Abstract
As fertilizer prices have been rising dramatically in the last few years, farmers have been interested in utilizing nitrogen (N) management products to help minimize losses and ultimately reduce purchased fertilizer costs. There are three main types of N stabilizing products, urease inhibitors, nitrification inhibitors, and controlled release products. Urease inhibitors (i.e., ANVOL® and Limus®) slow the transformation of urea into ammonium to avoid ammonia volatilization. Research has shown as much as 50% of fertilizer N can be lost to ammonia volatilization if conditions are right. Nitrification inhibitors (InstinctTM, and N-Serve®) reduce the populations of the bacteria responsible for converting ammonium to nitrate, thereby keeping N in the ammonium form and avoiding losses to nitrous oxide or leaching. Controlled release products are coated with a physical or chemical barrier that temporarily isolates the fertilizer from the environment to slow its degradation. In 2024, UVM Extension Northwest Crops & Soils Program initiated a replicated field trial and worked with 3 farmers to conduct on-farm trials investigating the application of a urease inhibitor with liquid manure applied to hayfields. This report summarizes the results of those trials.
Keywords
UVM, University of Vermont, Vermont
Publication Date
1-2025
Recommended Citation
Darby, Heather M.; Ziegler, Sara; and Ruhl, Lindsey C., "Urease Inhibitors in Manure to Reduce Nitrogen Losses in Hay Fields" (2025). Northwest Crops & Soils Program. 590.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/nwcsp/590