An experiment was carried out at the Instituto Agronômico (SAA-SP) Experimental Station, in Piracicaba-SP, from March/94 to April/95, to evaluate the potential of velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima) green manure and urea, applied alone or combined, to supply nitrogen to corn crop. The experiment consisted of a preliminary phase for the production of velvet bean under field conditions and for the production of green manure labeled with 15N under greenhouse conditions. The green manure was later incorporated to the soil and corn was grown. The treatments were: control; 15N labeled green manure (4.4 t ha-1 of dry matter and 25.8 g kg-1 of N); 15N labeled urea (50 and 100 kg ha-1 of N); and the combinations of green manure and urea labeled or not with 15N. The experimental design was a randomized block with four replicates. Most of the accumulated N by corn was supplied by the soil, followed by urea and velvet bean. Urea contribution to accumulated N in corn was proportional to the applied rate. Utilization of urea N by corn was greater than that of green manure, with the best effects provided by the combination of the two sources.
15N; velvet bean; urea; recuperation