The combination of sulfur and nitrogen fertilization has a direct impact on the recovery process of degraded pastures in tropical climates

Abstract The present study aimed to determine the effect of combining sulfur (S) with nitrogen (N) in pastures of Marandu palisade grass ( Urochloa brizantha [A. Rich.] R.D. Webster) at an early stage of degradation. The experiment was conducted in São Luís de Montes Belos (located in the Brazilian Cerrado region), starting in October 2019 and ending in September 2021. The design used was a randomized block design arranged in a factorial scheme, where the plots were made up of S doses and the subplots of N doses, with four replications. Five S doses (0, 65, 130, 195 and 260 kg/ha) and three N doses (0, 100 and 200 kg/ha) were assessed. Doses of S and N promote increases in the green ground cover rate and the green color index. The combined application of 200 kg/ha of N and 150 kg/ha of S results in an average forage productivity of 15.59 Mg/ha, representing a 21.93% increase in biomass production in previously degraded Marandu palisade grass pastures. This demonstrates that the interaction between S and N positively influences the recovery of degraded pastures in tropical climate regions, as evidenced by the improvement in ground cover rate and forage production.