Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solution Treated with Inhibitor Technology: Effects on Ammonia Emission Reduction, Wheat Yield, and Inorganic N in Soil

Abstract

Urea is the most used fertilizer nitrogen (N), and is often applied as urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), which may be an ammonia (NH3) emission source after application. This study examined whether the addition of urease inhibitors reduced NH3 emission, and, in combination with nitrification inhibitors, enhanced fertilizer N crop uptake. In three experiments, NH3 emission was measured from plots (100 m2) to which UAN was added with and without inhibitors. In March and May, the plots were covered with Triticum aestivum L., Sheriff (var), and in July, the soil was bare. The inhibitor mixed with urea was N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and a mixture of NBPT and the new nitrification inhibitor DMPSA (3,4-Dimethylpyrazole succinic acid). Ammonia emissions were negligible from all plots after the first application of UAN due to the wet and cold weather while an average of 7% of applied UAN was emitted after application of UAN in April, where no significant effect of additives was observed. The harvest yield was low due to drought from May till August. Yield was highest when UAN was mixed with NBPT and lowest for untreated UAN. The highest emission from the bare plots was obtained from untreated UAN (17% of N), in contrast to 11% of N from the plots with added UAN + NBPT (not significant) and 7% from the plots with added UAN + NBPT + DMPSA (significantly different). Under the conditions of the current study, urease inhibitors reduce NH3 emissions in periods where the risk of emission is high, and the combination of urease and nitrification inhibitors increased yields.