Use Of Urease Inhibitors Research Articles

The economic viability of the use of urea with urease inhibitor in cotton grown in the Cerrado of Central Brazil

The cotton crop has a high demand for nitrogen fertilizers. However, an adequate supply of this nutrient may be difficult in regions with a tropical climate, requiring the introduction of technologies that provide better nitrogen availability to plants, such as urease inhibitors. The study aimed to evaluate the economic viability of using urease inhibitor in the treatment of urea granules for fertilizing cotton grown in the summer in a tropical region. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replications in a 3 × 5 factorial scheme. The treatments consisted of urea treated with 0.045% and 0.060% urease inhibitor (N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide - NBPT) and urea without urease inhibitor applied as topdressing, in doses of 0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha−1, divided into two applications, at 30 and 50 days after emergence. Fiber yield, effective operational cost, total operational cost, total cost, gross revenue, gross margin, net operational margin, net margin, profitability index, equilibrium price, and equilibrium yield were determined. In an agricultural year with rainfall close to the application of N in topdressing, the use of N at a dose of 120 kg ha−1 in the form of urea, associated with the urease inhibitor, promoted greater profitability of the cotton crop, as well as the use of urea regardless of the use of urease inhibitor. The urease inhibitor did not interfere with cotton fiber yield.

Yield of winter barley with different systems of mineral fertilizer and use of urease inhibitor

The use of urease inhibitors with nitrogen fertilizers is gaining relevance. There was a need to substantiate the expediency of combining these technology elements when growing winter barley. We conducted field experiments at the Lviv National Environmental University in the Banded Forest of the Western Forest Steppe conditions in 2020–2022. Our research goal is to describe the interaction of mineral fertilizers with the N-LokTM brand inhibitor, which restrains the formation of nitrates but improves the agrochemical parameters of the soil. This had a positive effect on the yield of winter barley. The soil is a dark gray forest gilded light loam with low humus. We used traditional methods of field research and standardized methods of laboratory analyses. The nitrogen fertilization system N97(NH4NO3) during vegetation restoration + N-LokTM (before sowing or during vegetation restoration) on the background of N23P60K60 ensured the initial content of easily hydrolyzable nitrogen in the arable layer of 132–136 mg/kg of soil. Applying N97(NH4NO3) + N-LokTM to winter barley during the restoration of vegetation on the background of N23P60K60 under plowing provided the highest yield in the experiment of 7.69 t/ha on average for 2020–2022. The average grain increase relative to the N97(NH4NO3) control (vegetation restoration) on the N23P60K60 background was 1.08 t/ha. On the other hand, applying N97(NH4NO3) during the restoration of vegetation + N-LokTM in autumn before sowing on the same background contributed to a more significant yield increase – by 1.26 t/ha only in 2021. The absence of a phosphorus-potassium background in the winter barley fertilization system reduced the crop yield by 0.11–0.44 t/ha. The significant importance of mineral fertilizers for obtaining high grain harvests, especially in less good years, is proven by the established high correlation coefficients of the parameters of available compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium at the start of the growing season with the harvest in 2020–2021. The regression 3D model of winter barley grain yield under the influence of the synergistic effect of nitrogen fertilization rates and the resulting enrichment of the soil with easily hydrolyzable nitrogen illustrates the importance of fertilizers for increasing the fertility of the dark-gray podzolized light loam soil in Pasmovy Pobuzhzhia of the Western Forest Steppe.

The Effect of Combining N-Fertilization with Urease Inhibitors and Biological Preparations on Maize Biological Productivity

After evaluating the ecological and economic aspects, it is predicted that the use of urease inhibitors and biological preparations should reduce the risk of nutrient leaching by using fertilizers containing amide, ammonium, and nitrate forms of nitrogen and would increase nitrogen use efficiency. Moreover, with lower nitrogen fertilizer rates, it would be possible to achieve or even increase planned maize biomass yield. The field experiment was performed in 2019–2021 at the Experimental Station of Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy. The soil of the experimental field was Endohipogleyic-Eutric Planasol. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of urease inhibitors and biological preparations in combination with nitrogen fertilizers on the productivity of aboveground maize (Zea mays L.) biomass. A two-factor experiment was carried out: factor A included nitrogen fertilizer rates of (1) 100 kg N ha−1, (2) 140 kg N ha−1, and (3) 180 kg N ha−1; and factor B included the use of preparations of (1) no use of urease inhibitors (UIs) and biological preparations (BPs) (control), (2) the urease inhibitor ammonium thiosulphate (UI ATS), (3) the urease inhibitor (UI URN)—N-Butyl-thiophosphorus triamide (NBPT), (4) the biological preparation of suspension of humic and fulvic acids (BP HUM); and (5) the biological preparation (BP FIT) of suspension of Ascophyllum nodosum The studies showed that the dry matter yield of maize was significantly increased not only by increasing nitrogen fertilizer rates but also by the use of UIs and BPs. The highest dry matter yield of maize (24.1 t ha−1) was obtained with N180 fertilizer and UI ATS. UI ATS significantly increased the dry matter yield of the aboveground maize in all nitrogen fertilization backgrounds. The UIs and BPs tested had a greater and significant (p < 0.05) effect on the dry matter yield of maize at lower rates of N100 and N140 nitrogen fertilizer. Increasing nitrogen fertilizer rates up to N180 had a positive significant effect on dry matter yields of the aboveground part of maize, its cobs, leaves, and stems. Positive, moderate, strong, and very strong correlations were found in most cases between the latter variables. These correlations were statistically significant (r2 = 0.62–0.98). The UIs and BPs increased the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer; therefore, the lower rates of nitrogen fertilizer (N100 and N140) could be used to produce maize productivity the same as that obtained with a high rate of nitrogen fertilizer (N180).

The Cost of Reducing Ammonia from Agriculture: Farm‐gate Estimates and Policy Considerations

SummaryAmmonia has been identified as one of the major air pollutants threatening human health and the natural environment, with agriculture being the dominant source of ammonia (NH3) emissions. To comply with international agreements and national targets to improve air quality, Northern Ireland (NI) needs to reduce ammonia emissions. Therefore, changes in management and investment in technology to improve the environmental sustainability of the food system will be necessary. More importantly, there is a need to reduce emissions in an economically efficient manner and prioritise measures that are cost‐effective to adopt. This article employs the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) approach to provide insights into decision‐making on the most cost‐effective strategy for reducing ammonia emissions in NI. This article presents five low‐cost measures for livestock production systems: diets, housing, manure storage, application of manure to the land, and the use of urease inhibitors with urea‐based fertilisers. Results of a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve analysis indicate that the adoption of all five measures gives an overall reduction of 6.5 kilotonnes (21 per cent) of ammonia, at a total cost of £6.6 million per annum compared to business‐as‐usual ammonia emissions and holding livestock numbers constant.

New method for using N-(N-butyl)-thiophosphoric triamide to improve the effect of microbial induced carbonate precipitation

Intensive studies have been carried out to establish a soil improvement method based on the microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) process. However, controlling the reaction rate of the MICP process to achieve optimized improvement is still a challenging task. In this paper, a new method involving use of urease inhibitor N-butyl-thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) was introduced. Laboratory tests in both liquids and soils showed that use of a suitable amount of NBPT increased the amount of calcium carbonate precipitation and improved the mechanical properties of the soil. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were also used to understand the effects of NBPT on calcium carbonate precipitation. The suitable dosage of NBPT was identified and the mechanisms behind the effect of NBPT were explained in this paper.

Effectiveness of the use of urease inhibitors in agriculture: a review

Effectiveness of the use of urease inhibitors in agriculture: a review

Urease Inhibitors Effects on the Nitrogen Use Efficiency in a Maize–Wheat Rotation with or without Water Deficit

The use of urease inhibitors in irrigated systems decreases both soil ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3−) availability, and, thus, could be an easy tool to reduce N loss due to ammonia volatilization and NO3− leaching. The main goal of this experiment was to assess the effect of urease inhibitors on N use efficiency, N losses, and their economic impact in a maize-wheat field experiment. In this study, 10 treatments were compared, combining the urea fertilizer with or without urease inhibitor, applied in one or two dressings, and under optimal or sub-optimal irrigation. A single application of urease inhibitor (IN1d), coupled with the conventional urea, helped to reduce the nitrate leaching risk both during the maize period (even when compared to the two dressing treatment) and after harvest. In addition, this improvement was achieved together with an increase in economic benefit, even when compared with the application of the same amount of regular urea split into two dressings. Under low water availability systems, the benefits of applying urease inhibitors increased with respect to the application of regular urea, making this technique a very promising strategy for adaptation to climate change in arid and semiarid regions.

Ammonia loss from protected urea in soil under different irrigation depths

This study presents an evaluation of the viability of using protected urea under different irrigation depths to reduce nitrogen losses caused by the volatilization of ammonia (NH3) under the conditions of the Southwestern Amazon. The study was carried out at the Experimental Station of Embrapa Rondônia, in the municipality of Porto Velho, Rondônia State, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a Red-Yellow Latosol and arranged in a 5 x 6 factorial design consisting of a combination of five treatments (N sources) with six irrigation depths. The sources of N were as follows: 1) urea (45.5% N); 2) urea (44.3% N) + 0.15% copper and 0.4% boron; 3) urea (45% N) + NBPT; 4) urea (43% N) + sulfur (1%); and 5) control (without N). The irrigation depths were 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 mm. The results showed that, regardless of the use of urease inhibitors, an irrigation depth of 10 mm is suitable for incorporating urea into the soil and stabilizing N losses from NH3 volatilization. NBPT is the most efficient inhibitor under nonirrigated conditions. All N sources promote increases in the concentrations of nitric and ammonia nitrogen in the soil. In the first 15 days after fertilizer application, the highest concentrations of ammonium were in the 0 - 10 cm and 10 - 20 cm soil layers, and NBPT showed the highest ammonium content compared to that of the other sources in the 0 - 10 cm layer. The nitric nitrogen content in the soil was slightly influenced by the irrigation depth in the first 15 days after fertilizer application. However, the ammonia nitrogen content decreased exponentially with the increase in irrigation depth due to the movement of ammonia in the soil.

Yield and chlorophyll index in cabbage in function of enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilizers and urea

The increase of the efficiency of the nitrogen fertilization promotes reduction of the applied dose and decreases the losses of nitrogen (N) to the environment. The objective of this work was to evaluate the yield and the relative chlorophyll index (IRC) in cabbage crop under cover fertilization, using enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilizers, compared to urea, in variable doses. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 3x4+1 factorial scheme (three sources, four rates and control), with four replications. The N sources used were: common urea (U), urea treated with urease inhibitor NBPT® (UN) and Kimcoat® polymer coated urea (UK). The N rates used were 0, 40, 80, 160 and 320 kg ha-1, divided in two fertilizations at 20 and 40 days after transplantation. Up to 160 kg ha-1 of N, there was no difference between N sources and N rates for both yield and RCI. The enhanced-efficiency N sources (UN and UK) promoted higher averages compared to common urea, possibly due to the higher N losses from common urea. Thus, the use of urease inhibitors or polymers associated with urea is a promising strategy to improve cabbage yield, as well as reducing N losses to the environment.

Effects of Urease Inhibitor and Nitrification Inhibitor on the Nitrogen Losses, Physiological Activity, and Oil Palm Yield on Red-Yellow Podzolic

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer efficiency can increase by adding N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) and N-(n-propyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NPPT) as urease inhibitor in urea fertilizer and adding 3,4-dimethyl pyrazole phosphate (DMPP) as nitrification inhibitor in ammonium sulfate (ZA) fertilizer. The research objectives were to examine the effectiveness of urease inhibitor (NBPT and NPPT) and nitrification inhibitor (DMPP) on the physiological activity and oil palm yield on red-yellow podzolic. Field experiment was done using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) of single factor and three replications as block. The single factor was nine fertilization treatments of urea with or without urease inhibitor, and ZA with or without nitrification inhibitor. The use of urease inhibitors decreases the amount of volatilization and N loss fertilizer. The higher dose of broadcasting N fertilizer (on the same type of fertilizer) resulted in the higher amount of N loss and volatilization. All fertilization treatments did not have any significant influence to the width and the length of opening stomata, nitrate reductase activity (NRA), N concentration in oil palm leaf, Oil Extraction Rate (OER), and Free Fatty Acid (FFA). Meanwhile, The oil palms at yellow red podzolic applied with urea 195 kg/ha combined with 0.12% of NBPT-NPPT resulting in higher fresh fruit bunch productivity.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of urease inhibitors: A farm level analysis

Ireland’s ambitious plan to expand primary agricultural production and its commitment to reduce its non-ETS GHG emissions by 20% compared with 2005 emission levels constitute a considerable challenge for Irish farmers. Nitrous oxide emissions produced as a result of the application of artificial fertiliser accounts for 16% of Ireland’s agricultural GHG emissions (Teagasc, 2017a). The use of urea combined with NBPT has the potential to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture when compared with conventional fertilisers. This paper presents a farm level model which maximizes farm gross margin subject to constraints on production factors (labour, land etc.) as well as agronomic constraints (stocking rate, fertilisers, feed, etc.). The aim of this paper is to compare the farm gross margin of two dairy farm types under a base scenario with the results of five other scenarios which consider varying levels of emissions reduction targets and the potential of urea combined with NBPT as an abatement technology. Results inferred that there is a potential for urea combined with NBPT to offset nitrous oxide emissions from fertiliser application and hence contribute to Ireland’s GHG reduction target.

Use of urease inhibitors to reduce ammonia volatilization in Amazonian soils

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.

Urease Inhibition in the Presence of N-(n-Butyl)thiophosphoric Triamide, a Suicide Substrate: Structure and Kinetics.

The nickel-dependent enzyme urease is a virulence factor for a large number of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as well as a negative factor for the efficiency of soil nitrogen fertilization for crop production. The use of urease inhibitors to offset these effects requires knowledge, at a molecular level, of their mode of action. The 1.28 Å resolution structure of the enzyme-inhibitor complex obtained upon incubation of Sporosarcina pasteurii urease with N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), a molecule largely utilized in agriculture, reveals the presence of the monoamidothiophosphoric acid (MATP) moiety, obtained upon enzymatic hydrolysis of the diamide derivative of NBPT (NBPD) to yield n-butyl amine. MATP is bound to the two Ni(II) ions in the active site of urease using a μ2-bridging O atom and terminally bound O and NH2 groups, with the S atom of the thiophosphoric amide pointing away from the metal center. The mobile flap modulating the size of the active site cavity is found in the closed conformation. Docking calculations suggest that the interaction between urease in the open flap conformation and NBPD involves a role for the conserved αArg339 in capturing and orienting the inhibitor prior to flap closure. Calorimetric and spectrophotometric determinations of the kinetic parameters of this inhibition indicate the occurrence of a reversible slow inhibition mode of action, characterized, for both bacterial and plant ureases, by a very small value of the dissociation constant of the urease-MATP complex. No need to convert NBPT to its oxo derivative NBPTO, as previously proposed, is necessary for urease inhibition.

The Development of Urease Inhibitors: What Opportunities Exist for Better Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children?

Stomach infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) causes severe gastroduodenal diseases in a large number of patients worldwide. The H. pylori infection breaks up in early childhood, persists lifelong if not treated, and is associated with chronic gastritis and an increased risk of peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. In recent years, the problem of drug-resistant strains has become a global concern that makes the treatment more complicated and the infection persistent at higher levels when the antibiotic treatment is stopped. Such problems have led to the development of new strategies to eradicate an H. pylori infection. Currently, one of the most important strategies for the treatment of H. pylori infection is the use of urease inhibitors. Despite the fact that large numbers of molecules have been shown to exert potent inhibitory activity against H. pylori urease, most of them were prevented from being used in vivo and in clinical trials due to their hydrolytic instability, toxicity, and appearance of undesirable side effects. Therefore, it is crucial to focus attention on the available opportunities for the development of urease inhibitors with suitable pharmacokinetics, high hydrolytic stability, and free toxicological profiles. In this commentary, we aim to afford an outline on the current status of the use of urease inhibitors in the treatment of an H. pylori infection, and to discuss the possibility of their development as effective drugs in clinical trials.

The Urease Inhibitor NBPT Negatively Affects DUR3-mediated Uptake and Assimilation of Urea in Maize Roots.

Despite the widespread use of urease inhibitors in agriculture, little information is available on their effect on nitrogen (N) uptake and assimilation. Aim of this work was to study, at physiological and transcriptional level, the effects of N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) on urea nutrition in hydroponically grown maize plants. Presence of NBPT in the nutrient solution limited the capacity of plants to utilize urea as a N-source; this was shown by a decrease in urea uptake rate and 15N accumulation. Noteworthy, these negative effects were evident only when plants were fed with urea, as NBPT did not alter 15N accumulation in nitrate-fed plants. NBPT also impaired the growth of Arabidopsis plants when urea was used as N-source, while having no effect on plants grown with nitrate or ammonium. This response was related, at least in part, to a direct effect of NBPT on the high affinity urea transport system. Impact of NBPT on urea uptake was further evaluated using lines of Arabidopsis overexpressing ZmDUR3 and dur3-knockout; results suggest that not only transport but also urea assimilation could be compromised by the inhibitor. This hypothesis was reinforced by an over-accumulation of urea and a decrease in ammonium concentration in NBPT-treated plants. Furthermore, transcriptional analyses showed that in maize roots NBPT treatment severely impaired the expression of genes involved in the cytosolic pathway of ureic-N assimilation and ammonium transport. NBPT also limited the expression of a gene coding for a transcription factor highly induced by urea and possibly playing a crucial role in the regulation of its acquisition. This work provides evidence that NBPT can heavily interfere with urea nutrition in maize plants, limiting influx as well as the following assimilation pathway.

Effects on the biogas and methane production of cattle manure treated with urease inhibitor

Urease inhibitors are in general known as potential measure for reducing ammonia emissions in dairy and cattle housing systems. Due to the application of the urease inhibitor on the exercise areas within a housing system the inhibitor is “mixed” with cattle manure and this “mixture” remains unchanged during manure storage. In Germany, a large part of the total stored cattle manure is utilized as a substrate in biogas plants. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to test if different concentrations of urease inhibitor mixed with typical cattle slurry will have any (negative) effects on the biogas and methane yield. The Hohenheim Biogas Yield Test (HBT) was used to determine if the biogas and methane production of cattle manure is influenced by the admixture with urease inhibitor. Altogether, four urease inhibitor concentrations (0%, 0.1%, 1% und 10% of total Kjeldahl nitrogen) were tested in the HBT experiments with two different substrates, cattle manure and cellulose, as a reference, in repetitions each. The average biogas and methane production of cellulose was 740 LN/kgODM and 403 LN/kg ODM and of cattle manure 471 LN/kgODM and 295 LN/kgODM. Both substrates treated with urease inhibitor showed no significant change in the biogas and methane production compared to the untreated ones. The use of urease inhibitors to reduce ammonia is harmless from the view of biogas plants.

Effect of urease inhibitor application on urease activity in three different cubicle housing systems under practical conditions

The reduction of ammonia emission from animal husbandry is required due to detrimental and harmful effects on environment, health and fertilizer value. Nevertheless, practicable measures with a high ammonia mitigation potential, which can be implemented in existing dairy housing systems without significant constructional changes, are still rare. A possible reduction option, not previously used in practice, is the application of urease inhibitors on floor surfaces in dairy houses. Urease inhibitors inhibit the enzyme urease, which is responsible for the release of ammonia. It can, therefore, be assumed that a reduction of the urease activity always results in ammonia mitigation. Cubicle housing systems for dairy cattle differ in technical, climatic and organizational conditions. Consequently, tests on three different housings in three seasons have been carried out in the current study to evaluate the use of urease inhibitor in practice. The effect of the urease inhibitor was investigated based on detection of urease activity. A significant correlation of floor surface temperature and level of urease activity was observed. The current study shows that the application of a novel urease inhibitor resulted in overall average reduction of urease activity of 80% at dairy housing systems and at different seasons.

Reduction of ammonia emissions from dairy manure using novel urease inhibitor formulations under laboratory conditions

Ammonia emissions from livestock manure can have detrimental effects on environment, health and reduce the value of the manure as fertiliser. A promising approach for reducing ammonia emissions from dairy farming is the use of urease inhibitors. They were tested in this study under standardised conditions in a laboratory set-up. Four selected inhibitors (designated D, L, K and E) were tested in concentrations of 0.01% and 0.1% of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and at manure temperatures of 18 °C, 20 °C and 25 °C. At 0.1% [TKN] all inhibitors showed a reduction in ammonia emissions at all temperatures settings (22 %–70 %). The reference inhibitor (D) and the modified inhibitor (L) had reduction potentials of 48% and 27%. At 20 °C inhibitor E showed no improvement in the reduction potential compared to the other inhibitors used, and was therefore not tested further. At all temperature settings, inhibitor K at concentrations of 0.1% [TKN] showed the highest reduction at 64%. Mixtures of two different inhibitors (0.1% [TKN], 20 °C) did not improve the reduction effect compared to the pure inhibitors. These ammonia reduction results showed that inhibitor K was the most promising with the potential to be used in further practical studies.

Renal struvite stones--pathogenesis, microbiology, and management strategies.

Infection stones-which account for 10-15% of all urinary calculi-are thought to form in the presence of urease-producing bacteria. These calculi can cause significant morbidity and mortality if left untreated or treated inadequately; optimal treatment involves complete stone eradication in conjunction with antibiotic therapy. The three key principles of treating struvite stones are: removal of all stone fragments, the use of antibiotics to treat the infection, and prevention of recurrence. Several methods to remove stone fragments have been described in the literature, including the use of urease inhibitors, acidification therapy, dissolution therapy, extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, ureteroscopy, percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), and anatrophic nephrolithotomy. PCNL is considered to be the gold-standard approach to treating struvite calculi, but adjuncts might be used when deemed necessary. When selecting antibiotics to treat infection, it is necessary to acquire a stone culture or, at the very least, urine culture from the renal pelvis at time of surgery, as midstream urine cultures do not always reflect the causative organism.

Urease inhibitor (NBPT) and efficiency of single or split application of urea in wheat crop

NBPT (N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide), a urease inhibitor, has been reported as one of the most promising compounds to maximize urea nitrogen use in agricultural systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of irrigated wheat fertilized with urea or urea + NBPT as single or split application. The experiment was conducted from June to October 2006 in Viçosa, MG, Brazil. The experimental design followed a 2×2 factorial scheme, in which urea or urea + NBPT were combined with two modes of application: full dose at sowing (60kg ha-1) or split (20kg ha-1 at sowing + 40kg ha-1 as topdressing at tillering), in randomized blocks with ten replications. The split application of nitrogen fertilization does not improve the yield wheat under used conditions. The use of urease inhibitor improves the grain yield of wheat crop when urea is applied in topdressing at tillering, but its use does not promote difference when urea is applied in the furrow at planting.