The objective of this research work was to evaluate the N loss through Brachiaria decumbens in the stage of post-anthesis related to the soil moisture. The experiment was carried out in green-house condition and the experimental design was a completely randomized, with three treatments and six replications. Plants of grass-Brachiaria were cultivated in pots filled out with sandy soil. The soil of each pot was fertilized with ammonium sulfate-15N (800mg vaso-1 of N). The treatments consisted of harvest of plants in the stages and soil moisture conditions, as following: (a) A60: stage of anthesis and with soil moisture maintained to 60% of the maximum water retention capacity; (b) PA60: post-anthesis stage or maturity with soil moisture maintained to 60% of the maximum retention capacity, and (c) PA20: post-anthesis stage with soil moisture of 20% of the maximum water retention capacity established after the anthesis stage. The plants of the treatments post-anthesis (PA60 and PA20) were harvested after 17 days beginning of the flowering stage. The balance of N from ammonium sulfate (15N) in the soil-plant system indicated losses of N, presumably from the aerial part of grass-Brachiaria plants in the post-anthesis stage (treatment PA60). These values were of the order of 25% in relation to the anthesis treatment (A60). The N loss in the post-anthesis stage as evaluated in the treatment with water deficits (PA20), it was minimized comparatively to the PA60 and it was of the order of 11% in relation to the treatment A60.
15N balance; ammonium; foliar N losses
