Optimizing the effectiveness of a novel urease inhibitor to reduce ammonia volatilization losses from urea, and increase nitrogen uptake and crop yield

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The overall objective of this study is to reduce ammonia volatilization losses from urea-based nitrogen (N) fertilizers by optimizing the effectiveness of a novel urease inhibitor. Active Agriproducts (AAP) is in the process of developing a novel urease inhibitor (ARM-U) taking into consideration some of the weaknesses of existing products. The company has evaluated the efficacy of ARM-U to reduce ammonia volatilization from urea-based fertilizers in the greenhouse. The results showed that 24% of the applied N in the urea and 5% of the applied N in UAN (28-0-0) was lost as ammonia 7 days after application, while less than 1% N was lost in the urea and UAN treated with ARM-U. This preliminary study showed that ARM-U was as effective as two commercial urease inhibitors in reducing ammonia volatilization from urea-based fertilizers. The company aims to improve the product by reducing the content of its active ingredient, NBPT, while enhancing the efficacy of NBPT. To achieve this, field scale studies comparing the effectiveness of different rates of ARM-U in preventing ammonia volatilization from urea are needed. We also do not know if the decrease in ammonia volatilization will translate into increased N uptake and increased crop yield. The experimental technique to be used is the open static cylindrical chambers method fitted with acid soaked foam discs. This will be used to trap ammonia gas emission on plots seeded to wheat to which urea has been applied with varying rates of urease inhibitor. Short term objectives of this study include: 1) Determine the optimal rate of ARM-U that strikes a balance between its efficacy in reducing volatilization losses and minimizing its NBPT content. 2)