Manure Pellets Research Articles

Feedstock type drives surface property, demineralization and element leaching of nitric acid-activated biochars more than pyrolysis temperature

Nitric acid activation (NA-A) effects on the surface properties, mineral phases and element compositions of biochars produced from four feedstocks at three temperatures were evaluated. NA-A increased biochar thermal stability, but its effect on ash content and surface area was feedstock-dependent, with ash content in manure pellet biochars less affected due to a high quartz content. Apart from the manure pellet biochars and the sawdust biochar produced at 400 °C, NA-A decreased the surface area of biochars by up to 100% due to reduced pore volume. Nitric acid significantly leached elements such as potassium from biochars due to protonation and their reactions with several mineral phases, such as sylvite, on the biochars (p < 0.05). This study shows that mineral phases and element compositions of nitric acid-activated biochars were driven more by the feedstock type than the pyrolysis temperature and the derived biochars would be poor adsorbents.

Agricultural wastes co-densification: A solution for seasonal feedstock storage and anaerobic digestion performance improvement

Rice straw and pig manure pellets (RPP) and sorghum straw and pig manure pellets (SPP) were used to identify their competition as the flexible feedstock of anaerobic digestion with one-year indoor storage. The results indicated the effect of time on their characteristic was tiny during storage period, such as density, calorific value, total solid, volatile solid, ratio of carbon and nitrogen, and lignocellulosic components. Biogas yields of stored RPP and SPP were 8.8% and 26.7% lower than that of fresh pig manure (PM), and 45.4% and 56.1% higher than the sum of corresponding straw and PM digestion alone, respectively. Improvements in biodegradability were observed in co-densified biomass anaerobic digestion. Net biogas yield of RPP was 24.2% higher than that of rice straw, considering volatile matter loss and biogas yield decline during densification and storage stage. Priority of manure and supplement of co-densified biomass were proposed for feedstock supply on demand.

Application of Granular and Non-Granular Organic Fertilizers in Terms of Energy, Environmental and Economic Efficiency

Granular organic fertilizers have been increasingly used in agriculture due to the longer delivery of nutrients to plants and the milder impact on the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the energy, environmental and economic efficiency of granular and non-granular organic fertilizers. Four technological scenarios of organic fertilizer use were used for comparative assessment: (1) manure fertilization (16.0 t ha−1), (2) manure fertilization (30.0 t ha−1), (3) manure pellet fertilization (2.0 t ha−1), and (4) fertilization with meat and bone meal pellets (0.7 t ha−1). Experimental studies using the mass flow method of laser spectroscopy were performed to evaluate the comparative environmental impact of granular and non-granular organic fertilizers. Economic assessment was performed for mechanized technological operations of loading, transportation and distribution of organic fertilizers, estimating the price of aggregates used and fuel consumed, the costs of individual technological operations and other indirect costs. The results showed that for mechanized technological operations, when fertilizing with granular organic manure and meat and bone meal fertilizer, energy consumption is 3.2 to 4.0 times lower compared to fertilization with manure. The average ammonia (NH3) emissions from granular organic fertilizers were found to be six times lower than from non-granular organic fertilizers. The lowest costs for mechanized works were incurred when using meat and bone meal pellets, the highest economic benefits of organic fertilizers by elements was when using manure 30 t ha−1, and the highest costs for organic fertilizers were incurred when using manure pellets.

Organic Amendments Alter Soil Hydrology and Belowground Microbiome of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

Manure-derived organic amendments are a cost-effective tool that provide many potential benefits to plant and soil health including fertility, water retention, and disease suppression. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate how dairy manure compost (DMC), dairy manure compost-derived vermicompost (VC), and dehydrated poultry manure pellets (PP) impact the tripartite relationship among plant growth, soil physiochemical properties, and microbial community composition. Of tomato plants with manure-derived fertilizers amendments, only VC led to vigorous growth through the duration of the experiment, whereas DMC had mixed impacts on plant growth and PP was detrimental. Organic amendments increased soil porosity and soil water holding capacity, but delayed plant maturation and decreased plant biomass. Composition of bacterial communities were affected more by organic amendment than fungal communities in all microhabitats. Composition of communities outside roots (bulk soil, rhizosphere, rhizoplane) contrasted those within roots (endosphere). Distinct microbial communities were detected for each treatment, with an abundance of Massilia, Chryseolinea, Scedosporium, and Acinetobacter distinguishing the control, vermicompost, dairy manure compost, and dehydrated poultry manure pellet treatments, respectively. This study suggests that plant growth is affected by the application of organic amendments not only because of the soil microbial communities introduced, but also due to a synergistic effect on the physical soil environment. Furthermore, there is a strong interaction between root growth and the spatial heterogeneity of soil and root-associated microbial communities.

Evaluation of Physiological and Quality Parameters of Green Asparagus Spears Subjected to Three Treatments against the Decline Syndrome

Green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a widely grown and consumed crop which provides high-level nutritional interest. In recent years, the decline syndrome in asparagus plantations has been rapidly augmenting. This syndrome causes the early death of whole plants, also negatively affecting the new replanting. Decline causes notable economic losses in the sector. The objective of this work was to verify the effect of different treatments against asparagus decline syndrome on the physiological parameters and nutritional quality of the spears. To meet the objective, four different treatments were applied to asparagus plots strongly affected by decline syndrome: (T1) untreated control soil, (T2) biofumigation with Brassica pellets, (T3) biofumigation with chicken manure pellets, and (T4) disinfestation of the soil with Dazomet. The cumulative yield and physiological and quality parameters of green asparagus spears were studied. Thus, malondialdehyde (MDA), photosynthetic pigments, glutathione (GSH), ascorbate (AsA), total phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanin, antioxidant test, mineral nutrients, and the amino acid profile were measured on asparagus spears. The results showed that the Brassica pellets and Dazomet treatments were the most effective against the damage caused by the decline syndrome. However, it would be necessary to monitor the evolution in the following years.

Carbonization temperature and feedstock type interactively affect chemical, fuel, and surface properties of hydrochars

The hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process that converts wet/dry biomass to hydrochars (for use as solid fuels or adsorbents) needs to be optimized. We investigated the interactive effects of feedstock type and HTC temperature on chemical, fuel, and surface properties of hydrochars produced from lignocellulosic (canola straw, sawdust and wheat straw) and non-lignocellulosic feedstocks (manure pellet) at 180, 240 and 300 °C. Increased HTC temperature decreased hydrochar yield and surface functional group abundance, but increased hydrochar thermal stability due to increased devolatilization and carbonization. Hydrochar surface area ranged from 1.76 to 30.59 m2g−1, much lower than those of commercially available activated carbon. Lignocellulosic and non-lignocellulosic feedstocks were distinctly affected by HTC temperature due to variable carbonization from ashing. Hydrochars produced from lignocellulosic biomass at 240 and 300 °C resembled high-volatile bituminous coal. Hydrochars should be designed for specific applications such as fuels by selecting specific feedstock types and carbonization conditions.

Manure-based biochar decreases heterotrophic respiration and increases gross nitrification rates in rhizosphere soil

This study hypothesized that pyrolyzed manure pellet (biochar) reduces heterotrophic respiration and N2O emissions from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rhizosphere soil by affecting net and gross nitrogen (N) transformation rates and the effects differ between rhizosphere and bulk soils. The biochar significantly decreased heterotrophic respiration but not N2O emissions, while unpyrolyzed manure pellets (feedstock) increased both of them, in both the rhizosphere and bulk soils. The biochar increased gross nitrification rate by 32.9% in the rhizosphere but decreased it by 19.4% in the bulk soil while the feedstock increased gross N transformation (mineralization and nitrification) rates in both soil zones. The biochar decreased the % recovery of 15NH4+ in the NH4+-N pool in the rhizosphere but increased it in the bulk soil, as a result of biochar's contrasting effects on gross nitrification rates in the respective soil zones. It can be concluded that biochar had similar effects on heterotrophic respiration and N2O emissions but had contrasting effects on gross nitrification rates between rhizosphere and bulk soils, supporting part of the hypothesis and highlighting the importance of studying gross N transformation processes in understanding rhizosphere-biochar interactions.

Fuel, thermal and surface properties of microwave-pyrolyzed biochars depend on feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature

We evaluated the fuel, thermal and surface properties of twelve biochars produced from three lignocellulosic (canola straw, sawdust, wheat straw) and one non-lignocellulosic feedstock (manure pellet) pyrolyzed at three temperatures using a microwave. Regardless of feedstock type, increasing pyrolysis temperature progressively reduced the abundance of -OH functional group and yield, but increased pH and thermal stability of biochar. Gross calorific values (GCV), carbon stability, and degree of aromaticity of biochars derived from lignocellulosic feedstocks increased with increasing temperature due to decreased elemental oxygen content. However, high ash content in the non-lignocellulosic feedstock retarded its thermal degradation, producing biochars with low GCV. The specific surface area of biochars was low, with the highest value of 43 m2 g−1 achieved for sawdust biochar produced at 500 °C. We conclude that the fuel, thermal, and surface properties of the biochars were dependent on the feedstock type and pyrolysis temperature.

Assessment of Agro-Environmental Impacts for Supplemented Methods to Biochar Manure Pellets during Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivation

The agro-environmental impact of supplemented biochar manure pellet fertilizer (SBMPF) application was evaluated by exploring changes of the chemical properties of paddy water and soil, carbon sequestration, and grain yield during rice cultivation. The treatments consisted of (1) the control (no biochar), (2) pig manure compost pellet (PMCP), (3) biochar manure pellets (BMP) with urea solution heated at 60 °C (BMP-U60), (4) BMP with N, P, and K solutions at room temperature (BMP-NPK), and (5) BMP with urea and K solutions at room temperature (BMP-UK). The NO3−–N and PO4−–P concentrations in the control and PMCP in the paddy water were relatively higher compared to SBMPF applied plots. For paddy soil, NH4+–N concentration in the control was lower compared to the other SBMPFs treatments 41 days after rice transplant. Additionally, it is possible that the SBMPFs could decrease the phosphorus levels in agricultural ecosystems. Also, the highest carbon sequestration was 2.67 tonnes C ha−1 in the BMP-UK treatment, while the lowest was 1.14 tonnes C ha−1 in the BMP-U60 treatment. The grain yields from the SBMPFs treatments except for the BMP-UK were significantly higher than the control. Overall, it appeared that the supplemented BMP-NPK application was one of the best SBMPFs considered with respect to agro-environmental impacts during rice cultivation.

Biochar properties and lead(II) adsorption capacity depend on feedstock type, pyrolysis temperature, and steam activation

Biochar is a promising material for facilitating the reclamation of oil sands process water (OSPW); however, how biochar properties can be optimized for metal removal from OSPW is not well studied. This study was conducted to determine relationships among feedstock type, pyrolysis condition, biochar property, and lead(II) adsorption capacity to demonstrate the potential use of biochar for metal removal from a synthetic OSPW. Sawdust, canola and wheat straw, and manure pellet were pyrolyzed at 300, 500, and 700 °C, with or without steam activation. Increasing pyrolysis temperature increased, with a few exceptions, biochar pH, surface area, and carbon content, but decreased hydrogen and oxygen contents and surface functional groups. Steam activation increased surface area but did not affect other properties. For non-steam-activated biochars, canola and wheat straw biochars produced at 700 °C had the highest lead(II) adsorption capacity (Qmax_Pb), at 108 and 109 mg g−1, respectively. Increasing the pyrolysis temperature increased Qmax_Pb due to increased biochar pH, ash content, and surface area by increasing precipitation, ion exchange, and inner-sphere complexation of lead(II). Steam activation increased lead(II) adsorption capacity for most biochars mainly due to the increased surface area, with the highest Qmax_Pb at 195 mg g−1 for canola straw biochar pyrolyzed at 700 °C with steam activation. The adsorption with time followed a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The results of this study will help select most effective biochars that can be produced from locally available agricultural or forestry byproducts that are optimized for metal removal from synthetic OSPW.

Use of Dry Dairy Manure Pellets as Nutrient Source for Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) Growth in Soilless Media

A sustainable dairy manure amendment for soilless crop growth systems was evaluated for its ability to provide nutrients and serve as a major component of the growing media. After manure liquid/solid separation, the solids stream containing organic N and P was pelletized and used as a nutrient source for cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) culture in soilless media. The pellets are low in moisture, odor, and pathogens, and they can be hauled at lower cost over longer distances and more easily stored than raw or composted manure. Manure pellet additions to soilless media were evaluated at 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by volume. Manure pellets had a total N content of 3.7%. Fruit size, ripeness, and biomass, plant height, nutrients value in tissue/pellets/media, and time to complete growth cycle were analyzed. Overall, manure pellet treatments improved plant height and growth rate compared to the negative control, especially when pellets were 15% to 50% of the soilless media. This indicates that the nutrients in the manure were being mineralized, and plants were able to utilize the manure-based nutrients for growth. Leaf tissue nutrient analysis revealed that N, K, Zn, and Fe in leaf tissue were not at sufficiency levels at any level of manure pellet addition. Phosphorus and Cu reached sufficiency levels with 10% or greater manure pellet additions. Calcium, Mg, S, Mn, and B were sufficient in all plants, regardless of fertilizer or manure pellet treatment. Manure pellets demonstrate the potential to be used as a substrate and partial growth medium to reduce synthetic fertilizer use for more sustainable soilless container culture.

산소 트리밍 기술을 이용한 소형 축분 펠릿 보일러 제어장치 개발

본 논문에서는 농가에서 발생하는 유기성 폐기물(가축분뇨)을 고형 연료화한 축분 펠릿을 비닐하우스 및 축사난방 등으로 사용할 수 있는 소형 축분 펠릿 보일러용 고형연료 연소 제어장치를 개발하였다. 개발된 고형연료 연소 제어장치는 산소 센서를 이용하여 보일러 연소 가스 중의 산소 농도를 측정하여, 적정 공기량이 되도록 공기의 공급량을 제어함으로서 열효율 및 연소 효율을 증대 시킬 수 있으며, 연소 제어장치의 연속 연소 및 회분자동 배출 기능으로 축분 펠릿 보일러의 효율성이 증대하였다는 것을 실험을 통해 확인 하였다.

Anaerobic Process for Bioenergy Recovery From Dairy Waste: Meta-Analysis and Enumeration of Microbial Community Related to Intermediates Production.

Dairy wastes are widely studied for the hydrogen and methane production, otherwise the changes in microbial communities related to intermediate valuable products was not deeply investigated. Culture independent techniques are useful tools for exploring microbial communities in engineered system having new insights into their structure and function as well as potential industrial application. The deep knowledge of the microbiota involved in the anaerobic process of specific waste and by-products represents an essential step to better understand the entire process and the relation of each microbial population with biochemical intermediates and final products. Therefore, this study investigated the microbial communities involved in the laboratory-scale anaerobic digestion of a mixture of mozzarella cheese whey and buttermilk amended with 5% w/v of industrial animal manure pellets. Culture-independent methods by employing high-throughput sequencing and microbial enumerations highlighted that lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillaceae and Streptococcaceae dominated the beginning of the process until about day 14 when a relevant increase in hydrogen production (more than 10 ml H2 gVS-1 from days 13 to 14) was observed. Furthermore, during incubation a gradual decrease of lactic acid bacteria was detected with a simultaneous increase of Clostridia, such as Clostridiaceae and Tissierellaceae families. Moreover, archaeal populations in the biosystem were strongly related to inoculum since the non-inoculated samples of the dairy waste mixture had a relative abundance of archaea less than 0.1%; whereas, in the inoculated samples of the same mixture several archaeal genera were identified. Among methanogenic archaea, Methanoculleus was the dominant genus during all the process especially when the methane production occurred, and its relative abundance increased up to 99% at the end of the incubation time highlighting that methane was formed from dairy wastes primarily by the hydrogenotrophic pathway in the reactors.

Manure pellet, woodchip and their biochars differently affect wheat yield and carbon dioxide emission from bulk and rhizosphere soils

Application of biochars produced by pyrolyzing organic residues to cropland has been proposed to be an effective approach to better use of organic residues, decrease soil greenhouse gas emission and increase soil fertility. However, the effect of biochar application on processes occurring in the bulk soil vs that in the rhizosphere is poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of manure pellet and woodchip biochars, as compared to that of unpyrolyzed (raw) manure pellet and woodchip, on plant grain yield, and soil respiration in the bulk and rhizosphere soils in a greenhouse experiment using the rhizobox technique. The raw manure pellet and woodchip and their biochars were applied to the soil at the rate of 57 t ha−1 and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. GP168) was grown in the rhizosphere compartment of the rhizobox. Soil amendment with raw manure pellet and its biochar significantly increased plant grain yield by 36.3 and 16.1%, as compared to the control (without amendment), while raw woodchip and its biochar applications significantly decreased plant grain yield. Manure pellet and woodchip biochars significantly reduced soil respiration from the rhizosphere by 24.6 and 29.7%, respectively, relative to the control, but not that from the bulk soil (P > 0.05). Relativized cumulative CO2 emission was significantly reduced by both manure pellet and woodchip biochars from rhizosphere and bulk soils. Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen were increased (P < 0.01) in all soil amendment treatments in both bulk and rhizosphere soils, but microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in the rhizosphere soil were reduced by manure pellet biochar application. We conclude that biochars produced from organic residues have differential impacts on processes in bulk and rhizosphere soils, and thus measurements based on bulk soil alone may result in erroneous conclusions about the effect of biochars on soil CO2 emission.

Enrichment Planting and Soil Amendments Enhance Carbon Sequestration and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Agroforestry Systems: A Review

Agroforestry practices that intentionally integrate trees with crops and/or livestock in an agricultural production system could enhance carbon (C) sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from terrestrial ecosystems, thereby mitigating global climate change. Beneficial management practices such as enrichment planting and the application of soil amendments can affect C sequestration and GHG emissions in agroforestry systems; however, such effects are not well understood. A literature review was conducted to synthesize information on the prospects for enhancing C sequestration and reducing GHG emissions through enrichment (i.e., in-fill) tree planting, a common practice in improving stand density within existing forests, and the application of organic amendments to soils. Our review indicates that in agroforests only a few studies have examined the effect of enrichment planting, which has been reported to increase C storage in plant biomass. The effect of adding organic amendments such as biochar, compost and manure to soil on enhancing C sequestration and reducing GHG emissions is well documented, but primarily in conventional crop production systems. Within croplands, application of biochar derived from various feedstocks, has been shown to increase soil organic C content, reduce CO2 and N2O emissions, and increase CH4 uptake, as compared to no application of biochar. Depending on the feedstock used to produce biochar, biochar application can reduce N2O emission by 3% to 84% as compared to no addition of biochars. On the other hand, application of compost emits less CO2 and N2O as compared to the application of manure, while the application of pelleted manure leads to more N2O emission compared to the application of raw manure. In summary, enrichment planting and application of organic soil amendments such as compost and biochar will be better options than the application of raw manure for enhancing C sequestration and reducing GHG emissions. However, there is a shortage of data to support these practices in the field, and thus further research on the effect of these two areas of management intervention on C cycling will be imperative to developing best management practices to enhance C sequestration and minimize GHG emissions from agroforestry systems.

The effect of bacterial and archaeal populations on anaerobic process fed with mozzarella cheese whey and buttermilk

Dairy wastes can be conveniently processed and valorized in a biorefinery value chain since they are abundant, zero-cost and all year round available. For a comprehensive knowledge of the microbial species involved in producing biofuels and valuable intermediates from dairy wastes, the changes in bacterial and archaeal population were evaluated when H2, CH4 and chemical intermediates were produced. Batch anaerobic tests were conducted with a mixture of mozzarella cheese whey and buttermilk as organic substrate, inoculated with 1% and 3% w/v industrial animal manure pellets. The archaeal methanogens concentration increased in the test inoculated at 3% (w/v) when H2 and CH4 production occurred, being 1 log higher than that achieved in the test inoculated at 1% (w/v). Many archaeal species, mostly involved in the production of CH4, were identified by sequencing denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands. Methanoculleus, Methanocorpusculum and Methanobrevibacter genera were dominant archaea involved in the anaerobic process for bioenergy production from mozzarella cheese whey and buttermilk mixture.

Pre-treatment and inoculum affect the microbial community structure and enhance the biogas reactor performance in a pilot-scale biodigestion of municipal solid waste

During anaerobic digestion of municipal solid waste, organic matter is converted to methane, carbon dioxide, and other organic and inorganic compounds through a complex cooperation among different microbial groups with different metabolic activities. Here, culture-dependent and independent approaches provided evidence for examining the relationship between bacterial and archaeal communities and methane production in a pilot-scale anaerobic digestion. The abundance of aerobic and anaerobic functional groups of C and N cycles, such as cellulolytic, pectinolytic, amylolytic and proteolytic bacteria, was high at the beginning of the experiment and was drastically decreased after anaerobic digestion. In contrast, the ammonifiers increased in the biogas producing reactors in a higher pH environment. The methanogenic archaeal genera recovered were Methanobrevibacter, Methanobacterium, Methanoculleus and Methanocorpusculum, thus indicating that methane was formed primarily by the hydrogenotrophic pathway in the reactors.Moreover, the mechanical pretreatment effects, as well as the effect of pelleted manure as inoculum, were considered. The highest methane production was detected in the biodigesters with minced organic waste, thus indicating that pre-treatment of a heterogeneous starting matrix was essential for improving biogas production and stabilizing the process.

Determination of Some Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Cattle Manure Pellets

&lt;p&gt;One of the important subsidiary materials of livestock units is excreta. The livestock waste (including the combination of the Cattle Manure and products case in the bed) as a valuable source of the minerals (Nitrogen 1.78 % , phosphor us 0.5% and potassium 0.99%).For the transportation of the cattle manure in the natural state is difficult and costly due to being low the special mass and the nature of mass. It is produced around 6 million thons the cattle manure yearly in Iran which it is usually filled in the place according to the lack of organic materials of the soils country, the use of the cattle manure causes increasing the productivity of crops. We usually need to some of the mechanical and thermal properties of the cattle manure for producing the pellet by Extruder, so we Survey some of the mechanical and thermal properties of the cattle manure pellet in this research such as the shear stress and the coefficient of thermal diffusivity cattle manure. We obtain the coefficient of the thermal diffusivity manure (&lt;/p&gt;

Experimental analysis of the fixed bed gasification process of the mixtures of the chicken manure with biomass

The increasing worldwide demand for poultry, mainly chickens, has resulted in a growing generation of poultry derived wastes. Among many types of biomass, the animal waste, including poultry manure, can have a significant potential for application in the energy industry. In this work, the proposal of thermal utilization of the chicken manure was given. The laboratory scale research on co-gasification chicken manure with wood pellets has been carried out in a fixed bed gasifier of capacity 5 kg/h. The experiments were done for two types of fuel blends. In the first experiment stage wood pellets were mixed with a raw, pre-dried chicken manure. Another part of test concerned gasification of blends of pelletized chicken manure and wood pellets.The main goal of the experiments was to determine the influence of the addition of dried chicken manure to the wood pellet feedstock on the gasification process as well as on physicochemical properties of generated syngas.The results of the gasification tests confirm that co-gasification of the chicken manure with wood biomass can be a promising proposal for the utilization of a poultry derived wastes. Gasification of a chicken manure provides generation of combustible syngas with the lower heating value LHV equal to 2.0 MJ/m3 in case of a raw, pre-dried chicken manure and 2.7 MJ/m3 in case of chicken manure pellets. Increasing share of woody biomass in the feedstock significantly increases the calorific value of the syngas. Different physical properties of the feedstock components (fraction and ash content) require further research to define reactor suitable for co-gasification of analyzed fuel blends.

Fate of 15N labeled nitrogen in maize grown with nutriseed pack using tracer technique

Deep placement of fertilizers will reduce the nutrient losses to the environment and increases the nutrient use efficiency. Nutriseed pack is a small tubular assembly consisting seed with bio-inoculants on top, manure pellet in middle and fertilizer pellet at bottom. A field study has been taken to determine nitrogen recovery and to evaluate the compatibility of phosphorus fertilizer sources with nitrogen sources which suited for Nutriseed pack by estimating the recovery of applied fertilizer N added as 15N labeled urea with Nutriseed pack in maize and retention in soil using 15N tracer technique in eastern block of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. This study has revealed that the actual nitrogen recovery from fertilizer and fertilizer nitrogen retention in the soil. The highest fertilizer nitrogen recovery (15N) in leaves, stem and grain (47.95%) was found with NP(DAP)K Nutriseed pack with phosphorus as Di ammonium phosphate placement recording the highest nitrogen use efficiency of 64.91%. Relatively low recovery of nitrogen (45.25%) was observed with NP(SSP)K Nutriseed pack with phosphorus as Single super phosphate placement recording 58.67% of nitrogen use efficiency. The labeled nitrogen retention in soil is recorded low in NP(DAP)K Nutriseed pack placement and comparatively high in NP(SSP)K Nutriseed pack placement.