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Spring
2018
grainswest.com25
THOUGHNITROGEN-STABILIZING PRODUCTS ARE
among the newest “old-technology” fertilizers on the
market, they are still regarded somewhat cautiously by
western Canadian farmers.
Most enhanced efficiency fertilizer (EEF) technology has been
around for 15, 20 and even 50 years, but products haven’t been
widely adopted on the Prairies. It’s estimated that 10 to 15 per
cent of farmers use them to some degree, but visitors to trade
shows and agronomist offices still want to know what these
products are, what they do and where they fit.
Also known as nitrogen-stabilizing fertilizers, EEF products
include granular urea, anhydrous ammonia and even liquid
nitrogen that has been treated or encapsulated in such a way as
to limit the exposure of the nitrogen to the elements, protecting
it from environmental loss until it can be used by the crop, but
they use varying protection mechanisms.
Surface-applied fertilizer is perhaps at the greatest risk to such
loss, simply disappearing into the air through a process known
as volatilization. As well, when nitrogen fertilizer is exposed
to heavy, wet soil conditions, it can be lost through a second
process known as denitrification. In a third scenario, under high
moisture conditions, and particularly in coarse-textured, sandy
soils, it can be leached away from the root zone. Stabilizer
chemistry can help reduce nitrogen losses in all three situations.
“There are two categories of enhanced efficiency products
that pertain to western Canadian farming,” said Rigas
Karamanos, an experienced soil fertility specialist and senior
agronomist with Koch Agronomic Services. One is polymer-
coated urea. The most familiar of these to Prairie farmers is
environmentally smart nitrogen (ESN) developed by Nutrien
(formerly Agrium).
And then there are the stabilized nitrogen products, which
are split into two modes of action. An example of a commonly
used urease inhibitor, Agrotain is marketed by Koch Fertilizers.
Even more common, nitrification inhibitors include eNtrench
and N-Serve produced by Dow AgroSciences as well as SuperU
and Agrotain Plus by Koch Fertilizers.
Under certain conditions, nitrogen losses can be substantial.
Research has shown as much as 40 per cent of broadcast
nitrogen can be lost through volatilization. “On a warm spring
day, as much as four to five pounds of nitrogen can be lost daily
through denitrification,” said Karamanos, referring to per-acre
losses occurring in soils that are poorly drained or waterlogged.
And yet, EEF products have not exactly caught on like
wildfire. “The main driver behind the use of these products
today is logistics,” said Steve Larocque, a south-central Alberta
farmer and crop consultant who operates consulting service
Beyond Agronomy in Three Hills. “Most producers who are
considering using these products today are looking to get
fertilizer applied at some point ahead of seeding and want to
reduce their risk of losses.”
For example, Larocque said, where farmers have extensive
acres, or where their seeding equipment capacity is limited,
they may look to apply nitrogen in a way that insures against its
loss. This is done through either a broadcast application in the
fall, by banding ahead of seeding, or by shallow banding during
the operation.
Karamanos agrees. “The bottom line for most producers is
they are looking for operational efficiencies,” he said. “In the
last few years, we are seeing more producers choosing to have
fertilizer broadcast-applied with floaters. Perhaps they have
three tanks on their air-seeding equipment and they’ve got a
large number of acres to get seeded. So, they are looking at
getting that fertilizer on early, or at least in a separate operation
so it speeds up their seeding.”
He points to older but still valid research conducted by
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry that shows early, or at least
timely, seeding produces the best results—every day that
seeding is delayed can reduce yield by one bushel per acre.
“And for someone with 7,000, 10,000 or 15,000 acres to seed,
that yield loss adds up,” he said.
Separating nitrogen application from the seeding operation
can increase seeding efficiency, according to Koch field
research. The company compared the seeding efficiency of
two systems. One was a three-tank, air-seeding system in which
canola seed, phosphate and a urea-sulphur fertilizer blend were
all applied at seeding, while in the other, a three-tank system
carried phosphate in two tanks and canola seed in the third.
With both approaches, travelling at the same field speed
and working the same number of hours, the seeding system
that applied canola seed, phosphate and urea was able to
seed 2,040 acres in 10 days. The same air-seeding setup that
applied canola seed and phosphate only (leaving out the
urea) managed to seed 2,016 acres in six days. “That’s a 40
per cent increase in seeding efficiency when the urea-sulphur
blend was applied in a separate operation from seeding,” said
Karamanos.
As farmers consider their options, he also points out that the
cost for a broadcast application of fertilizer is about half the cost
of banding fertilizer. Karamanos said it costs about $50 per acre
to band fertilizer versus about $25 for broadcasting.
Karamanos noted that in a separate research project
led by Prairie universities and other independent research
organizations in 2015, it was found that using the enhanced
nitrogen efficiency products did improve overall fertilizer
efficiency. Under that year’s growing conditions, at 25 sites
across Western Canada, Agrotain and SuperU were applied
in spring broadcast operations, shallow banded and deep
banded.
“The enhanced products do cost more, so producers either
have to be able to see they increase yield or that they can
achieve the same yield with reduced input costs,” he said. “This
research illustrates that Agrotain and SuperU increased nutrient
availability, resulting in statistically the same yield at 70 per cent
of the recommended rate compared to 100 per cent of the
recommended rate of untreated urea.”
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