No tillage soil management does not permit incorporation of crop residues and manure, thereby affecting nutrient availability and distribution in the soil profile. To evaluate the effect of soil tillage and source of nitrogen fertilizer on corn growth and on soil chemical properties, a field trial was carried out on a Red Latosol (Oxisol) in Chapecó, State Santa Catarina, Brazil. A complete randomized block design was used in a split-plot distribution with four replications. The main plots received the tillage systems: conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT), and the subplots, sources of N fertilizer: ammonium nitrate (AN), poultry house litter (PHL) and pig slurry (PS). Those fertilizer were applied at the level of 120 kg N ha-1. After four years, soil samples were collected at 0-10, 10-20, 30-40 and 50-60 cm. The results indicated that the surface manure application improved soil fertility, leading to increases on extractable P and exchangeable K, Ca, Mg, Cu and Zn in the top soil layer (0-10 cm). In this layer the nutrient accumulation is higher on NT than under CT. In NT system it is also observed migration and accumulation of P, K, Mg and Zn at the 10-20 cm soil layer. Soil pH increased with PHL application and decreased with AN application. Exchangeable aluminum increased with AN application.
manure; nutrient accumulation; nutrients mobility; soil acidity
