Elimination of the adverse effects of urea fertilizer on seed germination, seedling growth, and early plant growth in soil

The rapidly increasing importance of urea fertilizer in world agriculture has stimulated research to find methods of reducing the problems associated with the use of this fertilizer. One of these problems is that urea has adverse effects on seed germination, seedling growth, and early plant growth in soil. Because there is evidence that these adverse effects are caused largely, if not entirely, by ammonia produced through hydrolysis of urea fertilizer by soil urease, we explored the possibility that they could be reduced or eliminated by amending urea fertilizer with a small amount of a urease inhibitor. Studies with seeds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) showed that phenylphosphorodiamidate and N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide were the most effective of 10 urease inhibitors evaluated for reduction of the adverse effect of urea on seed germination. N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide was superior to phenylphosphorodiamidate for reducing the adverse effects of urea solutions on seed germination and seedling growth in soil, and it completely eliminated the adverse effect of urea granules on early plant growth in soil. The data reported indicate that the adverse effects of urea fertilizer on seed germination, seedling growth, and early plant growth in soil could be eliminated or markedly reduced by amending the fertilizer with as little as 0.01% (wt/wt) of N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide.