Slag can be used as an alternative for lime as soil amendment, having influence on nutrient uptake by the plant and, as a result, on leaf analysis and nutrient accumulation. To study the effect of the application of increasing rates of slag and lime stone on the uptake of macronutrients by sugar cane (variety SP 80-1842) an experiment was installed under field conditions, in January 1998, at Ituverava-SP, Brazil. Slag and limestone were applied to the sugarcane crop at planting, in four rates: 0; 1.23; 2.52 and 3.80 t ha-1 of CaCO3, using a Typic Haplorthox. In addition to the cane stalk production a verification was performed for the first and second ratoons (120 days and 345 after the emergence of the shoots, respectively). Macronutrient concentrations on the leaf +3 and in the aerial part of sugar cane for were analysed for the second cutting. Through leaf analysis data it was found that the corrective agents and rates did not modify the degree of absorption of macronutrients by the sugar cane. Slag had some effect on sugarcane evaluation, acting in a similar way in comparison to limestone, in relation to the nutrition of the plant.
Saccharum sp.; slag; lime; nutrition; extraction
