Coated Fertilizers Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Reducing Ammonia Volatilization While Increasing Crop Yield

作者：Muhammad Nadeem Ashraf, Ashar Rauf, Waqar Ahmad, Muhammad Aamer Maqsood, Zia Ur Rahman Farooqi, Muhammad Moaz Khursheed, Muhammad Ahmed Waqas, Shafeeq Ur Rahman, Muhammad Shahbaz Farooq, Abdullah A. Alarfaj, Sulaiman Ali Alharbi · 发表于：Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1002/jpln.70001 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Polymer-Based Agricultural Enhancements、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism

ABSTRACT Background Soil nitrogen (N) losses present significant environmental and economic challenges. Therefore, it is imperative to implement strategies aimed at mitigating N loss and improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Aims We conducted incubation and pot experiments to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of coated urea against conventional urea applications in reducing N loss via ammonium (NH 4 + ) and nitrate (NO 3 − ) release, as well as ammonia (NH 3 ) volatilization and improving crop yield. Methods A pot experiment was conducted to explore the potential of coated urea to enhance the NUE and yield of wheat crops cultivated in two soils with distinct textures. Treatments included (1) no fertilizer control (CK), (2) conventional urea (ordinary urea [OU]), (3) neem‐coated urea (NCU), (4) moringa‐coated urea (MCU), (5) sulfur‐coated urea (SCU), and (6) biochar‐coated urea (BCU). Results The results from the incubation experiment indicated that all the coated fertilization strategies performed well, but BCU significantly reduced NH 3 volatilization up to 34% and 18% more than OU in clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively, followed by SCU, NCU, and MCU. In pot experiment, the same treatment yielded highest biological (+142% and 127%), straw (+167% and 153%), grain yield (105% and 85%), and 1000‐grain weight (+34% and 49%) than the CK in clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively. Overall, the trend of coated urea treatment in improving plant physiological an...