Reduction of nitrous oxide emission by using stearic acid combined zinc coated urea in silty clay and sandy loam soils under bare and planted conditions

Wajid Umar; János Balogh; Muhammad Khalid Hameed; Muhammad Ashar Ayub; Muhammad Hasham Anwaar; Imre Czinkota; Miklós Gulyás

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22578

Reduction of nitrous oxide emission by using stearic acid combined zinc coated urea in silty clay and sandy loam soils under bare and planted conditions

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 22;9(12):e22578. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22578. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Wajid Umar^{1

2}, János Balogh³, Muhammad Khalid Hameed⁴, Muhammad Ashar Ayub⁵, Muhammad Hasham Anwaar⁶, Imre Czinkota¹, Miklós Gulyás¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Environmental Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, 2100, Hungary.
² Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bio-economy e.V. (ATB), 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
³ Institute of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, 2100, Hungary.
⁴ School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
⁵ Institute of Agro-Industry and Environment, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, 63100, Punjab, Pakistan.
⁶ Institute of Soil and Environmental Science, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, 38000, Punjab, Pakistan.

Abstract

Overuse of chemical fertilizers in agroecosystems leads to the increased economic burden, low crop production in terms of input and environmental pollution. Due to its improved nutrient management and degrading properties, synthetic slow release fertilizers have become a significant advancement in the fertilizer sector. In this study we evaluated the effect of slow release urea on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission, crop growth and crop nutrient contents. Measurements were carried out in two different texture soils (sandy loam and silty clay) under two different conditions (bare soil and planted). The N₂O emission was measured for 15 days from bare soils and 48 days from planted soil. Plant fresh weight, dry weight, chlorophyll contents, N and Zn were measured in the end of the experiment. The results showed that N₂O emission was reduced 33-39 % from coated urea as compared to conventional urea in bare soil. In planted soil, the coated urea reduced the N₂O emission 29-33 %. The deep placement of urea in silty clay soil reduced the N₂O emission up to 22.8 % as compared to surface placement. Plant fresh matter, dry matter, N and Zn contents were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher with coated urea as compared to conventional urea. It is concluded that the coating of urea with hydrophobic materials like stearic acid, along with Zn sources i.e. Zn fortified nano-bentonite or the ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) presents opportunities to overcome the environmental pollution and increasing the crop production and quality.

Keywords: Crop growth; N2O emission; Slow release urea; Soil processes; Soil type.