Nitrogen Inhibitor Used in Fertilizers

Nitrification Inhibitors

• Nitrification is the process that converts ammonium nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen in the soil. Nitrate nitrogen is subject to wasteful and environmentally destructive leaching. Nitrification inhibitors retard the process.

Urease Inhibitors

• Ammonia volatilization takes place when urea fertilizers convert to ammonia gas on the soil surface. This release of ammonia gas results in nitrogen loss. The urease inhibitor NBPT (N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide) works for up to two weeks, providing that rain or irrigation moves urease under the soil surface during that time.

Controlled-Release Fertilizer

• Sulfur-coated urea has been available for several decades. Varying thicknesses of sulfur cover urea granules allowing the urea to dissolve through imperfections in the sulfur coating. Newer technology produces competitively priced and precisely controlled polymer-coated urea (PCU).