Journal article

Recovery of nitrogen fertilizer can be doubled by urea-briquette deep placement in rice paddies

SM Eldridge, A Pandey, A Weatherley, IR Willett, AK Myint, AN Oo, K Ngwe, ZT Mang, U Singh, D Chen

European Journal of Agronomy | Published : 2022

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) recoveries in rice paddies have barely exceeded 60%, despite the implementation of several management strategies, amounting to significant N being lost to the environment. We conducted field experiments for three consecutive rice growing seasons at two locations in Myanmar to investigate the performance of urea-briquette deep placement (UDP) against variable rates of surface broadcast urea for improving N recovery and yields in rice paddies. The experiment consisted of a control (N0), 77.6 kg N ha−1 as UDP, and surface broadcast urea at 77.6 kg N ha−1 (N78), 100 kg N ha−1 (N100) and 160 kg N ha−1 (N160). Surface broadcast urea was applied in two equal splits at 10 days after tra..

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research


Funding Acknowledgements

This study was funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR, Grant no. SMCN/2014/044). We would like to thank Professor Soe Soe Thein, Seint San Aye, Swe Swe Mar, Mi Mi Khaing, Ye Min Thant, Ni Ni Myint, Samuel Ling, Zun May Aung, Phyu Phyu Thet Htwe from Yezin Agricultural University in Myanmar, and Grahame Hunter and Myint Aung from the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) for their help during the field experiments. We acknowledge the Melbourne Trace Analysis for Chemical, Earth and Environmental Sciences (TrACEES), The University of Melbourne for analytical support.