Pig slurry as a nutrient source in wheat/corn succession

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wheat and corn are important grains in the agricultural scenario of Brazil, and demand adequate supply of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, in crop succession. The use of pig slurry (PS) as a full and/or partial alternative to mineral fertilization in crop areas has been identified as an important alternative for the disposal of this waste. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the utilization of PS as fertilizer in wheat/corn succession under some plant parameters and grain yield. The experiment was conducted under field in randomized block design with four replications and five treatments, three with PS (40, 80, 160 m³ ha-1) and two controls (no fertilization and mineral NPK fertilization), which were applied manually in the soil shortly after sowing the crops. The application of PS proved to be a significant source of nutrients in wheat/corn succession. In comparison to NPK fertilization, this increase was only of 5.4% and 4.7% for wheat and corn, respectively. PS is an efficient alternative and it can be used as a source of these nutrients in wheat/corn succession, and the use of 80 m3ha-1 provides satisfactory results for all evaluated variables.