Raffaella Rossetto

Ammonia volatilisation from urease inhibitor-treated urea applied to sugarcane trash blankets

Restricoes legais a colheita de cana-de-acucar com despalha a fogo estao causando um aumento da area cultivada com cana crua. Essa pratica gera uma espessa camada de palha de cana sobre o solo apos a colheita, o que dificulta a incorporacao de fertilizantes. Uma vez que grandes quantidades de amonia podem ser perdidas quando a ureia e aplicada superficialmente sobre a palha, e importante buscar alternativas para maximizar a eficiencia de uso do N-ureia. O inibidor de urease NBPT retarda a hidrolise da ureia e pode contribuir para diminuir as perdas de amonia por volatilizacao. Para quantificar essas perdas, foram instaladas câmaras coletoras de amonia em sete areas de producao de cana-de-acucar colhida sem queima; estas foram fertilizadas com sulfato ou nitrato de amonio, ureia ou ureia tratada com NBPT. Todos os fertilizantes nitrogenados foram aplicados superficialmente em doses de 80 ou 100 kg ha-1de N. As perdas de N foram muito pequenas quando se usou nitrato ou sulfato de amonio. Entretanto, as perdas por volatilizacao de amonia decorrentes do uso de ureia variaram de 1% (com dias chuvosos apos a adubacao) a 25% do N aplicado. O uso de NBPT proporcionou reducoes de 15 a 78% nas perdas por volatilizacao, dependendo das condicoes climaticas nos dias posteriores a aplicacao de N. A adicao de NBPT a ureia ajudou a controlar as perdas de amonia, mas o inibidor foi menos efetivo quando chuvas suficientes para incorporar a ureia no solo ocorreram somente 10 a 15 dias, ou mais, apos a aplicacao dos fertilizantes.

Calagem para a cana-de-açúcar e sua interação coma adubação potássica

SUGARCANE RESPONSE TO LIMING AND POTASSIUM FERTILIZATION Six experiments were carried out in the main sugarcane regions of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, in order to study sugarcane response to liming and potassium and its interactions. The treatments consisted of four rates of liming and tree rates of potassium, setup in factorial experiments, summing up twelve treatments, with four replications, organized in randomized block design. In four sites, the experiments were conducted during the first season and in two others, the ratoons were also evaluated. Four sites were cropped with the variety SP70-1143 and in the others, the varieties SP71-6163 and SP71-1406 were planted. Despite the high soil acidity in all sites, the response of sugarcane to liming was significant only in two sites, showing high tolerance of planted varieties to soil acidity conditions. The sugarcane response to potassium was linear in seven out of the 10 evaluated seasons. Significant interactions between liming and potassium were not observed in any studied site.

Exploring soil microbial 16S rRNA sequence data to increase carbon yield and nitrogen efficiency of a bioenergy crop

Crop residues returned to the soil are important for the preservation of soil quality, health, and biodiversity, and they increase agriculture sustainability by recycling nutrients. Sugarcane is a bioenergy crop that produces huge amounts of straw (also known as trash) every year. In addition to straw, the ethanol industry also generates large volumes of vinasse, a liquid residue of ethanol production, which is recycled in sugarcane fields as fertilizer. However, both straw and vinasse have an impact on N2O fluxes from the soil. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that is a primary concern in biofuel sustainability. Because bacteria and archaea are the main drivers of N redox processes in soil, in this study we propose the identification of taxa related with N2O fluxes by combining functional responses (N2O release) and the abundance of these microorganisms in soil. Using a large‐scale in situ experiment with ten treatments, an intensive gas monitoring approach, high‐throughput sequencing of soil microbial 16S rRNA gene and powerful statistical methods, we identified microbes related to N2O fluxes in soil with sugarcane crops. In addition to the classical denitrifiers, we identified taxa within the phylum Firmicutes and mostly uncharacterized taxa recently described as important drivers of N2O consumption. Treatments with straw and vinasse also allowed the identification of taxa with potential biotechnological properties that might improve the sustainability of bioethanol by increasing C yields and improving N efficiency in sugarcane fields.

Multi-Analytical Approach Reveals Potential Microbial Indicators in Soil for Sugarcane Model Systems

This study focused on the effects of organic and inorganic amendments and straw retention on the microbial biomass (MB) and taxonomic groups of bacteria in sugarcane-cultivated soils in a greenhouse mesocosm experiment monitored for gas emissions and chemical factors. The experiment consisted of combinations of synthetic nitrogen (N), vinasse (V; a liquid waste from ethanol production), and sugarcane-straw blankets. Increases in CO2-C and N2O-N emissions were identified shortly after the addition of both N and V to the soils, thus increasing MB nitrogen (MB-N) and decreasing MB carbon (MB-C) in the N+V-amended soils and altering soil chemical factors that were correlated with the MB. Across 57 soil metagenomic datasets, Actinobacteria (31.5%), Planctomycetes (12.3%), Deltaproteobacteria (12.3%), Alphaproteobacteria (12.0%) and Betaproteobacteria (11.1%) were the most dominant bacterial groups during the experiment. Differences in relative abundance of metagenomic sequences were mainly revealed for Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia with regard to N+V fertilization and straw retention. Differential abundances in bacterial groups were confirmed using 16S rRNA gene-targeted phylum-specific primers for real-time PCR analysis in all soil samples, whose results were in accordance with sequence data, except for Gammaproteobacteria. Actinobacteria were more responsive to straw retention with Rubrobacterales, Bifidobacteriales and Actinomycetales related to the chemical factors of N+V-amended soils. Acidobacteria subgroup 7 and Opitutae, a verrucomicrobial class, were related to the chemical factors of soils without straw retention as a surface blanket. Taken together, the results showed that MB-C and MB-N responded to changes in soil chemical factors and CO2-C and N2O-N emissions, especially for N+V-amended soils. The results also indicated that several taxonomic groups of bacteria, such as Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, and their subgroups acted as early-warning indicators of N+V amendments and straw retention in sugarcane-cultivated soils, which can alter the soil chemical factors.

Absorção de silício, produtividade e incidência de Diatraea saccharalis em cultivares de cana-de-açúcar

The variability of silicon absorption in sugarcane cultivars can be associate with its yield and sugarcane borer (D. saccharalis) incidence. The objective of this work was to evaluate silicon uptake by the leaves and accumulation in total aerial plant and its relationship to yield, quality and stalk borer in sugarcane cultivars. The experiment was carried out at Tiete, SP during March 2007 to July 2008, randomized complete blocks design with four replications and nine cultivars (IAC 86-2480, IAC 91-1099, IAC 87-3396, IACSP 94-4004, IACSP 93-6006, IACSP-93-3046, IACSP-94-2094, IACSP 94-2101, RB 86-7515). Yields were superior to 100 t ha-1 at 16 months of age and IAC 91-1099 and RB 86 7515 cultivars showed the highest diameter and height, respectively. The IAC 91-1099 showed the highest values of sugar and lowest to fiber content. Silicon content in leaves collected at 6 months showed not significant differences. The IACSP 93-3046, IACSP 93-6006 and IAC 91-1099 showed the highest silicon content in the leaves at 8 months and they were superior to 10 g kg-1 Si. Higher silicon content in the leaves was found for IAC 91-1099 at 10, 14 and 16 months and, in bagasse, to RB 86-7515 at 10 and 12 months. The foliar analysis collected at 8 months and the total aerial plant, collected just before harvest, were efficient to show differences on silicon uptake among cultivars. There was no relationship among Si uptake and yield and borer stalk incidence, which was reduced with increase of fiber content

Impacts of sugarcane agriculture expansion over low-intensity cattle ranch pasture in Brazil on greenhouse gases

Sugarcane is a widespread bioenergy crop in tropical regions, and the growing global demand for renewable energy in recent years has led to a dramatic expansion and intensification of sugarcane agriculture in Brazil. Currently, extensive areas of low-intensity pasture are being converted to sugarcane, while management in the remaining pasture is becoming more intensive, i.e., includes tilling and fertilizer use. In this study, we assessed how such changes in land use and management practices alter emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2, N2O and CH4 by measuring in situ fluxes for one year after conversion from low-intensity pasture to conventional sugarcane agriculture and management-intensive pasture. Results show that CO2 and N2O fluxes increased significantly in pasture and sugarcane with tillage, fertilizer use, or both combined. Emissions were highly variable for all GHGs, yet, cumulatively, it was clear that annual emissions in CO2-equivalent (CO2-eq) were higher in management-intense pasture and sugarcane than in unmanaged pasture. Surprisingly, tilled pasture with fertilizer (management-intensive pasture) resulted in higher CO2-eq emissions than conventional sugarcane. We concluded that intensification of pasture management and the conversion of pasture to sugarcane can increase the emission factor (EF) estimated for sugarcane produced in Brazil. The role of management practices and environmental conditions and the potential for reducing emissions are discussed.