Decomposition of cyanamide and dicyanodiamide in the soil

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to study the decomposition of cyanamide and dicyanodiamide in the soil and their specific action on plant growth. Their close chemical relationship necessitated a comparison of their respective behaviour in the soil. Dicyanodiamide is a polymer of cyanamide to which the formula C2H4N4 is assigned. Morrell and Burgen(1) and Werner (2) have shown that the polymerisation is caused by acids or alkalis, even in small amount, but a weak alkali is substantially more effective than a correspondingly weak acid; the rate of the change is greatly increased by raising the temperature. The process does not appear to be reversible.