Characterizing the efficacy of novel nitrogen stabilizer products at reducing fertilizer nitrogen losses

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Date
2024-08-26
Authors
Nyathi, Sithabile Edith
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Abstract

Urea-based fertilizers (urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN)) are susceptible to nitrate (NO3-) leaching, ammonia (NH3-) volatilization, and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission losses, resulting in low fertilizer nitrogen (N) efficiency and presenting a risk to human and environmental health. Nitrogen stabilizer products containing the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP) can enhance wheat yield and optimize fertilizer efficiency while mitigating N losses. However, their high price hinders wider adoption by farmers. This study examined the efficacy of potentially cost-effective, double inhibitor (DI) formulations in decreasing N losses and improving crop N efficiency. Specifically, the study assessed the impacts of ARMU Advanced (ARMU-Adv) formulations (i.e., NBPT: DMPP ratios of 1:1 and 1:0.5) at mitigating N losses and improving wheat biomass yield and N efficiency. A no-inhibitor and a no-fertilizer (control) treatment were included for comparison. Results showed that the ARMU-Adv formulations were effective at reducing NH3 volatilization and N2O emission and improving shoot N uptake and apparent N recovery (ANR) relative to untreated fertilizers. Overall, the ARMU-Adv formulations were more effective with urea than with UAN in reducing NH3 volatilization and enhancing shoot N uptake and ANR, whereas inhibitor-treated UAN showed greater efficacy in mitigating N2O losses relative to urea. These findings demonstrate the potential of ARMU-Adv formulations to reduce N losses and enhance yield and N efficiency in wheat-based cropping systems.

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Double inhibitor, Urease inhibitor, Nitrification inhibitor, NBPT, DMPP, Ammonia volatilization, Nitrous oxide, Nitrate, Wheat, Urea, Urea ammonium nitrate
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