AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabilizer is the original, most research-proven urease inhibitor technology on the market. With 20 years of trials and real-world results on millions of hectares worldwide, it’s the one growers trust to protect their nitrogen investment and yield potential every time.
Just how much of a problem is ammonia volatilization? Results from a number of university research studies have shown that nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization can be up to 40% of your applied nitrogen. However, when urea was treated with AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabilizer, only about 10% of the applied nitrogen was lost.
Here's how it works: When granular urea and liquid UAN fertilizers are surface applied, the urease enzyme breaks apart the urea nitrogen. AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabilizer reduces the activity of urease enzymes. This process consumes hydrogen ions (H+) in the soil, increasing pH values up to 9.0 or higher in the surrounding soil. As a result, there is a shift in the balance between ammonium (NH4+) and ammonia (NH3). [See Figure 2] By slowing this activity, the soil has the ability to resist changes in the pH in the immediate vicinity of the urea, resulting in a lower ammonia volatilization loss and an optimal crop yield potential.
Cumulative ammonia volatilization loss from untreated urea and AGROTAIN® treated urea.
Figure 1. Cumulative ammonia volatilization loss from untreated urea and AGROTAIN® ULTRA treated urea.
Figure 2. Equilibrium between ammonium (NH4+) and ammonia (NH3) at different soil pH levels.
• Source: Franzen et al, 2010; Kelly, 2009; Holcomb et al, 2010 and Holt, 2008.
A recent study by Dr. Rick Engel proved that surface-applied urea still loses a significant amount of nitrogen due to ammonia volatilization in cold weather, even under freezing conditions. High ammonia volatilization loss under cold conditions was mainly related to high soil moisture and soil pH.
Fortunately, that same study also showed AGROTAIN® nitrogen stabilizer protects against this cold weather loss. At one location, untreated urea lost about 44% of its nitrogen through ammonia volatilization after nine weeks (63 days) while urea treated with AGROTAIN® stabilizer only lost about 12%.
• Silt loam soil (pH 8.3) • Precipitation of 0.8 in between 0–9 weeks • Nitrogen rate of 99.7 kg N/ha • Fertilizer applied on February 26 • AGROTAIN® stabilizer applied at label rate • Soil temperature was about 0° C at the day of application • Campaign 10 • Source: Engel et al., 2011. Montana State University.
Nitrogen fertilizer Powered by AGROTAIN® redefines grower expectations by providing the performance of ammonium nitrate combined with additional convenience benefits:
* Only if Best Available Technology is used in manufacturing AN