Effect of hydroquinone and copper coated urea on ammonia volatilization loss and n mineralization from tropical soil: Laboratory study

Abstract

The faster urea hydrolyses process leads to high amount of ammonia gas emission from urea fertilized fields. Coating of urea with various materials is the most successful strategy to control N losses from urea fertilized fields. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of uncoated urea, as compare to urea coated with hydroquinone and Cu on NH 3 volatilization loss and rate of urea hydrolysis in soil. The coated urea treatments were prepared by using Cu and hydroquinone solutions with a fluidized bed coating machine. Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the coated urea treatments labelled as UCu (Cu coated urea) and UHY (Hydroquinon urea). Both experiments were carried out on a sandy soil named as Serdang series. The soil was characterized for its properties by standard methods. In the first experiment the coated urea was evaluated for ammonia volatilization loss by using closed chamber force draft technique. Simultaneously, an incubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of hydroquinone and Cu coated urea treatments for their hydrolyses rate or mineralization process. It was estimated by the results that ammonia volatilization from Hydroquinon coated urea treated soil reduced 25% however, Cu coated urea showed 30% reduction in ammonia volatilization loss as compare to uncoated urea. In incubation experiment recovery of urea from soil was 50% more in coated urea as compare to uncoated urea. It is concluded that coating of urea with urease inhibitors can reduce successfully the ammonia volatilization loss and increased the recovery of urea either coated by Cu or hydroquinone.

Effect of Zn Applied with or Without Palm Stearin Coated Urea on The Growth and Mineral Element Concentration of Maize (Zea mays L.)

“…Proven from research before, coating with semipermeable coating materials can hinder the initial absorbance and provide a steady supply of nutrients for a longer period of time (Naz and Sulaiman 2016). Coating alone can cause problems; hence inhibition of urease is brought into effect to minimize the hydrolysis rate of urea (Babar et al 2016;Nasima et al 2013;Du et al 2012) by deactivating of soil urease. A urease inhibitor that is eco-friendly and feasible is the best.…”

The effect of metal oxide coating of urea on mineralization in two contrasting soils

“…The appearance of NO 3 − was delayed until day 14 in the Cu 2+ ‐treated soils. Using identical coating techniques, researchers achieved 12% and 8% reductions in NH 3 loss (compared to uncoated urea) using CuSO 4 and a mixture of CuSO 4 and ZnSO 4 , respectively (Babar et al., 2016; Junejo et al., 2013). In another study, amending pyrite‐coated and KCl‐coated urea products with CuSO 4 was shown to further reduce NH 3 loss by 4% (Damodar Reddy & Sharma, 2000).…”