Fixing Nitrogen Use Efficiency
September 3, 2015 From Cotton Grower Magazine – August/September 2015
For Mid-South cotton producers, Nitrogen applications can be a tricky proposition. According to Extension research, Nitrogen use efficiency in the region’s cotton fields falls somewhere between 30 and 59 percent – well behind the same standards for efficiency in corn and rice production.
In a year like 2015, as cotton prices continue to languish in the 60-cent range, that type of wasteful application is unacceptable. Though the reasons for the poor use-efficiency vary, researchers are offering solutions to combat the issue.
One such product aimed at reducing losses is ESN Smart Nitrogen, a polymer-coated nitrogen fertilizer.
“When we’re talking about putting nutrients on crops, the main thing that we’re concerned with – our
goal – is to supply what the plant needs, when it’s needed, in a form that’s available to the plant,” says Mike Howell, Agrium agronomy specialist. “We think ESN definitely has a fit in this.”
ESN features controlled release characteristics that are designed to feed nitrogen to a crop throughout the growing season. The science behind the product makes this possible. It is a urea granule coated with a flexible polymer coating, which serves to both protect the nitrogen from mechanisms that cause loss, as well as help release the nitrogen as needed based on variables like soil moisture and temperature throughout the season.
“Polymer-coated fertilizers have been around for a long time,” says Howell, “but ESN is the only one that’s available for commercial agriculture.”
ESN representatives tout the time release aspect of the product, which cuts out additional applications. With ESN, a single nitrogen application can last throughout a production season, saving growers valuable time and fuel costs.
“It’s a true control-release fertilizer,” Howell says. “The release is controlled by diffusion through the polymer membrane, and this release is controlled primarily based off of temperature.”
The end result is less time spent on Nitrogen during the summer.
“Who knows?” said Howell. “You might even get to take a kid fishing with that time you’ve saved.”
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