The climatic limitations in the Northwest region of São Paulo State, Brazil, ally to low altitudes, are limiting factors for the maize culture. The increase of the current productivities mainly depends on the handling, having to be improved the nitrogen fertilization. With this purpose an experiment was carried out at the Pólo Regional Noroeste Paulista, located in the Northwest region of São Paulo State, county of Votuporanga, State of São Paulo, using a moderate eutrofic Argissol, of sandy texture (100 g.kg-1 of clay), in order to evaluate the productivity of grains and the respiratory activity of the soil microbial biomass, when the nitrogen side-dressing was applied in anticipated form and in the traditional form, under two conditions of straw thickness. The statistical design was randomized blocks, in strips, for the times of fertilization and straw thickness. Ammonium sulphate was used as side-dress fertilization, applied twice for each time treatment, with 40 and 70 kg.ha-1 of N, applied in superficial band, in the space between the plant rows. The times of application were: a) 59 and 45 days before the sowing of maize, b) 21 and 6 days before sowing and c) in traditional side-dressing, 22 and 46 days after the sowing, in the respective stages V5 and V8, with three replications, under two conditions of straw thickness. Each plot had 50m of length and 3,2m of width, with four plant rows, with 0.8m between the rows. The results showed an immediate response of the respiratory activity in function of the ground moisture, increasing the C-CO2 evolution after the registered precipitation events at the three times of application of N in side-dressing. There was not a significant effect of the application of N in the respiratory activity of the ground biomass. The results showed that the no tillage system in this region, without considering crop rotation and keeping the ground coverage, does not favor the anticipated fertilization. On the other hand, the productivity averages for the times of application, independently of the straw thickness, were 4,758, 5,860 and 5,825 kg.ha-1, for the first parcels of N-fertilizer application at 59 and 21 days before sowing and 22 days after sowing, respectively. The application of the first parcel at 21 days before sowing and the traditional application 22 days after sowing did not show significant difference. It can be concluded that, the respiratory activity of the soil microbial biomass was not affected by the application of N in side-dressing nor for the thickness of the straw coverage and it was only affected by the ground moisture condition. For soils without preparation, without crop rotation, aiming at permanent soil coverage, the application of N in traditional side-dressing is more convenient, with splited applications to get higher maize productivity.
soil without preparation; foliar-N; evolution of C-CO2; nitrogen side-dressing; time of application of N-fertilizer
