Mineral and organomineral sources of nitrogen to maize agronomic performance

Nitrogen (N) is one of the nutrients absorbed in great quantity by maize crop. Also, N fertilizers are of high costs and subject to large losses into the agricultural environment. There are various categories of fertilizers known as fertilizers of improved efficiency that can minimize such N losses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different sources and doses of N in maize agronomic performance. The experiment was installed in randomized blocks, with four replications, designed as a factorial 5 x 5 + 1, constituted by five N sources (urea, urea polymerized, urea with NBPT, organomineral with and without NBPT), five N doses (40, 80, 120, 160, 200 kg ha-1) plus a control (no N supply). The chlorophyll contents and grain yield were evaluated. The results showed no differences for the different N sources, indicating that the organomineral sources are as efficient as the mineral sources. The addition of N fertilizers in increasing doses, regardless of the source tested, has increased the levels of chlorophylls and grain yiled.