Agronomy and Nitrogen Use Efficiency | BASF Global

As a necessary part of proteins, enzymes, vitamins and organic bases, nitrogen is one of the most important plant nutrients and is considered to be the motor of growth. When the target is maximum crop yield and/or high crop quality, nitrogen plays a decisive role in farming success.

For more than 100 years growers have used nitrogen-based fertilizers to boost food production. 

But only about 50% of applied nitrogen is absorbed by plants. The rest is lost to the air and water or bound to the soil. By making nitrogen available to plants when they need it most, growers can realize:

• Improved efficiency
• Improved yield stability
• Simplified farm management

Growers can make nitrogen available to crops when they need it most by limiting nitrogen losses using nitrogen stabilizer technologies such as urease and nitrification inhibitors.

Urease inhibitors (UI)

Urea is the most important nitrogen fertilizer worldwide and an important aid/element to agricultural production. Urea itself can be taken up by plants only to a limited extent. Urease inhibitors, like Limus^® by BASF, reduce ammonia losses leading to higher nitrogen-use-efficiency, which makes higher yields with less nitrogen applications possible. The unique combination of two active ingredients is particularly effective at inhibiting the hydrolysis of urea and reducing gaseous ammonia losses, as well as N2O emissions, for a certain period of time.

Nitrification inhibitors (NI)

Significant amounts of nitrogen are lost after the application of urea and/or ammonium-containing mineral or organic fertilizers. The addition of Vibelsol or Vizura^® considerably slows down the conversion rate of ammonium to nitrate for a certain period of time. During this period, Vibelsol^® and Vizura protect the nitrogen against losses due to nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions, so more nitrogen is available for the plants. This results in higher yields and better quality of the harvested crops.

The active ingredient, DMPP, keeps the level of ammonium stable for a longer time. This is especially important whenfarmers cannot apply nitrogen in conjunction with the crop’s primary nitrogen uptake period. Numerous studies have proven Vibelsol^®’s and Vizura^®’s reliability as nitrogen stabilizers, showing increased yield, improved crop quality, and reduced need for additional mineral fertilization.

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