Effects of Fertilizer Additives on Ammonia Loss after Surface Application of Urea–Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of additives on ammonia loss when used with urea–ammonium nitrate fertilizer (UAN). The fertilizer additives were ammonium thiosulfate (ATS), calcium thiosulfate (CaTS), N-(N-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (Agrotain, AG), AG + CaTS, or a maleic-itaconic copolymer (Nutrisphere-N, NSN). Four greenhouse studies were conducted, with small fertilizer droplets applied to bare soil, large fertilizer droplets applied to bare soil, small fertilizer droplets applied to soil with 50% straw cover, and large fertilizer droplets applied to soil with 50% straw cover. Ammonia volatilizing from the soil surface was trapped in phosphoric acid and determined by steam distillation. Averaged across all four experiments, the percentage reductions of ammonia loss after 14 days, compared to unamended UAN, were 40% for UAN + ATS, 40% for UAN + CaTS, 51% for UAN + AG, 65% for UAN + AG + CaTS, and 11% for UAN + NSN.