Interim results of the study of the effect of coated urea on yield and nitrogen use efficiency of spring wheat

Nitrogen fertilizer use is often accompanied by significant nitrogen losses, resulting in a field-level utilization coefficient that rarely exceeds 50%. Fertilizer encapsulation offers a strategy to reduce these unproductive nitrogen losses, potentially increasing both the utilization coefficient and crop yields. This article presents interim results from long-term studies evaluating the effectiveness of coated urea. A field experiment conducted on sod-podzolic light loamy soil demonstrated that urea with a mineral coating enhanced nitrogen nutrition in plants. This resulted in a 6-12% increase in spring wheat yield compared to conventional fertilizer, a 6-11% increase in economic nitrogen removal, and an 8-16% increase in the nitrogen utilization coefficient. A model laboratory experiment revealed that surface application of coated urea reduced ammonia losses by 27-17% on acidic soil and by 63-38% on limed soil during the 3rd-5th day after application. Consequently, the content of mineral nitrogen forms in the soil was 28-30% higher when using coated urea.

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