The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants
Global crop yield is stagnant due to quick release of N from fertilizers and its lower availability at critical growth stages of crops. Urea impregnation of aluminosilicate minerals, especially zeolites, holds NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and delays its release for later crop s...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Nitrogen |
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| author | Ayaz Ahmad Shahzada Sohail Ijaz Fengliang Zhao Hafeez Ullah Rafa Ghulam Farid |
| author_facet | Ayaz Ahmad Shahzada Sohail Ijaz Fengliang Zhao Hafeez Ullah Rafa Ghulam Farid |
| author_sort | Ayaz Ahmad |
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| description | Global crop yield is stagnant due to quick release of N from fertilizers and its lower availability at critical growth stages of crops. Urea impregnation of aluminosilicate minerals, especially zeolites, holds NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and delays its release for later crop stages. limited information is available in the literature about the effect of zeolite-based urea fertilizer on soil nitrogen dynamics. Zeolitic urea formulation was prepared and tested in a field experiment under a wheat–rice cropping system. Sources of N were urea and zeolitic urea formulation. N was reduced up to 50% in the treatments from zeolitic urea. Soil parameters (NH<sub>4</sub>-N, NO<sub>3</sub>-N, available N and total N) and plant parameters were recorded by following the standard procedures. Zeolitic urea retained the highest contents of NH<sub>4</sub>-N and NO<sub>3</sub>-N at critical growth stages (booting and maturity) of wheat crop. Zeolitic urea retained the highest NO<sub>3</sub> in 0–30 cm soil depth, while these were highest at 60–90 cm depth with urea. Grain yield of wheat crops with N<sub>100%</sub>U were similar to that of with N<sub>75%</sub>ZU, where 25% less N was applied and nitrogen use efficiency was improved to 25.82% by zeolitic urea. Zeolite-based N fertilizer retains N in soil for an extended period of time and maintains crop yield even with less applied N as compared with urea. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9f32bfd2ecf44fae979675cee00b52a1 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2504-3129 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Nitrogen |
| spelling | doaj-art-9f32bfd2ecf44fae979675cee00b52a12025-06-25T14:15:25ZengMDPI AGNitrogen2504-31292025-06-01624610.3390/nitrogen6020046The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to PlantsAyaz Ahmad0Shahzada Sohail Ijaz1Fengliang Zhao2Hafeez Ullah Rafa3Ghulam Farid4Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanInstitute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanEnvironment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS), Haikou 571101, ChinaPesticide Quality Control Laboratory, Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Jhang Road Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38850, PakistanDepartment of Soil and Environmental Sciences, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan 59070, PakistanGlobal crop yield is stagnant due to quick release of N from fertilizers and its lower availability at critical growth stages of crops. Urea impregnation of aluminosilicate minerals, especially zeolites, holds NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and delays its release for later crop stages. limited information is available in the literature about the effect of zeolite-based urea fertilizer on soil nitrogen dynamics. Zeolitic urea formulation was prepared and tested in a field experiment under a wheat–rice cropping system. Sources of N were urea and zeolitic urea formulation. N was reduced up to 50% in the treatments from zeolitic urea. Soil parameters (NH<sub>4</sub>-N, NO<sub>3</sub>-N, available N and total N) and plant parameters were recorded by following the standard procedures. Zeolitic urea retained the highest contents of NH<sub>4</sub>-N and NO<sub>3</sub>-N at critical growth stages (booting and maturity) of wheat crop. Zeolitic urea retained the highest NO<sub>3</sub> in 0–30 cm soil depth, while these were highest at 60–90 cm depth with urea. Grain yield of wheat crops with N<sub>100%</sub>U were similar to that of with N<sub>75%</sub>ZU, where 25% less N was applied and nitrogen use efficiency was improved to 25.82% by zeolitic urea. Zeolite-based N fertilizer retains N in soil for an extended period of time and maintains crop yield even with less applied N as compared with urea.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/6/2/46zeolitic ureaslow releaseN retention |
| spellingShingle | Ayaz Ahmad Shahzada Sohail Ijaz Fengliang Zhao Hafeez Ullah Rafa Ghulam Farid The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants Nitrogen zeolitic urea slow release N retention |
| title | The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants |
| title_full | The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants |
| title_short | The Effect of Zeolitic Fertilizer on Nitrogen Retention in Soil and Its Availability to Plants |
| title_sort | effect of zeolitic fertilizer on nitrogen retention in soil and its availability to plants |
| topic | zeolitic urea slow release N retention |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-3129/6/2/46 |
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