Aqua ammonia 15 N obtaining and application with vainness for sugar-cane fertilization

Nitrogen compounds marked with the isotope 15 N are continuously being used in agronomic studies and, when associated to the isotopic dilution technique, they constitute an important tool in clarifying the N cycle. At the Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/USP), it was obtained ( 15 NH4)2SO4 enhanced at 3,5% of 15 N atoms, by means of the ionic exchange chromatography technique, which made possible to produce aqua ammonia (15 NH3aq). Four repetitions were taken to the aqua ammonia production process to use the nitrogen compound in the field experiment. In each process 150g of ammonium sulfate enhanced at 3,5% of 15 N atoms was used, obtaining 31,0 ± 1,6 g of aqua ammonia on the average (80% yield), with the same enhancement. The incidence of isotopic dilution has not been observed during the procedure, what made the use of such methodology possible. After obtaining the aqua ammonia 15 N through this procedure, it was added to the vinasse (an equivalent to 50 m3 ha-1 ) in doses that corresponded to 70 kg ha-1 of N-NH3aq. The mixture was applied to the sugar-cane straw on the soil's surface, aimed to the crop's fertilization. The compound's isotopic composition was analyzed by means of a spectrometer of masses ANCA-SL Europe Scientific, while the total-N volatilized, by the micro-Kjeldahl. Method. In accordance to the low NH3 (6,4 ± 1,9 kg ha-1 ) volatilization results, it could be concluded that the application of vinasse and aqua ammonia mixture to the straw on the soil's surface was efficient, due to the vinasse's acid character, which allowed the NH3, in presence of the ion H+, to stay in the NH4+ form in solution. (author)