Monday, November 5, 2007
40-1
Reducing Urea Volatilization in No-till Corn Production.
Gregory Schwab and Lloyd Murdock. University of Kentucky, UK Dept. of Agronomy, N122T Ag Sci Bldg. North, Lexington, KY 40546
Urea fertilizer is becoming an increasingly important N source for corn production especially in the southeastern region. Studies were conducted to evaluate product effectiveness at preventing volatilization losses in high-residue no-till corn production. Plots were arranged in a factorial design with N rates of 0, 44, 88, 134, and 178 kg N ha-1 and N sources untreated urea, polymer coated urea (ESN), NBPT (Agrotain), a high density co-polymer (Nutrisphere Nitrogen) with four replication. The study was conducted a multiple locations in multiple years. Results show that when conditions were conducive for volatilization loss, NBPT significantly improved yield relative to the untreated urea. The effectiveness of the other products were less consistent.