Development of Carbon-based N Fertilizer for Reducing N Loss and Improving Nitrogen Availability
M. Mohamed Roshan Abu Firnass *
Department of Soils and Environment, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu - 625 104, India.
P. Kannan
Department of Soils and Environment, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu - 625 104, India.
C. Swaminathan
Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu – 625104, India.
K. Senthil
Department of Soils and Environment, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu - 625 104, India.
B. Jayakumar
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Glen Osmond SA 5064, Australia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: Synthesis and characterization of carbon-based nitrogen fertilizer and assess the nitrogen releasing pattern of newly synthesized N fertilizer.
Study Design: The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatments in three replications.
Place and Duration of Study: The incubation study was conducted in the Soils and Environment post-graduate laboratory at Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, India from February 2022 to April 2022.
Methodology: Seven treatments were tested with various combinations of N fertilizers viz., Absolute control-No nitrogen (C), Soil test crop response-based N as urea (STCR- U), Soil test crop response-based N as ammonium chloride (STCR-AC), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea (100% N) (CNF-U100), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea (75% N) (CNF-U75), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from ammonium chloride (100% N) (CNF-AC100) and Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from ammonium chloride (75% N) (CNF-AC75). The characterization of carbon-tailored N fertilizers and their impact on soil available N were analyzed.
Results: When compared to STCR urea and ammonium chloride, carbon-tailored N fertilizers generated a greater result in terms of sustained release pattern of nitrogen over 10 weeks. Among the N fertilizers, carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea 75% N (CNF-U75) demonstrated the sustained release of N (104.0 mg kg-1), when compared to the STCR-U (108.9 mg kg-1) and STCR-AC (110.0 mg kg-1) fertilizers.
Conclusion: A novel carbon-based N fertilizer was tailored by intercalating urea and ammonium chloride with carbon material. The N releasing pattern of CNF-U75 implied that carbon-based N fertilizer is a novel product for sustained N release with higher nitrogen utilization efficiency and lower environmental risks. This study result could be used as a beneficial source of information on the current needs and future perspectives of carbon-based N fertilizer (CNF) in precision farming.
Keywords: Carbon material, N fertilizer, carbon-tailored N fertilizers