calculated by the equation: Ndff total = Nr dff r + Nr+1dff r + Nr-1dff r.
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