The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of concentration of urea and potassium nitrate in the irrigation water on the concentration of nitrate in the soil solution and in saturation extract of soil at two depths of root system of Plaintans banana cv Terra Maranhão under fertigation. The experiment was carried out during the period of January to December, 2008 and followed a randomized block design with three replications in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme where treatments consisted of the use of two nitrogen sources (urea and potassium nitrate) under four concentrations (2.7; 4.0; 6.5 and 7.2 g L-1), applied by drip irrigation with three 4 L h-1 emitter per plant. Soil and soil solution samples were collected monthly in all treatments at depths of 0.30 and 0.60 m and nitrate concentration was determined in the soil solution and saturation extract. Results allowed to conclude that the increase of nitrogen fertilizer concentration in fertigation water caused an increase of nitrate ion concentration in the soil solution and in saturation extract for the two applied sources.
soil solution; saturation extract; urea; potassium nitrate
