Ammônia volatilization is one of the main mechanisms of soil nitrogen loss, especially associated with application of pig slurry on soil surface. The objectives of this study were to determine the ammonia volatilization after soil application of pig slurry in soil surface, at different times of the year and hour of application. The pig slurry was spread over the soil surface in February, May, October and December. In February and December the ammonia volatilization was also evaluated for application at 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The rates tested were 0, 20, 40 and 80m³ ha-1 and the determination of ammonia loss were made at 3, 6, 12, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 60, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours after the slurry application, adding up to six days of loss evaluation. Minimum ammonia volatilization was achieved with small amount of pig slurry application. The largest losses peaks were observed in the few hours following application indicating that, whenever possible, its soil incorporation would be an option to decrease N loss. The application time was not a consistent solution to the ammonia volatilization problem.
manure; crop residue; organic fertilizer; animal waste
