Utilization of polymeric coated urea enriched with beneficial soil bacteria

Plenty of developments have been conducted to provide alternative products for farmers who are accustomed to using chemical fertilizers (especially urea) and to facilitate a convenient shift to applying microbial-based fertilizer (biofertilizer). In this study, polymeric microbial coated urea (named biourea) was developed as an alternative product. This hybrid product incorporates urea fertilizer with polymeric matrix coating and beneficial soil bacteria (BSB) inoculants. To enable BSB inoculants to adhere to the urea surface, a natural polymer such as chitosan which is derived from shrimp shells was studied as a matrix. The rotating coating method has been applied to produce the product. The product was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results exhibited the polymeric matrix functioning as a locus for BSB growth and sustaining their viability and there was an additional effect in slowing down the release of urea. The use of coating concentrations at 5 mg chitosan/gram-urea decreased the kinetics of urea release compared to uncoated urea and sustain the viability of BSB above 106 cells to the 20th day of storage.