The effect of urease and nitrification inhibitors on ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions from simulated urine patches in pastoral system: a two-year study

Abstract

This field study evaluated the effects of applying a combination of urease (UI) and nitrification inhibitors (NI) on ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from urine patches, using zeolite, single superphosphate (SSP) and urea fertilizer as a carrier. The trial was conducted on a Typic Haplustepts silt loam soil, near Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand during 2009-11. The treatments in 2009 included: a control (no urine or inhibitor), urine alone at 600 kg N ha(-1), and urine with either double inhibitor (DI) a mixture (1:7 ratio w/w) of UI (N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (nBTPT - trade name Agrotain®) and NI, dicyandiamide (DCD) or DCD alone at 10 kg ha(-1) using zeolite and SSP as carriers. In 2010 trials, both zeolite and urea were used as carriers for DI and DCD. DI-zeolite and DI-urea were equally effective and reduced the average NH3 losses from applied urine over two years by 34.6% in autumn and 40% in spring respectively. The nBTPT in DI-SSP was decomposed by the free acid produced during its dissolution and therefore increased NH3 emission as does DCD alone. DCD consistently increased NH3 emissions by 39% and 15.6% in autumn and spring respectively. Spring application resulted in NH3-N losses of 16.9% as a percentage of the total N applied compared to 8.4% in autumn. Over the two years, the DI reduced N2O emissions by 53% in autumn and 46% in spring over urine alone treatment; the equivalent reductions for DCD were 42% and 39% for autumn and spring, respectively. These results suggest that applying DI in autumn and spring using zeolite or urea carrier five days prior to grazing has the most potential to reduce NH3 and N2O losses from specific urination event than using DCD alone; and therefore warrants further research to improve its longevity.

Keywords: Agrotain; DCD; N(2)O; NH(3); Urine; nBTPT.