Performance of dicyandiamide in the north central states

Abstract

Abstract The effectiveness of the nitrification inhibitors, nitrapyrin and dicyandiamine, in reducing nitrogen loss from soil and preventing reduction in crop yield was evaluated in field studies conducted over dozens of site years in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin on corn, wheat, and a vegetable crop, potato. Both chemicals were effective in retarding the nitrification of ammoniacal fertilizers, including nitrogen from liquid animal manures, but this inhibitor did not always result in yield increases above that obtained with equivalent amounts of nitrogen applied without inhibitor. Greatest benefits for nitrification inhibitor use was obtained on coarse‐textured soils under conditions that were conducive to nitrate nitrogen loss when nitrogen was applied at rates not considered to be excessive.