Abstract
Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate urease inhibitors for the reduction of ammonia volatilization in Amazonian soils. The work was carried out on a clayey yellow Oxisol, a clayey red Oxisol, and on a light silty Ultisol. Each experiment was conducted in split plots, using standard urea, urea + a benzimidazole-type urease inhibitor (BZI1), urea + a benzoylthiourea-type urease inhibitor (RTB68), urea + N-(n-butyl) triamide thiophosphate (NBPT), or a fertilizer-free control. Volatilized ammonia was collected at 48, 96, 144, 192, 240, 288, 336, and 384 hours after fertilization. Ammonia volatilization reached a maximum at 144 hours in the urea, urea + benzimidazole, and urea + benzoylthiourea treatments. A peak level was reached at 192 and 288 hours in the urea + N-(n-butyl) triamide thiophosphate treatment. In yellow Oxisols, benzimidazole and benzoylthiourea reduced the ammonia losses by 22 and 10%, respectively, in soils without urease inhibitors. However, neither of these agents significantly reduced ammonia volatilization at the rate determined for standard urea in red Oxisols or Ultisols. N-(n-butyl) triamide thiophosphate is the most efficient urease inhibitor for the soils of southwestern Amazonia.
Highlights
Urea is the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer worldwide (IFASTAT, 2019)
Each experiment was conducted in split plots, using standard urea, urea + a benzimidazole-type urease inhibitor (BZI1), urea + a benzoylthiourea-type urease inhibitor (RTB68), urea + N-(n-butyl) triamide thiophosphate (NBPT), or a fertilizer-free control
The lack of any significant post-fertilization ammonia loss may be explained by the abundance of hydrogen ions (H+) and the high H+Al concentration (8.8 cmolc dm-3)
Summary
It is susceptible to ammonia volatilization which constitutes a loss of nitrogen. The nitrogen losses associated with ammonia volatilization are influenced by cation exchange capacity (Costa et al, 2004), humidity (Tasca et al, 2011), temperature (Da Ros et al, 2005), organic matter content (Knoblauch et al, 2012), pH (Sommer et al, 2004), and ammonium concentration (Rochette et al, 2009). The urease inhibitor most commonly used with fertilizers is N-(n-butyl) triamide thiophosphate (NBPT) (Mathialagan et al, 2017). When it is mixed with urea, it delays the hydrolysis and improves the incorporation of nitrogen into the soil. It is degraded during handling and storage (Sutton & Thornsberry, 2007)
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