Addition of urease inhibitor has no effect on ammonia volatilization following soil application of poultry litter or organomineral fertilizer, unlike urea

Abstract

Quantification of ammonia volatilization after addition of animal residues and nitrogen (N) mineral fertilizers to the soil is important for N management in fertilization programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding a urease inhibitor to N fertilizers to minimize ammonia losses following soil application. The experiment was carried out in a laboratory with samples of a Brazilian Oxisol containing 790 g kg-1 clay and 23 g kg-1 organic matter. Treatments consisted of addition of poultry litter (PL), organic mineral fertilizer (OMF) and urea to the soil, with and without the urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), plus a control with no fertilizer. We applied the fertilizers over the soil surface, with no soil incorporation, at a rate of 200 mg kg-1 N. Experimental units consisted of PVC tubes with a diameter of 0.15 m, containing 1.0 kg of soil (dry basis). Ammonia volatilization was measured for 56 days following fertilizer application to the soil using sponge discs impregnated with phosphoric acid and glycerin, which were fitted inside the tubes 0.15 m above the soil surface. Ammonia volatilization peaks varied according to the fertilizer, and most of them occurred in the first 15 days following application to the soil. Total ammonia volatilized from the soil treated with PL or OMF had no influence on the urease inhibitor, probably because the losses were small, attaining a maximum of 2.5 and 9% of the total N applied, respectively. In the treatment that received urea, NBPT delayed the peak of volatilization by three weeks and decreased the loss of ammonia from 22 to 9% of the N applied. Use of urease inhibitor does not always decrease ammonia volatilization, especially when mixed with fertilizers in which urea is not the only source of N.