• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.230-235
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• 1999

To study the effects of an urease inhibitor, N-(n-butyl)-thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), and a nitrification inhibitor, dicyandiamide (DCD), on nitrogen losses and nitrogen use efficiency, urea fertilizer with or without inhibitors and slowrelease fertilizer (synthetic thermoplastic resins coated urea) were applied to direct-seeded flooded rice fields in 1998. In the urea and the urea+DCD treatments, NH$_4$$^{+}$ -N concentrations reached 50 mg N L$^{-1}$ after application. Urea+NBPT and urea+ NBPT+DCD treatments maintained NH$_4$$^{+}$ -N concentrations below 10 mg N L$^{-1}$ in the floodwater, while the slow-release fertilizer application maintained the lowest concentration of NH$_4$$^{+}$ -N in floodwater. The ammonia losses of urea+NBPT and urea+NBPT+DCD treatments were lower than those of urea and urea+DCD treatments during the 30 days after fertilizer application. It was found that N loss due to ammonia volatilization was minimized in the treatments of NBPT with urea and the slow-release fertilizer. The volatile loss of urea+DCD treatment was not significantly different from that of urea surface application. It was found that NBPT delayed urea hydrolysis and then decreased losses due to ammonia volatilization. DCD, a nitrification inhibitor, had no significant effect on ammonia loss under flooded conditions. The slow-release fertilizer application reduced ammonia volatilization loss most effectively. As N0$_3$$^{[-10]}$ -N concentrations in the soil water indicated that leaching losses of N were negligible, DCD was not effective in inhibiting nitrification in the flooded soil. The amount of N in plants was especially low in the slow-release fertilizer treatment during the early growth stage for 15 days after fertilization. The amount of N in the rice plants, however, was higher in the slow-release fertilizer treatment than in other treatments at harvest. Grain yields in the treatments of slow-release fertilizer, urea+NBPT+ DCD and urea+NBPT were significantly higher than those in the treatments of urea and urea+DCD. NBPT treatment with urea and the slow-release fertilizer application were effective in both reducing nitrogen losses and increasing grain yield by improving N use efficiency in direct-seeded flooded rice field.field.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.235-242
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: About 81% of nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) emissions from agricultural land to the atmosphere is due to nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. Mitigation of $N_2O$ emissions can be more effective in controlling biochemical processes such as nitrification and denitrification in the soil rather than decreasing fertilizer application. The use of urease inhibitors is an effective way to improve N fertilizer efficiency and reduce $N_2O$ emissions. Several compounds act as urease inhibitors, but N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) has been used worldwide. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hot pepper and chinese cabbage were cultivated in five treatments: standard fertilizer of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium(N-P-K, $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$: 22.5-11.2-14.9 kg/ha for hot pepper and $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$: 32.0-7.8-19.8 kg/ha for chinese cabbage), no fertilizer, and NBPT-treated fertilizer of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times of nitrogen basal application rate of the standard fertilizer, respectively in Gyeonggi-do Hwaseong-si for 2 years(2015-2016). According to application of NBPT-treated fertilizer in hot pepper and chinese cabbage, $N_2O$ emission decreased by 19-20% compared to that of the standard fertilizer plot. CONCLUSION: NBPT-treated fertilizer proved that $N_2O$ emissions decreased statistically significant in the same growth conditions as the standard fertilization in the hot pepper and chinese cabbage cultivated fields. It means that NBPT-treated fertilizer can be applied for N fertilizer efficiency and $N_2O$ emissions reduction.