Dry matter accumulation, chlorophyll and sulfur leaf in corn fertilized with different sulfur sources

Abstract

In Brazil, with the constant use of concentrated NPK fertilizers, sulfur became a limiting nutrient for corn plant growth and development. This research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of elemental sulfur coating the granule of fertilizer, compared with the sulfur of ammonium sulfate associated to soluble fertilizers based on NPK. The hybrid-corn DKB390 was evaluated under a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme 3x6 (three fertilizers × six phenological stages) with three replications. A soil under corn monoculture was used. Three types of formulated fertilizers (NPK) associated with sulfur (ammonium sulfate or elemental sulfur) and the control without S was used. The accumulation of the shoots and root dry matter, chlorophyll and sulfur in leafs were evaluated. The data were collected at stages: 6 leafs, 10 leafs, 14 leafs, tasselling, flowering and physiological maturity. The used fertilizers provided differences in the shoot dry matter and in the sulfur accumulation in leafs. The sulfur accumulation in corn leafs was similar among the elemental sulfur and the ammonium sulfate treatments. Elemental sulfur provided superior results in comparison to the fertilizer without sulfur and was similar to the fertilizer with ammonium sulfate.