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Nitrogen Losses in Field Irrigated with Domestic Sewage Through Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Sugarcane in Brazil

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Abstract

Conflicts over water use and the high demand for food and biofuels have motivated the use of wastewater in irrigated agriculture. The study aimed to evaluate the nitrogen losses through nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission for sugarcane first ratoon irrigated by subsurface drip (SDI) with fresh water and treated domestic sewage (TDS) and traditional crop management under rainfed conditions. Therefore, the following treatments were implemented: T1—non-irrigated and topdressing fertilization; T2—irrigated with TDS, with fertigation; T3—irrigated with TDS, without fertigation; T4—irrigated with fresh water, with fertigation; T5—irrigated with fresh water, without fertigation. The nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied corresponded to 120 kg ha−1 to all treatments, with broadcast fertilization for nonirrigated cropping and, for the irrigated plots, it was performed by supplementing the concentration of the nutrients in the TDS and freshwater. All the fertigated treatments had lower leaching losses than nonirrigated treatment with topdressing fertilization, the total N loss for nonirrigated plots differed significantly from irrigated treatments, with a total loss of 16.36 kg N ha−1. The application of TDS by SDI to meet the needs for water and nutrients resulted in a decrease of N losses by NO3− leaching and N2O emissions, compared with traditional sugarcane cultivation under non-irrigated with topdressing fertilization (total of 16.36 kg ha−1 for T1), being the nitrate leaching the main factor that contributed to the N loss with a loss of 71% for T1 (11.50 kg ha−1). Irrigation with TDS, in addition to providing nutrients and water for sugarcane cultivation, can help minimize nitrogen contamination compared to conventional management methods through SDI systems.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge the School of Agricultural Engineering of State University of Campinas (FEAGRI/UNICAMP). The financial support provided by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq).

Funding

Funding was provided by Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP grant 2020/08365–1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of Ponta Grossa, Pronta Grossa, PR, Brazil

    Eduardo A. A. Barbosa

  2. Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, United States

    Ivo Z. Gonçalves & Fábio R. Marin

  3. College of Agricultural Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Edson E. Matsura & Aline A. Nazario

  4. Federal Institute of Sertão Pernambucano, Floresta, PE, Brazil

    Daniel R. C. Feitosa

  5. Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation, Bogotá, DC, Colombia

    Natália F. Tuta

  6. Federal Institute Goiano, Rio Verde, GO, Brazil

    Leonardo N. S. Santos

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  1. Eduardo A. A. Barbosa
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by EAAB. Implementation of the field experiment, article writing and field data collection by IZG. Project coordinator and manuscript review by EEM. Collaborated with field data collection and statistical analysis of the data by DRCF, NFT, LNSS, AAN and FRM. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ivo Z. Gonçalves.

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Barbosa, E.A.A., Gonçalves, I.Z., Matsura, E.E. et al. Nitrogen Losses in Field Irrigated with Domestic Sewage Through Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Sugarcane in Brazil. Sugar Tech 25, 1339–1350 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-023-01294-9

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