Development of Carbon-based N Fertilizer for Reducing N Loss and Improving Nitrogen Availability

Aims: Synthesis and characterization of carbon-based nitrogen fertilizer and assess the nitrogen releasing pattern of newly synthesized N fertilizer. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatments in three replications. Place and Duration of Study: The incubation study was conducted in the Soils and Environment post-graduate laboratory at Agriculture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, India from February 2022 to April 2022. Methodology: Seven treatments were tested with various combinations of N fertilizers viz., Absolute control-No nitrogen (C), Soil test crop response-based N as urea (STCR- U), Soil test crop response-based N as ammonium chloride (STCR-AC), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea (100% N) (CNF-U100), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea (75% N) (CNF-U75), Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from ammonium chloride (100% N) (CNF-AC100) and Carbon-tailored N fertilizer from ammonium chloride (75% N) (CNF-AC75). The characterization of carbon-tailored N fertilizers and their impact on soil available N were analyzed. Results: When compared to STCR urea and ammonium chloride, carbon-tailored N fertilizers generated a greater result in terms of sustained release pattern of nitrogen over 10 weeks. Among the N fertilizers, carbon-tailored N fertilizer from urea 75% N (CNF-U75) demonstrated the sustained release of N (104.0 mg kg-1), when compared to the STCR-U (108.9 mg kg-1) and STCR-AC (110.0 mg kg-1) fertilizers. Conclusion: A novel carbon-based N fertilizer was tailored by intercalating urea and ammonium chloride with carbon material. The N releasing pattern of CNF-U75 implied that carbon-based N fertilizer is a novel product for sustained N release with higher nitrogen utilization efficiency and lower environmental risks. This study result could be used as a beneficial source of information on the current needs and future perspectives of carbon-based N fertilizer (CNF) in precision farming.